A White-label service is a service that is operationally provided by one company, but offered to the end customer under the brand or public appearance of another company. The actual service provider can remain in the background.
What does white label mean in services?
In a white-label model, at least two companies work together. One company provides a service or operational performance, while another company integrates this into its own range of services and presents it externally under its own brand.
Characteristically, this primarily involves the separation between operational service delivery and visible market presence. How contractual relations, communication and responsibilities are specifically structured depends on the respective cooperation model.
White Label and outsourcing – what is the difference?
White label and outsourcing can overlap, but they do not mean the same thing.
Outsourcing focuses on the transfer of a task or process to an external service provider. With the white-label model, an essential additional feature is that the service is offered publicly under a different brand or integrated into that brand's offering.
In short: Outsourcing primarily describes who carries out a task. White labelling additionally describes under whose brand the service appears to the outside world.
Where are white-label services used?
White-label models occur in various service sectors, such as software, digital platforms, financial services, and specialised administrative services.
Accounting and payroll services can also be provided in the background for other companies or firms within the framework of corresponding cooperation models.
White Label for law firms at Lohnabrechnung
A special use case is the white-label Payroll for tax advisory firms. This allows the firm to remain visible to its clients while operational billing services are supported in the background by a specialised service provider.
We explain how such a model can be organised in the article White-label payroll for law firms.
