Offshore accounting means a team in another country does part of your firm's accounting work — bookkeeping, reconciliations, month-end close, management reports, tax-preparation workpapers — inside your systems, while your firm keeps the client relationship, the review and the sign-off. This guide explains how it works with Bebaak, a Chartered-Accountant-led team in New Delhi, India.
Who it suits — and who it doesn't
- It suits firms with recurring, process-driven work (monthly bookkeeping, reconciliations, close) and seasonal peaks.
- It suits firms that can document their process and give named, controlled access to their software.
- It does not suit work your client contracts or regulators require to stay onshore, or engagements where the provider must sign returns or audit opinions.
The engagement models
- Financial Bottleneck Audit — US$499 one-time, 7 days: we review your close, reconciliations and backlog (or complete one trial client file) and give you a written plan.
- Shared pod — US$2,500/month for up to 15 active client files, then US$150 per additional file.
- Dedicated accountant — US$1,400–1,800/month for a named full-time accountant working only on your files.
- Senior accountant / FP&A — US$2,200–2,800/month for close ownership, reviews, budgets and forecasts.
- Fractional CFO / transaction support — US$40–60/hour.
Engagements are billed monthly in advance. No model is unlimited work for a flat fee.
Access and security
We sign an NDA and a data-processing agreement before any access. Each team member gets a named, least-privilege user in your software (QuickBooks Online, Xero, NetSuite, Sage, Zoho Books, MYOB). Where you require it we work through your VPN or remote desktop. Access is removed the day an engagement ends. We don't claim SOC 2 or ISO certification; the controls we actually operate are written into the proposal.
Review and quality
Every piece of work goes through two levels inside Bebaak — the preparer and a Chartered Accountant reviewer — before it comes back to you with a query log. Your firm then performs its own review and signs off. Regulated sign-offs and filings always stay with your licensed professionals.
Time zones
India is 9½–10½ hours ahead of US Eastern, 4½–5½ hours ahead of the UK, 1½ hours ahead of the UAE, and 2½–7½ hours behind Australia and New Zealand. With the US, an extended evening shift overlaps your morning and work handed over at your end of day is usually back by the next morning. With the UK, Australia and the UAE there are several hours of shared working time each day.
Tax season
Shared pods scale by client file. Add files before your peak (for example the US March and April deadlines or the UK 31 January Self Assessment deadline) and step back down afterwards.
Getting started
- A 20-minute scoping call.
- The US$499 audit or one trial file, delivered in 7 days.
- NDA, DPA and statement of work; access set up.
- A shared pod, moving to dedicated accountants as volume grows.
