The biggest hesitation with accounts payable outsourcing isn't quality — it's control. Handing the payables process to someone offshore raises a fair question: what stops money going out wrongly? The answer is proper segregation of duties. Done right, you outsource all the work and keep all the control.
The golden rule: preparation offshore, authorisation in the UK
Your offshore AP assistant prepares everything — logs invoices, codes them, matches POs, reconciles statements and assembles the payment run. They do not release payments. Authorisation and the actual release stay with your UK team. The person doing the work is never the person approving the money.
Supplier bank-detail changes
A common fraud vector is a fake “change of bank details” request. The rule: bank-detail changes are verified by your UK team through a known contact, never actioned by the offshore assistant on an emailed request alone. Build this into the process explicitly.
Approval workflows
Use your accounting system's approval workflow so every payment has a documented UK approver. The offshore assistant queues invoices for approval; an authorised UK person approves; only then is payment made. The audit trail is automatic.
Access controls
Grant the assistant the access they need to prepare — and no more. They can enter and process; they cannot approve or release. Least-privilege access enforces the segregation in the system itself, not just on paper.
The result
You get the full cost saving and time back of outsourced AP — invoice processing, query handling, reconciliations, payment-run prep — while every actual payment decision stays with your UK team, properly authorised and audited. Control isn't compromised; it's designed in.
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