The offshore accountant vs in-house accountant decision usually starts with salary, but salary is only part of what an in-house hire costs. To compare fairly, you need the full cost of each option, how much work it actually covers and how much control you keep over the books.
Key takeaways
- An in-house accountant's cost includes salary plus benefits, payroll taxes, software, equipment, recruiting time and cover for holidays and turnover.
- An offshore accountant is usually billed as a fixed monthly fee or an hourly rate, which makes the cost predictable.
- Oakridge Global's plans run from $10 per hour to $1,500 per month for a full-time dedicated accountant working 160 hours.
- In-house staff are easier to pull into meetings and office tasks; an offshore team works best with clear processes and written handoffs.
- Many businesses keep a controller or finance lead in-house and move the day-to-day bookkeeping offshore.
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What are you comparing?
An in-house accountant is an employee on your payroll who works only for you. An offshore accountant works for an outside firm in another country, in this case India, and works on your books under a service agreement. Both can do the same core work: bookkeeping, reconciliations, payables, receivables and monthly reporting.
Working out the in-house cost
List every cost of the role, starting with salary:
- Salary and any bonus.
- Benefits such as health insurance and retirement contributions.
- Employer payroll taxes.
- Software licenses, a computer and office space or a remote work allowance.
- Recruiting costs and the time your team spends interviewing and training.
- Cover when the person is on leave, and the cost of rehiring if they leave.
Add these up for a year and divide by twelve. That monthly figure is what you compare against an offshore fee.
What the offshore cost looks like
Oakridge Global publishes its pricing, billed in USD:
- Hourly at $10 per hour, for occasional or project work.
- Bronze at $600 per month for 60 hours.
- Silver at $1,000 per month for 100 hours.
- Gold at $1,500 per month for 160 hours, a full-time dedicated accountant.
You still pay for your own accounting software, and someone on your side needs time to answer questions and approve payments. Our post on choosing between hourly and monthly plans explains how to estimate the hours you need.
Send us your monthly transaction volume and we'll suggest a plan
Beyond cost: coverage and control
Cost is easier to compare than coverage. An in-house accountant can walk over to a colleague's desk, while an offshore team relies on email, chat and scheduled calls. The time difference with India can also help: work you send at the end of your day can be done by the next morning, as our post on the time zone advantage explains.
On control, the books stay in your own systems either way. Our guide to offshore accounting for US businesses covers how responsibilities are usually split. See our accounting services for what each plan can cover.
A worked comparison you can fill in
Put both options side by side in a simple table with these rows, and fill in your own figures:
- Annual salary for the in-house role you would hire.
- Benefits, payroll taxes and any bonus, using your payroll provider's estimate.
- Equipment, software seats and office or remote work costs.
- Recruiting: agency fees or the hours your team spends hiring and training.
- Cover for leave and turnover, such as temporary staff or overtime.
- The monthly offshore fee for the hours you need, multiplied by twelve.
- Time your own team spends managing either option, such as approvals and check-ins.
Rows 1 to 5 give the in-house total. Row 6 gives the offshore total, and row 7 applies to both. The comparison usually becomes clear once the hidden in-house costs are written down.
When in-house is the better choice
An offshore team isn't the right fit for every business. If the role is mostly in-person work, such as handling cash, managing a warehouse count or sitting in daily operations meetings, a local hire may make more sense. The same applies if your processes change every week and nobody has time to write anything down. In those cases a hybrid works well: a local finance lead for decisions and on-site work, with the routine bookkeeping offshore.
Frequently asked questions
Is an offshore accountant cheaper than an in-house accountant?
For most US businesses the offshore option costs less once you count benefits, taxes, software and recruiting. Compare your full annual in-house cost divided by twelve against the monthly fee for the hours you need.
Can an offshore accountant replace my in-house accountant completely?
It can for bookkeeping, reconciliations, payables, receivables and reporting. Many businesses still keep one person in-house to approve payments and make financial decisions.
What does a full-time dedicated offshore accountant cost at Oakridge Global?
Our Gold plan is $1,500 per month for 160 hours, which gives you a full-time accountant dedicated to your business.
Can I start with a smaller offshore plan and grow?
Yes. Many businesses start with an hourly arrangement or a smaller monthly plan for core bookkeeping, then add payables, receivables or reporting once the routine is working.
Compare your options with Oakridge Global
We'll look at your workload and tell you honestly whether an offshore plan makes sense for you. Schedule a consultation with Oakridge Global to get a recommendation.