“Originally my involvement with the outsourced team was mainly sending work across and getting it completed. Now, I’m more involved in their workflow and capacity, and looking at where else they can help.”

“We set up a weekly catch-up, which helps us stay on top of everything, whether that’s workload or upcoming holidays. It makes planning much easier.”

“They’re always quick to respond on Teams. If something needs explaining, they’ll jump on a call straight away. That’s been really helpful, especially when something is urgent.”

Reliable, high-quality delivery

Over the past 12 months, the team has supported a wide range of tax compliance work, including drafting returns, handling queries and assisting with filing.

“The quality of work is very high. If there is something like an anomaly or a niche, they’re very good at having an attempt at it and then flagging it to one of us, which is always extremely helpful.”

This approach helps keep work moving while maintaining accuracy.

“There have been times when I’ve questioned a figure during a review, and they’ve been able to hop on a call and explain their logic behind it. Usually, it turns out to be clear and obvious after they’ve explained this.”

Taking ownership of the work

One of the biggest positives has been the way the team takes responsibility for what they are working on.

“With changes in our internal team, there have been times when work hasn’t had a clear owner. They’ve been proactive in flagging that and asking what the next step is.”

“It’s good to see them take ownership and want to see things through to the end.”

Support across the full process

The team now supports most stages of the compliance process.

“They’re involved with finalising and filing returns, as well as answering any queries. They’ve also helped with things like CIS work and drafting letters to HMRC.”

Their input has been useful across both simple and more detailed tasks.

“For some of the more complex letters, they’ll draft a solid starting point which we can then expand on. That saves us a lot of time.”

A useful solution during busy periods

The benefit of outsourcing is most noticeable during peak periods.

“During December and March, outsourcing makes a big difference. Without that support, the workload would be much heavier on the team.”

“It would probably mean longer hours and more pressure internally. We would likely need more staff to cover the work.”

Expanding the workload

As Lubbock Fine continues to grow, Jimmy sees an opportunity to further expand GI’s role, particularly into more technical areas.

“We’re starting to involve the outsourced team in more complex work and the next step is building their commercial awareness, helping them spot risks and think more commercially.”

“They’re very quick learners and highly engaged. They ask good questions, which shows they’re really listening and thinking about the work.”

A consistent and dependable service

Jimmy shared that the feedback across the team has been positive.

“I checked internally about how everyone feels about the support we get from GI and honestly, it was difficult to find any areas for improvement. Everyone’s very happy with the service.”

“We get approached about automation and other solutions, but we’re very comfortable with what we have. The service works and it works well.”