What to Outsource to the Philippines: A BPO Guide for US and Australian Businesses
Most businesses don’t decide to outsource because it’s fashionable. They decide because hiring locally has stopped making sense for part of their operation. A US company pays $60,000 to $120,000 or more for a role, plus benefits and payroll taxes. An Australian business adds 12% super, payroll tax and office costs on top of an already high salary. And both spend one to two months recruiting every time someone leaves.
The Philippines has been the answer for thousands of US and Australian companies for more than twenty years. But the question that matters isn’t “should we outsource?” It’s “what should we outsource, and how?” Move the right functions and you get the same output at half the cost, with room to grow. Move the wrong ones, or pick the wrong model, and you create more management work than you save. This guide walks through how to get that decision right.
Why the Philippines Leads Global BPO
Plenty of countries offer lower labour costs. What sets the Philippines apart is the combination of factors that make offshore work actually work. English is an official language and the everyday language of business. Universities produce hundreds of thousands of English-literate graduates every year. And decades of serving American and Australian clients have built a workforce that understands Western business culture, communication styles and service expectations.
The industry itself is mature. BPO is one of the country’s largest employers, backed by established training pipelines, purpose-built offices in Metro Manila and experienced team leaders who have managed offshore delivery for global brands.
For businesses, that maturity means less risk. You aren’t building an offshore operation from scratch. You’re plugging into an industry that already knows how to recruit, train, manage and retain the people you need.
The Business Functions That Work Best Offshore
The functions that move most smoothly share a few traits: they’re done on a screen, they follow a repeatable process, and their output can be measured. If you can write down how the job is done and what “good” looks like, it can almost certainly be done well from Manila.
Customer Support and Call Centre
Inbound and outbound calls, live chat, email and social support, with agents trained on your products, tone and escalation process.
Back-Office Processing
Data entry, document and form processing, records management, order handling and the operational workflows that keep a business running.
Finance and Accounting
Bookkeeping, AP/AR, payroll processing, reconciliations and month-end support in QuickBooks, Xero, MYOB or NetSuite, to US GAAP or ATO requirements.
IT and Technical Support
L1 to L3 helpdesk, system monitoring, ticket triage and software QA, working within your ITSM tools and SLAs.
HR and Recruitment Support
Sourcing, CV screening, interview scheduling, onboarding paperwork and HR admin, so your people team can focus on people.
Data and Analytics
Reporting, dashboard maintenance, data cleansing and BI support that turns raw data into numbers your leadership team can act on.
Worth noting: The biggest wins often come from the work nobody on your local team wants to do: high-volume, repetitive tasks that eat hours every week. Moving these first frees your senior people for higher-value work. See the full list of BPO services we provide from the Philippines.
What You Should Keep In-House
Good outsourcing is as much about what you don’t move. Some work depends on local presence, deep context or authority that’s hard to hand over. The table below gives a practical rule of thumb.
| Function | Outsource? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Customer support (tier 1 and 2) | Yes | Process-driven, measurable, well supported by helpdesk tools |
| Bookkeeping, AP/AR, payroll processing | Yes | Rules-based, cloud software, easy to review |
| Data entry and document processing | Yes | High volume, repeatable, accuracy is measurable |
| IT helpdesk and monitoring | Yes | Ticket-based work with clear SLAs |
| Recruitment admin and screening | Yes | Structured steps, final decisions stay with you |
| Financial sign-off and tax lodgement | Hybrid | Prep offshore, review and sign-off by a local accountant |
| Key account and senior client management | Keep local | Relationship-led, often needs face-to-face contact |
| Strategy and leadership | Keep local | Needs deep context and decision-making authority |
| On-site or field roles | Keep local | Requires physical presence |
Freelancers, Shared BPO or Dedicated Staff?
Once you know what to outsource, the next choice is how. There are three common models, and they suit very different needs.
| Factor | Freelancer Platform | Shared BPO Seats | Dedicated Managed Staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | Individual contractors | Agents shared across several clients | Your own full-time team |
| Commitment to your business | Low, often juggling clients | Split across accounts | Exclusive to you |
| Knowledge of your processes | Builds slowly, lost on exit | General, script-based | Deep and retained |
| HR, payroll and compliance | Your responsibility | Handled by provider | Handled by provider |
| Replacement if someone leaves | Start again yourself | Provider reassigns | Provider recruits to your brief |
| Best for | One-off or short projects | Overflow or basic call handling | Ongoing core functions |
Freelancers are fine for a logo or a one-off data project. Shared seats can absorb overflow calls. But for ongoing work that touches your customers, your finances or your systems, a dedicated team that works only for you and builds up knowledge over time is almost always the better long-term choice.
“The cheapest option per hour is rarely the cheapest option per result. Dedicated staff cost a little more than freelancers, and deliver far more.”
What the Cost Difference Actually Looks Like
The salary gap is the headline, but the real saving comes from everything around the salary. Local employment brings employer taxes, benefits or superannuation, recruitment fees, office space, equipment and the management time spent replacing people who leave. A managed Philippines BPO bundles all of that into one monthly fee.
| Cost Area | Local Hire (US / AU) | Philippines BPO via UpraisIT |
|---|---|---|
| Annual salary per role | $60,000–$120,000+ | Included in monthly fee |
| Employer taxes and benefits | US: FICA, health cover, 401(k) · AU: 12% super, payroll tax | Handled locally by the BPO |
| Recruitment timeline | 30–60 days | As few as 14 business days |
| Office and equipment | Your cost | Included |
| Attrition and replacement | Your time and cost | Managed by the BPO |
| Total cost per role | Full cost | 50–70% lower |
On a team of five, that gap is easily six figures a year. Many businesses use part of the saving to add capacity they couldn’t afford before, such as extended support hours, faster month-end close or a dedicated reporting analyst, so outsourcing grows the business rather than just trimming it.
Making Time Zones Work for the US and Australia
Manila runs on Philippine Standard Time (UTC+8) all year, with no daylight saving. For Australia, that means a near-perfect overlap. For the US, it means your team works a night shift in Manila, which is standard practice in the Philippine BPO industry.
| Your Market | Time Difference | 9am–5pm Local = Manila Time | Shift Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perth | Same time | 9am–5pm | Day shift |
| Brisbane | Manila 2 hrs behind | 7am–3pm | Early day shift |
| Sydney / Melbourne | Manila 2–3 hrs behind | 7am–3pm (6am–2pm in AU daylight saving) | Early day shift |
| New York | Manila 12–13 hrs ahead | 9pm–5am (10pm–6am in US winter) | Night shift |
| Los Angeles | Manila 15–16 hrs ahead | 12am–8am (1am–9am in US winter) | Night shift |
Time zones can also be an advantage. A common hybrid model has your local team cover the core business day while your Philippines team extends coverage into evenings, weekends or overnight. For US businesses, work handed over at the end of the day can be processed overnight and waiting in the morning.
Data Security and Compliance
Handing over access to customer records, financial systems or internal tools is the biggest mental hurdle for most businesses. It should be taken seriously, and it’s entirely manageable with the right partner. Look for these safeguards before you sign:
- Contracts that protect you. NDAs, confidentiality clauses and a data processing agreement that spells out how your data can be accessed and used.
- Controlled system access. Role-based permissions, unique logins, multi-factor authentication and VPN where required, with access removed the day someone leaves.
- Secured devices and networks. Company-managed workstations, restricted USB and download use, and monitored office networks.
- Local and home-country compliance. The Philippines has its own Data Privacy Act of 2012. You still meet your own obligations, such as HIPAA for US healthcare data or the Australian Privacy Principles for Australian personal information.
- Background checks and training. Pre-employment screening plus regular data-handling and security awareness training for every team member.
Tip: Ask any BPO provider to walk you through exactly what happens when a staff member joins, changes role or leaves. How they handle access at those three moments tells you more about their security than any certificate on the wall.
Getting Started: Your First 30 Days
You don’t need a big-bang transition. The businesses that get the best results start with one or two roles, prove the model, then expand.
- List your candidate tasks. Track a week of work and highlight the repetitive, screen-based tasks that eat the most hours.
- Write down the process. Record short screen videos or checklists for how each task is done. This becomes the training program.
- Brief your BPO partner. Share the role, hours, tools and skills you need. A good partner will push back if something isn’t a good fit.
- Interview and choose. Meet the shortlisted candidates and make the final call yourself. No one joins your team without your approval.
- Onboard, measure, then scale. Set clear KPIs from week one, review after 30 days, and add roles once the first ones are running well.
With a structured partner, your first team members can be contributing within about two weeks of signing. To see the functions, industries and onboarding process in more detail, visit our page. If customer support is your starting point, our guide to BPO customer support for Australian businesses goes deeper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from US and Australian businesses considering a Philippines BPO.
Functions that are process-driven, screen-based and measurable transfer best: customer support, back-office and data processing, bookkeeping and accounts payable or receivable, IT helpdesk, recruitment administration, and reporting. Strategy, senior client relationships and roles that need a physical presence usually stay local.
No. With a managed BPO or offshore staffing partner, the provider is the legal employer in the Philippines and handles contracts, payroll, government contributions, benefits and local labour compliance. You direct the day-to-day work and pay one monthly invoice.
US and Australian businesses typically see 50 to 70% lower total cost per role. The saving comes from lower salaries plus the removal of local overheads such as payroll tax, superannuation or employer benefits, office space, equipment and recruitment costs, which are bundled into the BPO’s monthly fee.
Yes. Manila is 12 to 13 hours ahead of New York and 15 to 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles, depending on US daylight saving, so US-hours support is run as a night shift in Manila. Night-shift work is standard in the Philippine BPO industry, and most agents supporting US clients work these hours by choice.
A reputable BPO combines contracts and technical controls: NDAs and data processing agreements, role-based access to your systems, secured devices and networks, and staff training. The Philippines has its own Data Privacy Act of 2012, and you still meet your home-country obligations such as HIPAA for US healthcare data or the Australian Privacy Principles.
Outsourcing to the Philippines works best when it’s treated as a strategic decision, not just a cost cut. Choose functions that are process-driven and measurable, keep the relationship-led and strategic work close to home, and pick a model that gives you people who work only for you.
Get those three things right and you gain more than a lower payroll bill. You get the capacity to grow without your overheads growing just as fast.
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