In short: The four areas most small businesses can outsource first are accounting and bookkeeping, IT support and cybersecurity, administration, and HR and recruitment. Outsource work that needs specialist skills or that is not yet big enough to justify a hire, and keep the work that makes your business different. Offshoring can cut costs further, but check your privacy obligations first.

Every business owner has been there.

Running a small business often feels like being a plate spinner, with numerous tasks and responsibilities demanding your attention simultaneously. This can not only affect your productivity but also take a toll on your mental well-being.

For most small businesses, hiring an internal staff member to cover this workload is simply not financially feasible. Fortunately, there is an alternative solution to this problem.

Outsourcing allows a business to delegate certain tasks, processes and responsibilities to a third party while reducing your costs and workload. Furthermore, outsourcing enables you to leverage the expertise of specialists in a particular area, leaving you with more time to focus on your business.

When your budget is tight, weighing up what parts of your business to outsource can be a tough decision. In this article, we’ll outline what some of the best processes to outsource are, and how to improve the efficiency and productivity of your small business.

Accounting and Bookkeeping

As a business owner, the last thing you want is to be consumed by tedious and time-consuming tasks that divert your attention from more critical areas.

By outsourcing your accounting or bookkeeping, you can ensure that crucial processes such as maintaining accurate financial records, handling payroll, preparing taxes and financial statements, and monitoring overall financial performance are handled by experts in the field.

At Elephant Advisory, we believe that utilising a professional accountant or bookkeeper is essential for businesses of all sizes.

Not only does it take the burden of handling your tax and legal responsibilities off your plate, but it also provides you with access to important business and financial expertise. This includes receiving guidance on significant decisions such as your business structure, pricing, and overall business strategy.

IT Support and Infrastructure

To be a successful small business owner, you need to have strong decision-making and management skills. You don’t need to be an IT guru.

By outsourcing the management of your IT support and technological infrastructure, you can ensure that your tech systems run smoothly by IT professionals.

Outsourcing your IT department also offers the advantage of scalability. Initially, when your budget and technological needs are smaller, you can easily outsource more advanced responsibilities like cybersecurity, hardware procurement, and troubleshooting. This flexible approach allows you to align your IT support with the evolving demands of your growing business, ensuring efficient operations and optimal technology utilisation at every stage.

Outsourcing IT support allows you to save time and harness the power of technology in your business, making it an ideal solution for small businesses looking to maximise efficiency.

Ask any IT provider how they handle backups, multi-factor authentication and responding to a breach. The Australian Cyber Security Centre’s Essential Eight is a useful checklist.

Administrative Tasks

Running and managing a business undoubtedly involves a significant amount of administrative work.

And, when you don’t have a large number of employees to handle this workload, a lot of this responsibility will fall back on you as the business owner. Unfortunately, business owners often don’t realise that much of this work can be outsourced to a third party.

Tasks such as receptionist duties, scheduling, document preparation and taking care of customer service and feedback can all be easily outsourced to third-party providers.

By offloading the burden of administration, you free up your precious time, enabling you to be more effective in other crucial areas of your business.

Human Resources and Recruitment

Hiring a qualified internal human resources team member can carry a significant cost and is often only done once a business reaches a larger size.

Unfortunately, this means that smaller businesses miss out on expertise that may be essential for hiring effectively and cultivating a successful team culture. A skilled HR professional will play a crucial role in managing your staff, from their recruitment to their ongoing development within your business.

Making the decision to hire a team member is a monumental step for the future of your small business, so getting assistance during this stage is crucial. An HR expert brings an in-depth knowledge of recruitment strategies, candidate assessment techniques, and employment laws, equipping you with the insights needed to make sound recruitment decisions.

Access to HR expertise remains equally important as your team grows over time.

HR functions such as employee development, performance management, conflict resolution, and even termination are all integral to the culture and efficiency of your workforce. Outsourcing these tasks to an external party can be a wise decision, ensuring you have access to the necessary HR skills and expertise required to navigate these challenges effectively.

One caution: calling someone a contractor does not change your obligations if they are, in reality, working as an employee. Getting this wrong can mean back-paying super and entitlements.

What about offshoring?

If you’re looking to gain access to expertise and manpower but can’t afford the cost of an Australian wage, there is another solution.

Offshoring offers a way to retain operations and processes within your business while benefiting from lower labour costs in other parts of the world.

As the digital age continues to revolutionise how businesses are able to operate, an increasing number of functions can now be efficiently performed by offshore teams at a significantly reduced expense. This includes common tasks such as:

• Customer Support

• Data Entry and Processing

• Administrative Tasks

• Content Creation/Digital Marketing

• Research and Analysis

• IT Support

• Manufacturing

• Sales and Lead Generation

If you are considering offshoring, start with well-documented, repeatable tasks, give offshore staff access only to the data they need, and check your obligations under the Privacy Act when customer information is handled overseas. Talk to us about which of your processes are ready to hand over.

Frequently asked questions

What should a small business outsource first?

Usually bookkeeping and accounting, because the work is specialised, deadline-driven and easy to hand over. IT support and admin are common next steps.

Is outsourcing cheaper than hiring?

Often, for work that does not fill a full-time role. You pay for the hours or outcomes you need without recruitment costs, leave, super or desk space.

What is the difference between outsourcing and offshoring?

Outsourcing hands work to an outside provider. Offshoring moves work, done by your own team or a provider, to another country, usually to lower labour costs.

Last updated: 26 October 2026.

General information only, based on the rules at the date above. It does not take into account your circumstances, so speak to your accountant before acting.