In the context of an increasingly competitive business environment, many foreign-invested enterprises (FDI) have chosen the back office outsourcing solution as a strategy to streamline the apparatus, save costs, and improve legal compliance. Unlike standardized business lines such as accounting or tax declaration, administrative support services do not have a single fixed model that applies to all companies. Instead, the scope of work is designed flexibly based on the scale, industry characteristics, and actual management capacity of each company.
However, the challenge that many foreign managers face when cooperating with service providers is how to divide responsibilities clearly and scientifically. A transparent assignment plan will help limit situations of shifting responsibility, avoid overlapping work, and prevent the risk of missing important compliance obligations.
1. Back Office Packages FDI Companies Commonly Use (from basic to full)
Depending on the development stage and the readiness level of internal personnel, FDI companies in Vietnam usually choose one of the following three levels of back office outsourcing Vietnam service packages:
- Basic Package (Administration & Documents): Focuses on freeing the company from daily paperwork tasks. The service provider is responsible for collecting, classifying, checking the validity of, and arranging invoices; initiating payment orders on electronic banking pending approval; receiving, classifying,
- Sửa: Basic Package (Administration & Documents): Focuses on freeing the enterprise from daily paperwork tasks. The service provider is responsible for collecting, classifying, checking the validity of, and arranging invoices; initiating payment orders on electronic banking in pending approval status; receiving, classifying, and sending letters/postal items; performing digitization (scan), storage, and translation of operational documents when requested. Supports review and monitoring of contracts (sales, purchasing…) and supports purchase of office supplies.
- Intermediate Package (Adding Corporate Secretary): Includes all work of the basic package, additionally supplements invoice issuance, management of internal legal files, and arrangement of working schedules for the Board of Directors. Drafts meeting minutes and resolutions of the Members’ Council/Board of Directors; initiates and updates the register of members/shareholders.
- Full Package (Comprehensive Compliance & Operations): Includes all items of the basic and intermediate packages, while expanding into specialized legal compliance. The advisory firm proactively prepares and submits periodic reports as required; represents the company in working directly with the Department of Finance and the Management Board of Industrial Zones/Export Processing Zones; closely monitors the compliance schedule to notify the company in advance; and at the same time coordinates closely with the accounting and payroll departments to ensure smooth operational work flow.
Normally, internal administrative tasks are handled by 1–2 personnel depending on the company scale. Choosing the back office outsourcing solution helps the enterprise save fixed costs such as insurance, benefits, and workspace, while maintaining continuous operations without worrying about interruptions when personnel resign.
2. What You Can Outsource but Must Still Control
A core principle when using outsourced back office services is to clearly separate between “execution tasks” that are authorized and the “control rights” that must be retained internally:
- Tasks that can be transferred to the service provider: Drafting internal documents, collecting and cross-checking documents, initiating payment orders on electronic banking, monitoring compliance deadlines, and drafting and submitting periodic operational reports under authorization.
- Rights that the company must directly control: Making strategic business decisions; approving resolutions of the Members’ Council or Board of Directors; performing the final approval and money transfer action (Approver) on the internet banking system; directly managing the legal entity seal and keeping the digital signature (or only authorizing use under a strict control mechanism); directly signing and affixing the seal on official documents and reports sent to state authorities.
- Legal responsibility and authority: The company is always the ultimate bearer of legal responsibility under Vietnamese law. The back office service provider operates purely under the name of the supporting party, accurately performing the tasks within the scope of the service contract and the signed authorization documents.
- System access rights configuration: The company only grants the service provider view-only rights and the right to create transfer orders (Maker – without approval rights) on the internet banking system; assigns appropriate rights on the electronic invoice system; and simultaneously revokes all these access rights immediately when the service contract terminates.
EXPLORE VINA TPT’S BACK OFFICE SERVICES
3. How to Coordinate Effectively With the Outsourced Provider
For the cooperation to be effective and free of errors, the company needs to establish a standardized and transparent coordination process from the very first day:
Approval Process and Responsibility Matrix
The service provider collects documents, checks their validity, and proceeds to create payment orders on the internet banking system with full attached supporting files. The Board of Directors or the company’s finance department rechecks the information, confirms accuracy, and performs the payment order approval. Both parties need to agree on a fixed schedule for creating and approving payment orders within the month to ensure proactivity.
Operating Rules and Data Security
The company and the service provider need to designate a single point of contact to handle information quickly. The contract needs to clearly stipulate the committed response time (SLA), the completion deadline for each type of task, and the schedule for sending progress reports. In addition, signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and clearly regulating the data file storage location are mandatory. Tasks arising outside the scope, such as working with independent auditors, applying for new investment licenses, or transfer pricing advisory, need to be separated into distinct advisory packages.
The responsibility division matrix below should be formalized as an official Contract Appendix:
|
Work item |
Responsibility of the Company | Responsibility of the Back Office Provider |
Completion deadline |
| Document Collection & Storage | Provide full invoices and original documents | Provide storage system, classify and digitize | Monthly according to fixed schedule |
| Payment Order Creation | Check documents and approve final order | Check validity, create Maker order on banking system | According to agreed payment schedule |
| Internal Minutes & Resolutions | Provide orientation, approve content and sign | Draft documents in accordance with legal standards as requested | According to actual needs of the company |
| Periodic Compliance Reports | Check final figures and sign/affix seal | Draft reports, submit to state authorities | Before the statutory deadline |
| Deadline Monitoring & Compliance Schedule | Receive notifications and coordinate information | Update schedule, closely monitor and send deadline reminders | Ensure continuous and timely |
4. Back Office Outsourcing at Vina TPT
Standing firm on a foundation of more than 20 years of practical experience accompanying more than 500+ corporate clients, Vina TPT brings a professional back office outsourcing solution with a highly standardized implementation process, ensuring a transparent and absolutely safe cooperation experience for FDI investors:
- Proactively send a detailed Responsibility Division Table and the necessary System Access Rights List for the company to appraise and approve before the official start date.
- Undertake the role of a single point of contact (Single Point of Contact) handling the full package of Corporate Secretary, Office Administration, and Legal Compliance tasks; and at the same time easily connect synchronously with Vina TPT’s Accounting and Payroll services when the company has the need.
- A specialist team holding high-level professional certificates (CPA, ACCA…), serving fluently in English, Japanese, and Chinese with a transparent quotation policy and clear definition of the work scope before implementation.
- More than 20 years of experience accompanying more than 500 corporate clients. A multi-level personnel team coordinates together in handling files, serving fluently in English, Japanese, and Chinese, and a transparent quotation policy.
Conclusion
When implementing back office outsourcing, the suitable operating model is that the company retains the rights to make business decisions, approve financial expenditures, and sign-approve documents; while the service provider is responsible for drafting dossiers, monitoring progress, and proactively reminding of compliance deadlines. Establishing a detailed assignment matrix from the beginning is the key solution to ensure work proceeds smoothly and no obligations are missed.
Please send the list of administrative tasks currently being performed by the company in order to receive the proposed responsibility division table for the company’s back office outsourcing service.
