Hiring a freelance accountant who works remotely can help your startup to streamline its finances and improve efficiency – while saving money by not having to hire in-house accounting staff. However it is important that you choose the right candidate for the job, and that starts with knowing what to look for.
If you’re thinking about hiring a remote startup accountant, here’s exactly what you should look for:
Check that the accountant you hire has the necessary qualifications and certifications for your location such as a degree in accounting, CPA, ACCA or CMA. Try to verify these qualifications and ensure they’re all above board.
Ideally the accountant you find should have relevant experience working with startups that share the same business type or industry as you do. Check how familiar they are with your business operations and ask about their past clients who may be similar.
The remote accountant you hire is someone you’re going to have to interact with regularly, so try to make sure they’re a good fit in terms of their personality and communication style. Look for candidates who have a concise and clear style of communication, and are responsive and easily contactable in your time zone.
Using time tracking software such as Controlio can make it easy for you to monitor the accountants that you hire. This is important because most remote accountants work on a contract basis and generally charge by the hour – and Controlio will let you easily track not only how long they work for, but what they were doing during that time.
It is important that you are upfront with would-be hires about your use of a tracker such as Controlio and ensure they are okay with it. If they are it will make it easier to verify their billing, monitor their work, and also ensure they follow security best practices.
Having the right technical expertise counts for a lot, and you should evaluate their expertise in accounting software relevant to your business as well as communication tools and other apps that are necessary. Experience with new types of technology may also help as it could benefit your business if they can suggest improvements.
Most remote accountants charge on an hourly basis, but some may have a project-based rate instead. Always clarify what their rates are, and whether or not there will be any additional charges if the project exceeds basic requirements.
If you prioritize the areas we’ve discussed, it will be much easier for you to find a remote accountant for your startup who is not only effective at their job, but is also able to seamlessly integrate themselves into your workflow. In the long term this can help you to save both time and money, and avoid some of the common pitfalls associated with hiring freelance accountants.
Be sure to take your time and carefully evaluate each candidate so that you are able to find the one that is the best fit for your startup.