Growing Your Lettings Business in 2023

As another year ends it is essential to take time and reflect on what you have accomplished over the last 12 months and what you might do differently as you prepare and plan for the new year.

Where did you succeed, where did you fail and what lessons have you learnt?

You may reflect that the most precious commodity in your business is time, and wonder how you can claw some of that back this year so you can spend it reviewing and growing your business.

Streamlining certain processes by outsourcing is one way to free up time to focus on other business areas. In the long term, outsourcing can help a business grow and develop.

A YouGov survey carried out late 2019 found that 70% of businesses had outsourced key services to 3rd parties, with the majority looking to delegate IT, payroll, printing and accounting tasks.

Why Outsource?

For British businesses, outsourcing represents an easy solution to problems they can’t – or don’t want to – tackle in-house. The pandemic further focused attention on businesses, as owners had to redeploy their teams to cope with these unprecedented circumstances.

Why Outsource Your Client Accounting?

Client money is under the spotlight with more regulation than ever before, so being one step removed from your client accounting can offer confidence for your landlord.

Your own team might be great at what they do, but client accounting requires specific skills, expertise and knowledge for your business to remain compliant, as well as ensuring that landlords and contractors are paid correctly and on time.

In the areas of financial services, the 2019 YouGov survey found that over a third say they outsource because they don’t have qualified/relevant staff.

Outsourcing removes the worry of accounts reconciling and balancing daily, and the biggest headache of staff absences, holiday cover and resignations is eliminated.

Myth-busting!

When it comes to deciding whether outsourcing client accounting is the right choice, there are still several myths which are holding business owners back from taking the next step:

*Myth - It will cost too much

Many agents overestimate the cost of outsourcing. Instead, they take on the task themselves or delegate it to an administrator who may lack the skills or training to perform this efficiently.

Providers of outsourced services to the lettings industry should offer significant economies of scale as well as real expertise.

Business owners should consider how much their time is worth and if it could be better spent - Allocating this time to focus on other areas of the business can earn significantly more money than the cost of outsourcing in the first place

*Myth - I can’t trust an external supplier to do the job well

Consider this: outsourcers are specialists in their area and carry out these tasks, day in/day out.

To seek reassurance, look for a provider which boasts professional indemnity insurance robust enough for the business they undertake – an outsourcing company should be happy to be completely transparent about this. Ensure too, that outsourcers have specialist cover suited to their business.

Be wary of any Client Accounting Service Providers who refuse to set up individual client accounts for you. Pooled client accounts or sweeping client money to an account beyond your oversight should ring alarm bells.

*Myth - I will lose control

As the business owner, you are the decision-maker, and this won’t change.

Companies who provide outsourced services should be able to deliver a virtually seamless transition and a consistent level of service. They should also offer genuine transparency where your information is always available to you.

At The Letting Partnership, for example, our agents have 24-hour access to their Client Account.

*Myth - The outsourcer won’t be able to work with my systems

Whilst there can be issues with legacy systems and integrating software, if in doubt all you need to do is ask.

letting agents should expect an outsourcing partner providing client accounting services, to be able to work with all major software providers.

There should not be any need to buy a new piece of software to work with your provider.

Agents who adapt to utilise their team’s strengths stand the best chance of not only surviving but thriving in the current market conditions.

* Gill Waller is the Marketing and Development Manager for The Letting Partnership.