Clients rate Accountants
5/5 (average from 6,234 reviews)
Naman C.
Accountant, India
99% SUCCESS
India
Microsoft Word, Tally ERP, Accounting, Intuit QuickBooks, Auditing, Financial Reporting, Bookkeeping
Mark C.
Accountant
99% SUCCESS
Philippines
Brian L.
Accountant, USA region. CPA & Certified QuickBooks
99% SUCCESS
United States
George L.
Accountant
99% SUCCESS
United Kingdom
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How to hire an Accountant?
It would be easy to assume that businesses hire an accountant for their expertise in tax codes and number crunching. That’s really only half the story though, because a great accountant is also going to be an expert in business and how finance relates to your everyday operations. There are also human factors to consider such as honesty, communication and work ethics. So how do you find the right accountant to empower your business? Here’s an overview of what you can do to find, engage, and work with a great accountant.
How to shortlist accountant professionals
As proposals are submitted, you’ll need to vet the most promising accountants to create a shortlist of people you want to interview. Here are some points to look for:
- Professionalism. Which candidates tailored their submission to your specific project requirements? Do they seem to genuinely care about your needs? How is each candidate’s communication skills?
- Talent. Does each candidate’s Globelancer Profile show a strong history of success? Do they have experience within your industry? Who is proficient with your current accounting software?
- Feedback. How have other clients described their relationship with each freelance accountant? Are there any that stand out?
How to write an effective job post for an accountant
The most important factor in you finding the perfect accountant is to create a detailed job post about your expectations. It should include general information about your business and your everyday needs, in addition to the exact services that you require help with. The more information you provide, the smoother the process will go.
A few of the more important criteria to include in your job post are:
- Workflow: What task(s) will you need completed? Are they recurring?
- Communication: How will the accountant communicate with you?
- Technical: What’s your current process for bookkeeping? What software do you use?
- Background: Are there any additional industry requirements or unique challenges?
- Preference: What are some character traits or work backgrounds you’d like to see?
- Project Length: How long do you anticipate needing an accountant?
- Deadlines: Are there any impending timelines? When do will you start needing help?
FAQ Page
What does an accounting professional do?
An accounting professional can step in and handle many of the financial aspects of a business, freeing you up to focus on the daily operations. Accounting professionals can help with any of the following:
- Bookkeeping
- Preparing and filing taxes on time
- Analyzing financial records to check for inconsistencies and errors
- Providing a complete audit of your business to make sure your records are accurate and up to date
- Paying vendors, billing clients, managing post-due accounts, etc.
- Generating profit and loss statements, business reports, and monthly financial statements
- Market analysis
- Balancing bank accounts, recording forms of income and verifying deposits and other transactions
- Payroll and withholding taxes
How much does it cost to hire an accountant?
Are you hiring a freelance accountant for a one-off job (say, yearly taxes), a few hours a week, or for a more ongoing basis?
You may think that your business is not big enough to warrant an accountant, and that you will not spend much time sorting out accounting issues. But unless you’re an expert in tax and finance (in other words, an accountant yourself), this won’t be the case. The financial aspects of running a business change on a regular basis. From keeping your books up to date, approaching funding sources or market analysis, an accountant provides your business with a great deal of essential support, time savings, and help to ease the load of setting up a company.
What you need them to do and how much time these tasks will take up will contribute to the cost. For example, you might hire an accountant to help with:
- Paying for everyday expenditures
- Recording forms of income
- Verifying deposits and other transactions
- Balancing bank accounts
- Billing clients directly
- Managing past-due accounts
- Preparing monthly financial statements
- Handling payroll (with proper privacy and security measures) and withholding taxes
- Generating business reports
Experience and expertise
Businesses definitely hire an accountant for their expertise in tax codes and number crunching and the other work listed above, but experienced accountants are capable of providing you with so much more. A great accountant is also going to be an expert in business and how finance. With expertise comes more reliability and often a higher cost.
Do you need an accountant with advanced training, specialized experience, or an advanced degree? This will also affect their rate, and your budget. Some bookkeepers may have advanced training or a degree in a field such as accounting, finance, or business administration. For example, some accountants on Globelancer charge around $25-35/hour, while senior business consultants and analysts can charge as much as $180/hour. Others may specialize in certain job sectors such as law, health care, or automotive, which would give them certain insights that could make them a great fit for your project.
| Type of Accountant | Average Hourly Rate |
| Junior accountant, Billing analyst, Accounts payable analyst | $20-35 |
| Senior accountant | $35-50 |
| Senior Business Consultant, Risk Management | $60-150+ |
*Reflect rates charged by freelancers on Globelancer in North America with over 1,000 hours and 90% success rate.
Complexity of your business’s finances and taxes.
Besides keeping business documents organized and generating reports, bookkeepers can handle a number of everyday clerical and accounting tasks. If your business’s tax situation is more complex, for example with numerous vendors, contractors, locations in different states, etc., you might need someone with more advanced skills to navigate them, which could get more expensive.
Since bookkeepers can have a wide variety of skills and specializations, it’s important to know the types of experience your ideal professional should have. For example, a bookkeeper who worked with a large manufacturer may have ample experience tracking accounts receivable and purchase orders, but not much exposure to payroll or generating financial reports. Others might have extensive experience in areas like inventory audits, bank reconciliation, or accounting.
Interview questions to ask an accountant
The interview process is a great opportunity to learn about each accountant’s personal and professional skills. It is generally recommended to schedule an interview with at least three candidates in total, and preferably with one that is towards the higher end of the spectrum in terms of experience and billable rates. This gives you a baseline to judge the others by.
- Talk About Relevant Experience: Ask each accountant how much knowledge they have about your industry and softwares you use. If you have unique challenges that need attention, be sure to discuss them early in the interview as well.
- Ask about Actual Processes: Learning how the accountant processes paperwork, prepares taxes and balances books will give you a lot of insight into their ability to handle your accounts.
- Present a Real-World Scenario: Ask specific questions about your business that require a solution. By putting each contractor on the spot, you’ll have a better idea of how they respond to pressure.
- Measure your Comfort Levels: While each contractor’s skill levels are important, you ultimately want someone to build a professional relationship with. So don’t be afraid to get to know them a little bit.
Hopefully, after the first round of interviews are completed, you’ll have a good idea of which accountant makes the most sense for your business. If you’re still not sure though, feel free to conduct a second round of interviews to ask follow-up questions or to explore a relationship with other accountants.
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