Best back-office outsourcing companies for small businesses (2026)

The best back-office outsourcing company for a small business is the one whose model fits the work: an outsourcing firm for steady, documented processes, a remote assistant if you want a person to direct, or a managed service if you want the work done and checked without managing anyone. This list covers 11 real options for US small and mid-sized businesses in 2026 for accounts payable, data entry, order entry and office admin.

Dull publishes this list. We've included ourselves, and we've tried to describe everyone fairly, including when another option is a better fit. Nobody paid to be included, and there are no rankings or scores.

How we chose

• They serve US small and mid-sized businesses and describe back-office work (AP, data entry, order processing or admin) on their own website.
• Their service is publicly documented. Every description comes from the provider's own website, read on November 12, 2026, and links to it.
• We only list prices a provider publishes itself. Otherwise we say "pricing on request".
• We haven't been a customer of these providers. Use this as a shortlist, then ask each one the questions in "How to choose".

Within each group, providers are listed alphabetically.

The options at a glance

Outsourcing firms (BPO)

Business process outsourcing firms run a defined process with their own team. They're strongest when the work is steady, high in volume and well documented.

ARDEM

ARDEM offers business process outsourcing and managed operations, including data entry and processing, accounts payable and receivable, and finance and accounting. It describes workflow management, quality review and exception handling, with automation run inside clients' systems, and says it has supported business operations since 2004. Pricing: on request. Best for: high-volume data entry and AP processing.

Cogneesol

Cogneesol provides finance and accounting outsourcing, including procure-to-pay (the closest match to AP), order-to-cash and record-to-report. It lists offices in the USA, Canada, India, Australia and the UK, and highlights residential real estate, insurance and pharma clients. Pricing: on request. Best for: procure-to-pay work in its focus industries.

Invensis

Invensis lists data entry and data processing, including invoice and product data entry, plus order management and finance and accounting services such as accounts payable, bookkeeping and payroll. It lists an office in Lewisville, Texas. Pricing: on request. Best for: covering data entry, AP and order processing with one firm.

Remote staff and virtual assistant firms

These firms give you a person who works in your tools and takes direction from you. You get flexibility, but you still train, manage and check their work, and cover holidays and turnover.

Near

Near recruits remote professionals in Latin America for US businesses, including finance and accounting roles. Hires are full-time, with either a one-time placement fee or a monthly fee covering payroll and compliance. Pricing: no figures published; "Free to interview. Only pay if you hire." Best for: hiring a full-time remote person without hiring locally.

Prialto

Prialto offers managed virtual assistants who are full-time Prialto employees, background-checked and trained for four weeks before starting, for executive, sales and operations support. It lists Portland, Oregon as its address. Pricing: see Prialto's pricing page. Best for: executive and operations support with a managed assistant.

Stealth Agents

Stealth Agents provides remote virtual data entry assistants as an alternative to hiring a full-time clerk, and also offers AR, AP and admin assistants. It lists an office in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Pricing: "Starting at $1,600 a month for full-time, dedicated support" (as listed November 12, 2026). Best for: a dedicated full-time assistant you direct.

Time Etc

Time Etc provides US-based virtual assistants, matched to each client, for entrepreneurs and business owners. Pricing: $390 a month for 10 hours, $760 for 20 hours, $1,480 for 40 hours and $2,160 for 60 hours (as listed November 12, 2026). Best for: part-time admin help when you don't need a full-time person.

Wishup

Wishup describes itself as a remote outsourcing platform supplying virtual assistants and bookkeepers for tasks such as inbox and calendar management and bookkeeping. Assistant profiles on its site carry Indian flags and US time-zone tags, and it lists a US office in Dover, Delaware. Pricing: no rates published on its homepage. Best for: general admin with bookkeeping help.

Done-for-you managed services

A managed service takes responsibility for the work, not just a seat. You agree what gets done and the rules, and the provider does the work and checks it.

Dull

Dull takes over repetitive back-office work in your own tools: supplier invoices entered as bills for you to approve and pay, orders keyed from emails and PDFs, forms and records entered and kept current, and inbox and data cleanup. AI does the routine records and a person reviews every exception, so nothing is guessed. It's month to month and usually live in about a week. Pricing: a flat monthly fee, quoted on a 15-minute call. Best for: covering an AP, data entry or order entry seat without hiring or managing someone. Not the best fit if: you want a person who joins your calls and meetings, need payments made for you, or need payroll, tax or licensed work. Dull is new: its one customer story so far is CleanSL8.

Supporting Strategies

Supporting Strategies provides outsourced bookkeeping and back-office services, including accounts payable with approval workflows, invoicing, AR and collections, and payroll administration. Its team is US-based with local offices, and it notes it isn't a CPA firm. Pricing: on request. Best for: a US-based bookkeeping partner that also runs AP.

Finance-expert marketplace

Paro

Paro matches businesses with finance experts and firms for bookkeeping, fractional CFO work, FP&A, and tax and compliance. It's based in Chicago. Pricing: on request after a consultation. Best for: when what you need is a bookkeeper or controller rather than data entry.

How to choose

1. Write down the work. Which documents come in, which system they go into, and roughly how many a month. Any provider can quote better with that list.
2. Decide who's responsible. A person you manage (virtual assistant), a team accountable for the result (managed service or BPO), or a recruiter who finds you a hire.
3. Ask who checks the work and what happens to a document that doesn't fit the rules.
4. Keep money decisions with you. Ask how bills get approved and who can move money. The safest setups never let the provider pay anything.
5. Check contract terms and access. Monthly or annual, notice period, which logins they need and how access is removed. Our security page shows how we answer those questions.

For role-by-role costs and options, see alternatives to hiring a back-office role, or compare hiring, temps, VAs and outsourcing side by side.

Frequently asked questions

What back-office work can a small business outsource?

Most repetitive, rules-based work: accounts payable entry, data entry, order entry from emails and PDFs, customer and vendor setup, records cleanup and inbox or calendar admin. Approval decisions, payments and anything that needs a licence usually stay with you.

Is it cheaper to outsource back-office work than to hire?

Often, but compare like with like. A full-time hire costs salary plus benefits and taxes, and takes time to recruit and train. Outsourcing options range from hourly virtual assistants to fixed monthly services. We only list prices that providers publish themselves.

What's the difference between a virtual assistant and a managed service?

A virtual assistant is a person you direct and check. A managed service takes responsibility for the work itself: you agree the rules, and the provider does the work and checks it before it reaches you.

Why is Dull on this list if Dull wrote it?

Because Dull offers back-office outsourcing and leaving it out would be odd. We've said so at the top, listed Dull within its group rather than first, and said where other options are a better fit.

Can an outsourced team pay my bills?

Policies differ by provider. Dull enters bills for you to approve and pay, and never moves money. If you want a provider to make payments, ask exactly what controls and approvals they use.