Hire an accountant or outsource? The real cost in Spain

When an accountancy firm needs more accounting capacity, the right comparison is not simply “an accountant’s salary vs outsourcing cost”. To determine which option is more cost-effective, you need to compare the true employer cost of hiring, the firm’s required involvement, the tasks to be delegated and the operational capacity recovered.

ContaFlow offers two options for External Accounting Analyst: 4 hours a day for €1,199 + VAT per month and 8 hours a day for €1,999 + VAT per month. This makes it possible to compare directly with the alternative of adding a new accountant to your payroll.

How much does it cost an accountancy firm to hire an accountant?

Gross salary is only one part of the employer cost. When budgeting for a new hire, you must include employer contributions and, where they are genuinely incremental, other costs arising from the role.

Employer contributions

For a standard permanent contract, the main employer contributions include:

This percentage must be supplemented by the workplace accident and occupational disease premium applicable to the activity and role.

Example with a gross salary of €24,000

This example does not claim that all accountants earn €24,000. Actual salary depends on the applicable collective agreement, experience, responsibilities, location and agreed conditions. Its purpose is to show how the calculation should be made.

Holidays should not be added twice to employment costs

A common mistake in outsourcing comparisons is to take the employee’s annual salary and then add another amount for “holiday costs”.

Holidays are paid, and the Workers’ Statute sets a minimum of 30 calendar days. However, their pay is already included in the agreed annual salary.

Therefore, holiday pay should not be added again as though it were a second salary cost.

The operational cost of covering the absence is a separate matter: if the firm needs to replace the employee, pay extra hours to another employee or absorb delays, that cover may create an incremental cost. However, it must be quantified on a case-by-case basis.

What other costs may arise when hiring?

In addition to salary and Social Security, other costs may arise, but not all should be assumed or added using generic amounts.

• Recruitment: there may be costs for job boards, recruiters or internal interview time.
• Onboarding: the team spends time explaining criteria, clients and procedures.
• Equipment: computer, screens and workstation, if they genuinely need to be purchased.
• Licences: should only be included if the hire requires additional licences.
• Training: depends on the firm’s policy and the profile hired.
• Absence cover: may generate organisational or financial costs.
• Staff turnover: a departure means restarting part of the recruitment and onboarding process.

How much does it cost to outsource an Accounting Analyst with ContaFlow?

ContaFlow publishes two prices for its Accounting Analyst service:

What the Accounting Analyst includes

• Daily posting and invoice management.
• Bank reconciliations.
• Payroll accounting entries.
• Posting accounting adjustments.
• Filing and documentation.
• Support with the accounting close.
• Audit support.

Accounting outsourcing and payroll services are separate areas. Payroll preparation, Social Security procedures and social insurance administration fall within the Employment Specialist service.

Real comparison: in-house accountant vs ContaFlow

Using the previous example of €24,000 gross per year, the basic comparison with the 8-hours-a-day option is as follows:

The direct difference in this example is €7,368 per year before adding the professional contingency premium and before considering other genuinely incremental hiring costs.

As a percentage, this difference represents approximately 23.5% of the in-house cost considered in the example. If the salary required for the profile the firm needs is higher, or there are additional recruitment, equipment or cover costs, the difference may increase.

If the required salary is lower, applicable incentives exist or the company has a highly efficient internal structure, the difference may be smaller. That is why it is preferable to use a specific simulation rather than promise every firm the same percentage.

What if I only need 4 hours a day?

This is one of the key differences between hiring and outsourcing: an accountancy firm may need stable capacity, but not necessarily a new full-time role.

The 4-hours-a-day option costs €14,388 + VAT for twelve monthly payments.

It may make sense when:

• The in-house team needs to free up part of its working day from routine tasks.
• A specific client portfolio takes up too many hours of posting and reconciliation.
• Technical staff need to recover time for review and advisory work.
• You want to test an external back-office model before increasing the commitment.
• There is not enough workload to justify a new full-time position.

Which option offers greater productive capacity?

Cost is not the only variable. Availability and organisation must also be compared.

In-house employee

Adding an employee to the workforce offers direct integration into the firm’s culture and processes. It can be particularly valuable where physical presence, continuous team contact or a profile taking on highly specific responsibilities is needed.

In return, the company manages holidays, absences, training, supervision and any replacement.

Accounting outsourcing

Under a service contract, the provider organises its resources and the accountancy firm purchases operational capacity defined by the agreed scope.

This means the client firm does not have to carry out the employment process for the assigned professional, although it must still properly manage the provider, access, supervision and working criteria.

Outsourcing does not eliminate all risks

Outsourcing removes the firm’s direct employment relationship with the assigned professional, but it does not mean “zero risk”.

The company should review:

• Service provision agreement.
• Scope and responsibilities.
• Data protection and confidentiality.
• Software access permissions.
• Incident procedure.
• Service continuity.
• Supervision criteria.

The advantage is different: certain risks and staff management tasks become the provider’s organisational responsibility within the contractual relationship.

Do I need to change software?

At ContaFlow, we adapt to the different accounting software packages used by accountancy firms. This allows us to work on the firm’s infrastructure while it retains control over its data and processes.

Before implementation, the specific software, versions in use, required permissions and access method must be checked.

For firms working with several tools, it is advisable to identify from the outset which clients use each programme and how the workload will be allocated.

When it is better to hire an in-house accountant

Outsourcing does not have to be the best decision in every case.

An in-house profile may be preferable when:

• There is stable, sufficient workload throughout the full working day.
• A permanent physical presence is required.
• The role will have internal supervision or management responsibilities that the firm wants to retain within its structure.
• Knowledge of specific processes is difficult to transfer to a provider.
• Team culture and developing in-house talent are priorities.

When outsourcing usually makes more sense

Outsourcing can be particularly attractive when:

• The firm is growing faster than its internal capacity.
• It does not yet want to create another full-time position.
• It needs to replace operational capacity following a departure.
• In-house accountants spend too much time posting invoices.
• Accounting closes are delayed because preceding tasks are piling up.
• New client acquisition is limited by a lack of capacity.
• It wants to turn part of its fixed structure into a contracted service.

How to calculate profitability for your own firm

Step 1: define the profile you would actually hire

Do not use a generic salary average. Define the experience, hours and responsibilities of the role, and its actual gross salary.

Step 2: calculate the direct employment cost

Add salary and applicable employer contributions. For a standard permanent contract, the contributions considered above already represent 30.65% before the professional contingency premium.

Step 3: add only actual additional costs

Include recruitment, a computer, licences or training only if you will genuinely incur them.

Step 4: quantify the capacity you need

If you only need four hours a day of accounting work, comparing it with a full-time role may distort the decision.

Step 5: calculate the value of time freed up

If an in-house specialist stops spending 80 hours per month on posting and can use them to review closes, serve clients or grow the client base, that recovered time has economic value.

Step 6: compare quality and operational risk

Do not decide on price alone. Review who supervises the work, how issues are resolved and the level of control your firm requires.

The mistake of comparing outsourcing with net salary

If an accountant receives €1,500 net per month, that does not mean they cost the firm €1,500.

The company pays a gross salary and employer contributions. Therefore, an outsourcing fee must be compared against the total employer cost, not the money that reaches the employee’s bank account.

Likewise, when analysing an outsourcing invoice, VAT and its tax treatment in the firm’s specific circumstances must be considered.

ContaFlow as an external accounting department

ContaFlow provides outsourced accounting and payroll services for accountancy firms and businesses. Its proposal allows day-to-day operations to be delegated while the firm retains the client relationship and professional supervision.

The Accounting Analyst service has two clear prices:

The decision between hiring and outsourcing should be based on real figures. For a firm that needs additional capacity but wishes to avoid an immediate new hire, knowing the cost of 4 or 8 hours a day in advance allows for a far more precise decision.