Question 1

What does outsourced accounting actually cover?

Accepted Answer

The back-office finance function, end to end, without you hiring for it: bookkeeping and reconciliations, a monthly close on a fixed date, owner-readable financial statements, accounts-payable and accounts-receivable coordination, payroll and sales-tax support kept reconciled, and a senior operator who owns the whole thing and answers when you call. You hand over the function; we run it and report on a steady cadence.

Question 2

How is outsourcing the accounting different from hiring in-house?

Accepted Answer

An in-house bookkeeper is one person you recruit, train, manage, cover for, and replace — and a single point of failure when they're out or they leave. Outsourcing gives you a senior operator backed by a firm's standards and review, for a fixed monthly fee that's usually well below a loaded salary, with no hiring, no management overhead, and no gap when someone takes vacation. You get seniority and continuity without the headcount.

Question 3

Do I lose visibility or control by outsourcing?

Accepted Answer

No — done right, you get more of both. You keep ownership of your QuickBooks file and your data, you receive reconciled statements on a fixed monthly date instead of whenever an overworked employee gets to it, and you have a direct line to the operator who runs your books. Outsourcing the work isn't outsourcing the oversight; the numbers are clearer and more timely, not more distant.

Question 4

Is outsourced accounting only for bigger businesses?

Accepted Answer

No — it often fits small and growing businesses best, precisely because they can't justify a full-time finance hire yet still need the function done properly. If you've outgrown DIY but a salaried bookkeeper or controller is more than you need, the outsourced model gives you exactly the seniority you require at the scale you're at. For the senior-review layer specifically, see fractional controller.

Question 5

How does onboarding work, and how long until you're running the function?

Accepted Answer

We start with a short discovery to understand how the business operates and what shape the books are in, then get secure access to your QuickBooks and the relevant accounts. If the books are current, we can be running the monthly function within the first cycle. If they're behind or messy, we bring them to a clean, reconciled baseline first — sometimes a one-time cleanup — because we won't run a steady close on top of a foundation we haven't verified. You get a written scope and timeline up front, so the transition is a plan, not a leap.

Question 6

What if I already have a bookkeeper or some in-house staff?

Accepted Answer

That's common, and it doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. Sometimes we take the whole function; sometimes we sit above an existing bookkeeper as the senior review-and-close layer, or take the pieces that keep slipping — the reconciliations, the close, the reporting — while your staff keeps doing what they do well. We'll tell you honestly which split makes sense for your situation rather than insisting you replace people who are working out.

Question 7

How do you handle internal controls and the risk of error or fraud?

Accepted Answer

Separating who does the books from who handles the money is itself a control — one most small businesses can't achieve with a single in-house bookkeeper who records, pays, and reconciles all at once. With us running the books and reconciling every account to source independently, discrepancies surface instead of hiding, and approval of payments stays with you. That separation of duties, plus a firm's review behind the work, is exactly the safeguard a lone-bookkeeper setup lacks — and one of the quietest reasons outsourcing reduces risk rather than adding it.

An in-house hire	Outsourced to Westgate
Recruit, train, manage, and replace one person	A senior operator, ready and firm-backed — no recruiting or managing.
A single point of failure when they're out or leave	Continuity and review behind the work — no gap when someone's away.
A loaded salary, benefits, and overhead	A fixed monthly fee, usually well below the all-in cost of a hire.
Whatever seniority you can afford full-time	Forty years of judgment on your file, at the scale you're actually at.

Your whole back office — run, without the hire.

Outsourced accounting, in plain terms.

The same function — without the headcount math.

The pieces we run for you.

Monthly bookkeeping & close

Financial statements

Payroll support

Direct answers about handing off the function.

Hand off the back office — keep the visibility.