Benefits of Outsourcing Your Oil and Gas Back Office: Costs, Control, and Fit
A conversation about your wells and what your back office costs today. Valor typically follows up with a proposal for how the work would flow.
- Since 2018Fort Worth & Midland, TX
- SOC-certifiedcontrols
- Inc. 50002021–2025
- BBB A+rating
Who Does What When You Outsource
Valor typically splits back-office responsibilities with the operator, attorneys, and outside CPAs like this. Valor’s certified professional landmen (CPLs) handle the landman work, so there is no separate landman column.
| Task | Valor (incl. CPLs) | Operator | Attorney | Outside CPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JIB and partner billing | Prepares, codes, and bills | Reviews | — | — |
| Vendor payments (AP) | Prepares payment runs | Approves | — | — |
| Revenue and owner payments | Processes off the current deck | Approves disbursements | — | — |
| Division orders and deck changes | Builds the DOI and prepares changes | Approves deck changes | Issues title opinions | — |
| Curative | Orders title opinions and follows up | — | Advises on title | — |
| Lease obligations | Tracks the calendar and gives notice | Makes elections | — | — |
| Regulatory filings | Prepares and files | — | Handles contested hearings and pooling, coordinated with Valor | — |
| Severance and production tax reports | Prepares and files | — | — | — |
| Income tax returns and tax advice | — | — | — | Prepares and advises |
| Financial statements and audit | Prepares and supports the audit | Signs off | — | Audits |
| Operational and capital decisions | — | Decides (AFEs, elections, drilling) | — | — |
Cost, Controls, and Terms: In-House vs. Outsourced
Valor typically compares with an in-house back office on these terms:
| Factor | In-house team | Outsourced to Valor |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Salaries, benefits, recruiting, and software licenses | For small and mid-size operators, typically 30–50% less than equivalent in-house staff |
| Pricing | Fixed payroll whether activity is up or down | A standard price sheet tiered by number of wells, plus variable charges for other work; typically not based on transaction volume |
| Expertise | Depends on who you can hire and keep | A team that typically includes CPAs, certified professional landmen (CPLs), and Certified Mineral Managers |
| Controls | Built and maintained by your own staff | SOC-certified controls that typically include audit trails, segregation of duties, and access controls |
| Speed | Tied to your team’s capacity | Valor can often run monthly close, JIB, and revenue distribution on a faster cycle than a stretched in-house team |
| Software | You buy and maintain the licenses | Valor can work on your license or Valor’s; software on Valor’s licenses is typically billed through separately |
| Owner questions | Depends on the staff assigned to owner relations and their capacity | Owner phone, email, and mail inquiries typically answered within 48 hours |
| Decisions | You make them | Operator clients typically approve disbursements and deck changes and keep every operational and capital decision |
Where Outsourcing Can Help Most
Valor’s outsourced back office can typically help most in these areas:
- Lower fixed cost: outsourcing can reduce the fixed payroll behind the back office; for small and mid-size operators, Valor’s operator services can typically run 30–50% less than equivalent in-house staff.
- Full or à la carte: Valor can run the full back office or take on a single function, such as JIB or division orders, alongside your own team.
- A division order department of record: owners can contact Valor directly about payments, division orders, and 1099s, which can take many of those calls off your desk.
- Specialized expertise: JIB, revenue, land, and regulatory work handled by a team that typically includes CPAs, certified professional landmen (CPLs), and Certified Mineral Managers.
- Leadership focus: engineering, geology, and operations leaders can stay on production instead of back-office administration.
See the full list of operator services, or go straight to accounting, JIB and revenue, owner relations, land, or regulatory compliance.
What the Fee Typically Covers
Valor typically prices operator services from a standard price sheet: a baseline tiered by number of wells, plus variable charges for other types of work. Here is how the scope typically breaks down:
- Typically covered by the ongoing fee: monthly accounting and close, accounts payable, and financial statements; JIB and revenue distribution; owner relations, division orders, pay decks, and 1099s; and recurring regulatory and tax reports such as Form PR and severance reports.
- Typically priced separately: software on Valor’s licenses (billed through); onboarding, cleanup of prior books, and data conversion; A&D and transaction support; curative and title projects and lease or contract abstracting backlogs; and regulatory hearings and permits, such as Rule 37 and 38 hearings and W-1 or P-7 filings.
- Typically not provided by Valor: income tax returns and tax advice (an outside CPA), legal work and title opinions (an attorney), and operational and capital decisions (the operator).
When Outsourcing May Not Fit
Valor’s view is that outsourcing is not the right answer for every operator. Keeping the work in-house may make more sense when:
- You already have an experienced, fully staffed back office, and its cost and coverage are working.
- The role is mostly on-site field administration rather than accounting, land, or regulatory work.
- You want to build the back office as a long-term capability inside the company.
Some operators split the difference: they keep a controller or land manager in-house and hand off specific functions such as JIB, revenue distribution, division orders, or regulatory filings. Valor can take on a single function alongside an in-house team.
Want part of your back office off your plate?
Tell us how many wells you run, what system you are on, and which functions you want off your plate, and we can talk through how Valor would take it on.
Start the conversationHow Engagements Typically Work
Valor’s engagements typically start with a scoping conversation to plan the work, and Valor then typically sends a proposal for how the work would run. Valor typically handles system setup, cuts over at the start of a month, and runs the first close in parallel or under extra review. See the risks, controls, and transition guide for the full transition plan. Running a formal selection? Valor can answer your RFP.
Valor was founded by multi-generational oil and gas professionals and serves operators from its offices in Fort Worth and Midland, Texas.
Contact Valor
Fill out the form below and one of our experts typically reaches out to discuss your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Valor's outsourced operator services can typically run 30–50% less than equivalent in-house staff for small and mid-size operators, and Valor can often run monthly close, JIB, and revenue distribution on a faster cycle than a stretched in-house team. The savings depend on well count, activity, and which functions you outsource.
Valor's outsourced back office typically brings lower fixed cost, specialized JIB, revenue, land, and regulatory expertise, SOC-certified controls, a standard well-tiered price sheet, and leadership time freed for production.
Valor typically prices operator services from a standard price sheet: a baseline tiered by number of wells, plus variable charges for other types of work. Fees are typically not based on transaction volume, and software on Valor's licenses is typically billed through separately.
With Valor, operator clients typically approve disbursements and deck changes and keep every operational and capital decision, while Valor typically runs the processing, reconciliations, billing, and reporting.
Valor can run the full back office or take on a single function, such as JIB or division orders, alongside your in-house team.
Valor has SOC-certified controls that typically include audit trails, segregation of duties, and access controls.
Valor's view is that in-house may make more sense when you already have an experienced, fully staffed back office that is working, when the role is mostly on-site field administration, or when you want to build the function as a long-term capability inside the company.
Valor's operator contracts typically name the records returned, and in what form, if you leave.
Key Takeaways
- Cost: For small and mid-size operators, Valor's operator services can typically run 30–50% less than equivalent in-house staff.
- Pricing: Valor typically prices from a standard sheet tiered by number of wells, plus variable charges for other work, typically not by transaction volume.
- Control: Operator clients typically approve disbursements and deck changes and keep every operational and capital decision.
- Controls and expertise: SOC-certified controls and a team that typically includes CPAs, CPLs, and Certified Mineral Managers.
- Fit: Outsourcing may not fit an operator with a fully staffed back office that is working; Valor can also take on a single function alongside an in-house team.
- Get started: Contact Valor to discuss operator services.
