My utility auditing business has grown to the point where I'm consistently backlogged 4-6 weeks on new audits. I'm trying to decide whether to hire another auditor or start outsourcing some of the simpler residential and small commercial audits. For those who have scaled up, what approach worked better? Hiring means training time and overhead, but outsourcing means less control over quality and client relationships. Currently handling about 35-40 audits per month with average fees of $850 per audit.
Scaling up - when to hire additional auditors vs outsource?
Congrats on the growth! I faced the same decision two years ago. I went the hiring route and brought on an experienced auditor from another firm. The training time was about 3 months to get them fully productive, but now I have better quality control and client continuity. With your volume, you could probably support a full-time auditor (35-40 audits × $850 = $29,750/month gross). Budget about $4,500/month total compensation for someone with 2-3 years experience. The key is finding someone who already knows utility billing - don't try to train someone from scratch.
I've done both approaches and personally prefer outsourcing for the smaller, simpler audits. Find 2-3 reliable independent auditors who can handle residential and basic commercial work. You maintain the client relationship and do the final review, but they handle the detailed analysis. This lets you focus on the larger, more complex commercial and industrial accounts where your expertise adds the most value. Plus you avoid the overhead and can scale up or down based on demand fluctuations.