A Guide to Consolidating Your Company’s Administrative Services

Have you ever experienced that moment when growth more excites you? Rather than making you happy – more paperwork, more emails to reply and more invoices to approve – just stresses you now. The time that should be utilized by focusing on plans and goals is spent managing people who are here to manage your business. 

Here is some good news – If you consolidate your corporate services, you can reduce overwhelm and reclaim both your time and budget. It will simplify your business operations so that your business can recover. 

This guide will help you understand how consolidation works – what it really means for you to avoid it and how to achieve it without shaking up what already works well. 

What You’ll Learn:

• Why you should consolidate your company services
• Administrative expenses you don’t know you have
• Services you should be consolidating
• The easy way to consolidate your vendors

Why You Should Consolidate Your Company Services

Consolidating corporate services means placing your administrative functions under one provider.

Instead of working with separate vendors for company formation, compliance services, accounting, payroll, and HR… You partner with a company that offers a solution for corporate services that can do it all. This allows you to have better control while eliminating unnecessary complexity.

Imagine running your business with less hustle and bustle.

In today’s business world, companies face countless administrative tasks. Annual filings, company secretarial work, payroll services, accounting, HR, and the list goes on. Each of these services typically require separate vendors, agreements, invoices, and account managers.

It’s ridiculous how fast that adds up.

Businesses are starting to figure this out. According to CIO research, almost all surveyed (95%) plan to consolidate vendors in the next year. They’re recognising that fragmented services only lead to fragmented outcomes. But company leaders are learning that it’s not just about improving processes…

Maintaining separate vendors for every administrative task literally threatens your business’ survival.

Administrative Expenses You Didn’t Know You Had

Do you know how much administrative services are really costing you?

(I’m not talking about monthly invoices. I’m talking about hidden inefficiencies you haven’t even accounted for.)

Allow me to shine a light on a few:

Routine time wasters

Any time your team has to coordinate with another vendor, you lose time. Requesting documents, comparing files, and communicating back and forth sucks away precious hours.

Duplicated efforts

When you don’t have complete visibility, vendors often duplicate work across providers. You’re charged for it.. But you don’t even know it’s happening.

Missed compliance

Scattered service providers mean critical details slip through the cracks. Your business may suffer if someone forgets.

Communication breakdown

Ever used a telephone as a kid? Now imagine how informed everyone is at the end of that game. When you have too many service providers, keeping everyone informed is a nightmare.

Information from Forbes found that the average business waste about one-third of their spending on outside services. If you’re a normal business spending money on administration.. You’re throwing away money.

I know that stinks!

And the painful thing is, the more vendors you have, the more you waste. Operating in multiple locations? That means even more vendors.

Services You Should Be Consolidating

Okay, so NOW what?

You know your services need to be consolidated. But where do you begin?

Here are the core services you should look to combine:

Company Services

We mentioned this one already, but it’s important. Yearly filings, company registers, administration work. These are the basics of your business that allow you to operate. If your vendor can’t handle these tasks at a high level, walk away.

Corporate Governance Services

Every successful business these days needs to have strong corporate governance. How your company meets its goals, keeps it’s money safe, and stays compliant. These services will vary by provider but look for a partner who can cover all your needs.

Accounting Services

Bookkeeping. Financial statements. Account reconciliations. Accounting services eat up a lot of your time. By consolidating this with other services, you eliminate doubled efforts and free up time.

Payroll/HR Services

Similarly, your employees require a lot of moving pieces. Payroll. Benefits administration. Maintaining employee files. Contractors. While providers separate from your accounting team can help, it’s best these guys talk to each other.

Regulatory Compliance Services

Every industry has rules and regulations you need to follow. Depending on where you do business, these can change quite frequently. By having one team managing your compliance, you ensure everyone is on the same page.

How to Consolidate Your Vendors

So how do you combine all of these services under one provider? Here’s the secret…

Don’t think of it as consolidating. Think of it as scaling.

Scale is the name of the game with administration. You need to find a provider that is geared towards handling multiple companies (often through a software platform), but won’t you charge an arm and a leg to do it.

Keeping this as a first thought let’s understand how you start consolidating your vendors.

Step 1: Know What You Have

It’s like cleaning home. Go through and document EVERY administrative vendor your business works with.

Some common ones we mentioned above. Maybe you outsource bookkeeping or have a dedicated payroll service. Write them all down.

Step 2: Look For Duplicate Services

As you’re going through your current vendors, highlight any services that overlap.

Also, be sure to mark any services you don’t have. You never know until you assess your current situation.

Step 3: Evaluate Providers

Once you’re aware about consolidation – it’s time to find the right provider.

Remember how I said not to think of consolidation as just putting everything under 1 provider. Well think of this step as auditing your current vendors.

How long have they worked with your company? Do they specialise in your industry? All good questions to help you evaluate who you should and shouldn’t work with long-term.

Ask each vendor the following:

• Do they offer all the services you need?
• Are their technology stack compatible with your existing systems?
• How scalable are they?
• How will they make your life easier?
• I also like to ask what qualities they look for in a client. That helps me determine how they’ll treat me.

Step 4: Create A Plan

Once you are aware of what you want to hold – it’s the right time to create a plan.

Not just for reducing vendors overnight. Ensure you have a plan to move any files, documents, employees over.

Managing a lot at once could do more harm than good.

I like to phase things in and out.

Introducing new updates eventually reduces the chaos and increases productivity. Your new vendor should have the spirit to create new plans and execute them with more power.

Why Consolidating Your Services is Worth it

Once you consolidate your vendors, you’ll start to see various benefits – 

Here are the most common ones:

• Cost Savings – Plan how to reduce expenses. When you reduce vendors, you not only save on monthly costs, but you gain negotiating power. Use that to your advantage.
• Time – Did you know hiring and firing vendors takes up A TON of your time? Imagine you could utilize that extra time.
• Peace of Mind: Having one team to maintain organization helps reduce the chances of forgetting tasks.
• Consistency – When everyone is talking to the same people, nobody gets left out of the loop.
• Great Recordkeeping – A huge bonus of having one vendor is your admin will already be digital. That makes it easier to create reports and stay organised.

Wrapping Up

Remember how I told you consolidating vendors was about scaling your business? As administration chaos isn’t fixed by its own. The more you operate with a wide range of vendors and disconnected services, the more time along with money you lose without realizing it. Combining all provides you clarity and control – required by every other company. When your admin functions as a united system rather than in pieces – making decisions becomes easier and future plans get realistic. 

‘Consolidation is not just a regular cleanup – it’s a smarter way to run your business long term’.