Business services is the overall term for various tasks and activities that assist a company without producing a tangible commodity. This can include everything from IT support to cleaning and janitorial services. Some of these businesses are more specialized than others, with some offering only specific types of business service.
These companies are important to the economy because they can help with a company’s day-to-day operations without having to produce or sell their own goods or services. They also help to create jobs and support a country’s GDP. In fact, the tertiary sector of an economy (services) makes up the majority of most countries’ GDP.
A company needs a wide range of business services to operate effectively and efficiently, which can be difficult for them to provide on their own. Therefore, it is common for companies to outsource certain duties that do not fall under their expertise or capability.
The main function of a business is to keep its inflows higher than its outflows, as this is the only way to be profitable. The business’s inflows can come from the sale of products and/or services to consumers or from the investments or loans it receives.
A popular form of business services is shared services, which involve the consolidation of various back- and front-office functions to help with efficiency and cost savings. An example of this is a human resources shared service, which centralizes functions like employee onboarding and payroll processing to save time and money.