What are offshore accounting services?
Offshore accounting services means a team outside the UK does your recurring accounting work inside your own software. EarthOne does this from India for UK accounting firms and businesses: bookkeeping, VAT returns, payroll, year-end accounts and management accounts, prepared by qualified Indian Chartered Accountants and reviewed by a second CA. Rates run from £10.50 to £16.50 an hour, with no 12-month contract.
What moves offshore, and what stays with you
Offshore support works best on production work that follows a clear process. Judgement, advice and client relationships stay with your own team.
| Moves to the offshore team | Stays with you |
|---|---|
| Bookkeeping, bank and balance sheet reconciliations | Client conversations and advice |
| VAT return preparation and MTD submission on your instruction | Final review and sign-off |
| Payroll processing, RTI and auto-enrolment | Decisions on judgement areas and estimates |
| Year-end accounts and CT600 computations to draft | Engagement, fees and client relationships |
| Management accounts packs | Anything you decide to keep in-house |
Services and rates
Each service has its own page with scope, process and FAQs:
- Bookkeeping: £12.50 an hour, or a dedicated bookkeeper from £750 a month
- VAT returns: £12.50 an hour, all schemes, MTD submission
- Payroll: from £3.00 a payslip
- Year-end accounts: £16.50 an hour, FRS 102, 102 1A and 105
- Management accounts: £16.50 an hour
- Self-assessment: £16.50 an hour
- Company secretarial and accounts receivable and payable: £10.50 an hour
What offshore accounting costs
Offshore accounting for UK firms typically costs £8 to £25 an hour, against £30 to £90 an hour for UK-based accountants, according to QX Accounting’s 2026 cost guide. EarthOne’s published rates sit inside that range:
| Work | Rate | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Admin, company secretarial, AR and AP | £10.50 an hour | Confirmation statements, registers, invoice processing, payment runs, credit control |
| Bookkeeping and VAT | £12.50 an hour | Transaction coding, reconciliations, ledgers, VAT returns with MTD submission |
| Accounting and year-end | £16.50 an hour | Statutory accounts, CT600 computations, working papers, management accounts, self-assessment |
| Payroll | from £3.00 a payslip | Weekly to monthly payroll, RTI, payslips, P60s, P11Ds, auto-enrolment, CIS |
| Dedicated bookkeeper | £750 a month (80 hours) or £1,200 (160 hours) | The same person every week, on your files only |
| Dedicated senior accountant | £850 a month (80 hours) or £1,450 (160 hours) | Accounts production and review-ready files |
No onboarding fee, no 12-month contract, one month’s notice. Worked monthly examples are in our 2026 cost guide.
How it works
You send us the scope.
The work, the volume and the software. We tell you which pricing model fits and what it would cost.
We sign the Data Processing Agreement.
A UK GDPR Data Processing Agreement is signed before any file moves.
A named CA starts inside your software.
Most firms start with bookkeeping for the first four to six weeks, on your templates and chart of accounts.
A second qualified CA reviews every file.
Weekly timesheets show what was done, the time spent and who did it.
You review and sign off.
Nothing goes to HMRC or Companies House without your instruction.
The time difference, and what it means for turnaround
India is 4.5 to 5.5 hours ahead of the UK, depending on British Summer Time. Your offshore team is well into its working day before UK offices open, and most routine work comes back within the same UK business day.
Data security and UK GDPR
Before any work starts we sign a UK GDPR Data Processing Agreement setting out what data is handled, for what purpose and how it is protected. We work inside your own software wherever possible, so client data stays in your systems. Where we hold data, access is role-based and transfer is encrypted. The ICO’s guidance on controller and processor contracts sets out what such an agreement must cover. More detail is in is offshore accounting outsourcing safe?
Who does the work
Every file is prepared by a qualified Indian Chartered Accountant, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), and reviewed by a second qualified CA. It is an Indian qualification, separate from the UK ACA and ACCA, and we don’t present it as one. The team works in UK GAAP, MTD and HMRC processes every day, in QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent and Capium, IRIS for accounts production and tax, BrightPay for payroll, and is fluent in Xero.
Is offshore accounting right for your firm?
It usually fits when you have steady production work, senior people doing compliance instead of advice, or clients you are turning away for lack of capacity. It usually doesn’t when the work is mostly client-facing, when a file must carry a UK qualification, or when the volume is too small to be worth a handover. Our comparison of hiring, UK outsourcing and offshore sets out when each is the right answer.
EarthOne is an outsourcing team in India, not a local UK accountancy practice: we prepare the work, and you or your accountant stay responsible for it. Practices can read how the white-label arrangement works on the For Accounting Firms page.
Talk to a qualified CA, not a sales team.
Tell us the work, the volume and your software. We reply with who would do it and what it would cost.
Send an enquiry