Working remotely used to be a perk.

Now it’s the norm, and a great business strategy, if executed correctly.

And when it comes specifically to your finance function, going remote could be the smartest move you haven’t yet taken.

At RedBrick, we’ve worked with dozens of UK service-based businesses who’ve swapped internal hires or ad-hoc freelancers for a dedicated remote finance team.

Why did they do it?  

• Lower cost
• More control
• Greater predictability
• Better information
• Less stress

This isn’t about the cheapest solution possible, as we all know the adage “pay peanuts, get monkeys”.

Nor is it about systemising everything, getting ‘cookie cutter’ deliverables, or eliminating human contact.

It’s about getting the right people doing the right jobs, at the right time, without being tied to your postcode.

The remote working trend is global. It’s predicted to hit 1 billion remote workers by 2030, and if you rule out remote work, you’re limiting the pool of talent and potential results your business has access to.

This reduces your competitive advantage and ability to compete against other businesses in the market.

If you are local, and your competitors are global, they have access to more. They have the quantity. So unless you have the quality, or specific niche or local relationships, you lose out.

Let’s take a closer look at why so many growing businesses are turning to remote finance teams, and whether it might be the right move for your business too.

What is a Remote Finance Team?

A remote finance team is a group of qualified, experienced, finance professionals who can work from anywhere, in any timezone, supporting your business’s day-to-day financial operations, planning, compliance, and reporting.

Think of it like a plug-and-play finance department, without the overheads or hiring headaches. Managing, training, and retaining a team can take up an awful lot of time and effort, if not done correctly.

Sometimes it’s just easier to leave that part to someone else, who knows the skills to hire for, and already has a well established accounting training system in place.

Depending on your business needs, a remote finance team might include:

• A bookkeeper to keep your records clean and up to date
• A finance assistant to manage invoicing and payments, talk to clients, and follow up on debts
• A payroll specialist to keep your team paid and compliant, and handle their questions and queries
• A management accountant to prepare insightful monthly reports and do the analysis you don’t have time to do
• A fractional CFO to help guide strategic decisions and give a different specialist angle you might not have had exposure to

Some businesses need the full team. Others start small.

The point is: it flexes with you.

It flexes in line with your business needs and growth (or scale down).

That is one of the most attractive parts, which isn’t always possible with a full time hire. You might need to scale back, and they might need a full time income.

You might need more than they can give, but not have the resources for another full time equivalent (FTE).

The Five Core Benefits of a Remote Finance Team

Here’s where it gets interesting. The benefits go far beyond saving office space (although that is another benefit and cost saving!).

In fact, for many of our clients, going remote has improved the quality, consistency, and commercial value of their financial operations.

Here are five of the biggest upsides:

1. You Get the Right Skills Without Hiring Full-Time

Hiring an in-house finance team is expensive and risky.

• You might not need someone full-time.
• You might not be sure what level of expertise you need.
• You might just be hoping that the person you hire knows more than you do.
• You might not be in a position to deal with the statutory obligations that come with full time employees.

With a remote team, focused on deliverables, you get fractional access to specialists, meaning you only pay for what you use, and what you get.

2. Your Finance Function Becomes a Transparent, Predictable Machine (Not some mysterious dark art!)

One of the most frustrating things we hear from clients is:

“I don’t know what’s going on with my numbers.”

Or worse: “I found out too late.”

Remote finance teams run on processes, as well as relationships and face time.

Contracted deliverables beyond just time and getting along well. We help clients move from blind trust and patchy communication, to a structured, secure, semi-automated, but fully predictable system.

Deadlines are met. Reports are delivered. And you can finally feel in control, and rest easier.

3. It’s Often Cheaper & More Verifiable Than Building a Team In-House

Between recruitment fees, salaries, software, pensions, training, equipment and office space, running an internal finance team adds up. Not to mention patchy and inconsistent performance.

And if someone leaves, you’re back to square one. However, with a remote team, your service stays consistent, without interruption, even if a team member decides to move on.

A remote setup simplifies so many business annoyances, all at once. You get continuity, scalability, and savings, with one fixed, predictable monthly cost that’s easy to budget for.

At RedBrick, alongside fixed packages, we also offer fully flexible time based packages, and use TimeDoctor to independently verify the hours we work, with screenshots every 3 mins to support everything we do.

We also use this internally to monitor our performance and keep our standards high, both for our clients, ourselves, and our values & principles.

4. You’re No Longer Tied to Local Talent Pools

Some of the best finance people don’t live near you. And they don’t need to.

Remote teams open up access to a wider talent pool, people who are experts in your industry or stage of growth, without having to consider physical geography. That means better advice, better processes, and a team that’s actually done this before.

“Digital nomadism” is also a growing trend, and refers to workers who are location independent, travel the globe with just a bag and laptop, and can work from anywhere on the planet.

And with satellite broadband and Starlink becoming more mainstream, anywhere can literally mean anywhere!

If you’ve done any research on organisational psychology, and how to motivate teams, autonomy ranks very highly. This means some of the best workers, and those with the greatest innovation, initiative, and ideas, are often the most “free”.

Some of the best talent available to your business today, are digital nomads working remotely. So if you’re still reluctant about remote workers, you’re losing out to your competition.

5. It Gives You Breathing Space to Focus on Growth

When your finance function works, you feel it.

• Cashflow stabilises
• You see problems before they happen
• Decisions get easier and faster
• You start sleeping better

And when you don’t feel it, you’re spending your evenings figuring things out yourself! The last thing you feel like doing. Chasing receipts, fiddling with bookkeeping, or second-guessing VAT returns.

It really can be better.

Having a dependable team handling the numbers gives you space to think clearly. And space is what most business owners are really craving. Focused time to think, relieve the brain fog, and see clearly what needs to happen, outside of the noise.

Is a Remote Finance Team Right for Every Business?

No, not always. And we should be honest about that.

If your business is in a highly regulated industry where physical presence is required, or you’ve already got an exceptional internal finance team with capacity, you may not need remote support.

Same for if you’re a seasoned entrepreneur and have grown internal teams several times before, and that’s your strategy and strength.

But for most service-based SMEs, especially those between £100K–£10M revenue, going remote is a game-changer when:

• You’ve outgrown your current bookkeeper, but aren’t ready for a full finance team
• Your accounts are always late, messy, or unclear
• You’re scaling fast and need a setup that can grow with you
• You want better financial insights without the cost of a full-time FD
• You’ve had a few financial ‘near-misses’ and want to feel safe, not sorry
• You’re getting too many HMRC letters or penalties, and need to get a handle on things

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s worth exploring remote finance teams.

What Does Working With a Remote Finance Team Actually Look Like?

One of the biggest misconceptions is that remote = disconnected. But when done well, it’s often the opposite.

Here’s how we work with clients at RedBrick:

1. We meet you where you are. Whether you’re switching from a spreadsheet or scaling from a solo accountant, we start with a discovery process to understand what’s working and what’s not.
2. We build your team. Based on your business size and goals, we plug in the right level of support, from bookkeeping and payroll, to forecasting and strategic advice.
3. We integrate with your systems. That might mean setting up cloud accounting tools, improving document workflows, or automating parts of your finance process.
4. We communicate, and are accountable. We document everything. We respond to every email. No disappearing acts. Just clear updates, timely reporting, and regular check ins to keep things on track. We also put all of our clients in a WhatsApp Group with the team, so we’re always attuned to your needs.

The goal? To become the best home for your business finances, no matter where your business is physically based.

How It Feels to Have the Right Support Behind You

Here’s what our clients often say after three months of working with us:

• “I finally feel like my business is buttoned up”
• “We actually have time to plan ahead now.”
• “I don’t worry about  year-end filings anymore, knowing RedBrick are taking care of it”
• “I’ve got more time for my team and customers.”

That’s the stuff you can’t always measure in a spreadsheet. But it’s often what makes the biggest difference. Both for our clients, and for us.

Don’t Hire in a Rush. Build on Solid Foundations. With Purpose. One Brick at a Time.

The worst time to hire is when you’re already behind on everything, and don’t have time to select the correct fit.

If your current setup feels reactive, stressful, or uncertain, don’t rush or make the wrong decision, as that can lead to disaster.

Building the right finance team, whether remote or in-house, is one of the highest-leverage decisions you can make as a business owner. It gives you information, confidence, and control.

And if after reading this, remote feels like the right option for you? Let’s talk at hello@redbrickaccounting.com