outsource healthcare accounting services

If you’ve started your own healthcare practice only to find yourself drowning in accounting tasks, you’re not alone. Professionals start practices to help people, but end up wasting time playing phone tag with insurance companies and reconciling accounts. If you want to get off that hamster wheel and get back to doing the work you love, it might be time to outsource your healthcare accounting services.

But healthcare accounting isn’t just regular accounting with a stethoscope; it’s uniquely complex. Insurance, compliance regulations, and unique billing codes make finding a bookkeeper who can handle accounting for your practice a challenge. So, do you keep DIY-ing it, or do you take a chance on a CPA?

In this post, we’ll break down what outsourcing means for small healthcare practices. We’ll talk about what to expect, what to look for, and how to decide if outsourcing is the right move for you.

What Does It Mean to Outsource Healthcare Accounting Services?

Put simply, outsourcing healthcare accounting just means hiring an external CPA or bookkeeper to handle your practice’s finances. What specific financial tasks your external accountant handles depends on your situation and the professional you bring in for help.

The right outsourced accounting service can assist with everything from medical billing and coding to financial reporting, tax preparation and compliance. Basically, you’ll be able to offload all the back-office tasks that are eating up all your free time. However, offloading those tasks means entrusting an external partner with some of your practice’s most critical data and decisions.

It can feel nerve-racking to pass off those tasks, but when you choose the right partner, you won’t feel like you’re giving up control. Instead, you’ll feel secure knowing your finances are in good hands, which frees up your time and energy to focus on your patients.

Is Outsourcing Healthcare Accounting Services Right for You?

Searching for accounting help can feel overwhelming. So, let’s answer a key question: Do you even need to outsource healthcare accounting services right now?

The truth is, if you’re spending 10 hours or more on bookkeeping every week, you’re already paying for your accounting services; you’re just paying with your own time (and stress) instead of money.

Outsourcing makes sense for any practice owner losing sleep over IRS fears or compliance issues. If your books are a mess and the thought of tax season is giving you hives, outsourcing might be worth exploring.

Even if your books are clean right now, you might need to outsource your accounting. Maybe you want to grow your practice, but you feel stuck in back-office tasks. Or you want to hire an associate, but you’re not sure if you can actually afford that salary. Outsourcing accounting services to the right partner can give you the data and time you need to grow your practice and start helping more patients.

When don’t you need to outsource? If you’re brand new and you don’t have a ton of transactions to track, you can probably stick with the DIY method for now. Or, if you genuinely enjoy doing your own books, go for it! But if you’re reading this post, you’re probably already feeling the pain. And that’s a good indication that it’s time to explore what outsourcing can do for you.

The Real Benefits of Outsourcing For Small Healthcare Practices

There’s a better way to manage your practice than wasting your valuable time and energy wrestling with QuickBooks every weekend. Here are a few of the key benefits you can experience when you outsource healthcare accounting to a pro who knows what they’re doing:

Time savings: Save 10-15 hours a week by passing off your bookkeeping and account reconciliation tasks.
Cost efficiency: Outsourcing is more cost-effective than hiring a full-time bookkeeper or accountant. When you outsource to a firm or external CPA, you’re not paying salary, benefits, or dealing with turnover costs when someone quits and takes all their knowledge with them.
Expertise you can trust: Hiring an external expert gives you access to accounting professionals who understand medical billing, the challenges of working with insurance companies, and healthcare regulations.
Better cash flow: Faster, cleaner claims processing means you get paid sooner, full stop. Also, when your books are organized and in good order, you have a better grasp on your practice’s health, meaning you can make better decisions based on real data.
Compliance & security: HIPAA-compliant systems protect your patients and your practice. You stay current with healthcare regulations without having to become a legal expert yourself.

Basically, when you outsource, you can get your time back and feel more confident about your practice’s finances. But you only get those benefits if you choose the right accounting partner.

What to Look For in a Healthcare Accounting Partner

Not all CPAs are created equal, and definitely not all of them understand the unique headaches of running a healthcare practice. Here's your checklist for finding the right partner for your healthcare practice:

Industry experience: They need to understand medical billing, CPT codes, and the insurance reimbursement process, and they should know healthcare regulations like HIPAA inside and out.
Responsiveness: You shouldn't have to chase your CPA down for answers or feel like you're bothering them with questions. Look for someone who responds within one to two business days. If they’re slow to respond to you during the sales process, it’s a major red flag: if that’s how they act when they’re trying to win your business, imagine what working with them will be like.
Technology & tools: Your ideal partner is going to be using modern tools. They need to know QuickBooks Online, cloud-based platforms, or be willing to learn whatever you're already using.
Teaching & transparency: The right medical accounting partner will explain things in plain English, not hide behind accounting jargon that makes you feel dumb. Look for someone who is willing to teach and help, not just execute tasks and disappear.
Cultural fit: Trust your gut here—do you feel comfortable asking what you think are "dumb" questions? For small practices, especially, you’ll want to prioritize approachability over corporate polish.
Pricing & flexibility: Finally, the right accounting service will have transparent pricing. You should be able to budget for your accounting costs reliably every month or quarter, not worry that you’re going to be slapped with unexpected fees or bills after every simple question.

Finding the right fit takes a little homework, but it's worth it. If you want some help figuring out exactly what you need in a financial partner, you can book a free Q&A session with our team.

Red Flags to Watch Out For

We’ve talked about what to look for; now let’s cover the things that should make you run. If you encounter any of these red flags during your search, it’s a sign that you should keep looking elsewhere.

One-size-fits-all packages: An occupational therapy practice isn't the same as a dental office (or, worse, a retail store), and your accounting shouldn't be treated like it is.
Weak security practices: If they're vague about HIPAA compliance or can't clearly explain how they protect patient data, that's a dealbreaker.
No healthcare experience: General bookkeepers often don't get the unique nightmare of medical billing, insurance claims, and healthcare regulations. You need someone who's been in the trenches.
Overpromising: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be skeptical of miracle workers.
Pushy sales tactics: A good partner listens first and sells second. If they're more interested in closing the deal than understanding your needs, that tells you everything you need to know about the relationship.

Honestly, when in doubt, trust your gut and walk away. The wrong partner is worse than no partner at all, and the right partner is out there. You don’t need to settle for the first CPA you meet with just because you’re desperate to get bookkeeping off your plate.

Ready to Outsource Healthcare Accounting Services? Here's What to Do Next

If you’re ready to outsource your bookkeeping but feeling overwhelmed about where to start, no worries. We’re going to lay out a simple step-by-step process you can follow to find the right partner for your practice.

Step 1: Get clear on what you need

Before you start shopping around, make a list. What tasks are actually eating up your time? What keeps you up at night? But don’t just focus on the negative. Ask yourself what success looks like to you and where you want your practice to be in the next five, ten, fifteen years.

Step 2: Do your homework

Research 2-3 potential partners. Check their reviews, ask for referrals from other healthcare providers in your network. Schedule intro calls to get a feel for their approach. Remember that you're not just hiring someone to do your books; you're looking for someone you actually want to work with.

Step 3: Ask the right questions

During your intro calls, ask the pressing questions. Some sample ones you might want to start with:

"How many healthcare clients do you work with?"
"What's your typical response time?"
"How do you handle HIPAA compliance?"

You’ll also want to watch out for their answers here. If they’re using lots of jargon or making you feel stupid for asking… keep looking.

Step 4: Start small

You don't have to hand over everything at once. Find a partner who lets you test the waters with one service, like monthly bookkeeping, and see how it goes. Then, you can add more services as you need them.

If you’re ready to outsource and want some help finding the right partner, let’s talk. I offer a free Q&A call where we can discuss your practice's specific needs. No sales pitch, just honest advice from someone who gets it. Whether outsourcing is right for you or not, you'll walk away with a clear idea of what to do next.

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