Find A Freelance Bookkeeping Job

There are many tax benefits and saving that come along with having a business entity. People who work routine 8-5 jobs for a company are classified as an employee. The business they work for will withhold and report a portion of the employee’s wages. A percentage of each check is withheld to fund unemployment, social security, Medicare, and tax liability. Each year, all employee taxable income is proven on a W-2 form and filed to the IRS. Contact local CPAs or tax professionals to see if they can offer their services without in-person contact.

But before you define your voided check rate, consider the best practices to negotiate your freelance rate. Whether you’ve had some on-the-job experience as a bookkeeper or are just out of school, work as an independent bookkeeper may be fairly easy to come by. To save money, many small businesses hire outside contractors rather than keeping a full-time accounting staff. If you are dependable, thorough and up-to-date with business accounting rules and changing technologies, you can be in high demand in both good and bad economies. You can easily see a list of top accounting freelancers with their qualifications, any relevant degrees or certifications, location, and rates. They also list their specialties so that you can find an accountant that specializes in tax accounting and audits or management accounting.

Freelance bookkeepers and accountants are an affordable, stress-free way to make balancing things like payroll and inventory costs easier. They can also handle everything necessary to make tax season a breeze. Accountants can connect with you for recurring work with a specific client, or even full-time contract work. This means you’ll be able to find accountants for a variety of different projects at varying tenures.

Additionally, they should be detail-oriented, organized, and have excellent communication skills. If a remote bookkeeping service is worth hiring, they ought to be able to guarantee a certain level of quality. For instance, at Bench, all bookkeepers get in-house training and ongoing education in bookkeeping, in addition to having multiple full-time staff dedicated just to quality and standards. Because a firm coordinates the work of multiple employees, it’s unlikely you’ll encounter the same service gaps you might expect from a single freelance bookkeeper.

Freelance Bookkeeper/accountant's Assistant

I would be lying if I tried to act like these jobs were not a good fit for folks. It's important to note that the software you use may affect your rate, as some solutions are more expensive than others. Another important factor is your expertise in various accounting software. In general, good cloud-based software makes accounting easier and reduces the hours, allowing you to charge more per hour. It’s best to hire a freelance accountant right from the beginning of your business, but you can also wait until you have the money in your budget to delegate these tasks to an outside source. To hire a freelance accountant or bookkeeper, first decide how much you can carve out of your budget to spend on one, keeping in mind that you will get what you pay for.

If they do not send you a Form 1099-MISC, you will want to follow up with your client. It is best practice to reach out to a CPA for advice when choosing what accounting method will work best for your independent contracting business. The paperwork previewed in the image will provide the structure and language for an Accountant/Bookkeeper to solidify a Client job.

Instead of hiring a full-time bookkeeper or accountant, businesses can benefit with a few hours per month from an expert in bookkeeping. By hiring a freelancer to record every transaction and then using an independent accountant to overlook the work, businesses can save significant amount of money. Freelance bookkeepers bring flexibility to businesses to help them grow. As your business continues to grow, you will see how beneficial it would be to have the time you spend on bookkeeping to complete work within your expertise, acquire new clients and more. Hiring a professional to take care of your bookkeeping services will allow you the freedom you need to grow your business as an independent contractor.

The Best Freelance Websites for Accounting & Bookkeeping

Here are our picks for the best freelance websites to turn to when you need someone to stay on top of all of that tax and money stuff. To help pay the bills, we’ll often set up affiliate relationships with the top providers after selecting our favorites. There are plenty of high-paying companies we’ve turned down because we didn’t like their product.

You will want to open a bank account specifically as an independent contractor business. This will help you separate your financial status from your businesses. In the case of an audit, it is helpful to have everything separate, primarily if you classify yourself as a business. Different accounts will help you prove your records if your claims are in question. However, when a company hires an independent contractor, it is different. Contractors are held reliable for their tax payments and do not rely on businesses to withhold income tax for them.

For most small to mid-sized companies, deciding when to outsource bookkeeping tasks can be difficult. It can be said that a good bookkeeper serves as the glue holding the whole organization together. Therefore, it’s important to have previous bookkeeping experience with a company that has a complexity and size similar to yours.

Type of Bookkeeping Services Provided

They go on to say“CPA MOMS® specializes in the careful selection and screening of experienced professional CPAs. We find, screen & test CPAs that are moms and connect them to entrepreneurs looking for affordable bookkeeping, accounting or tax solutions nationwide. Supporting Strategiesis a franchised-based bookkeeping business model. They have their own proprietary software that helps them manage their remote staff and work-flows, but they use QuickBooks Online to serve their clients. Upworkis a hub for all sorts of freelancing, including freelance bookkeeping. It will take some time to stand out from the crowd, but some people have successfully used Upwork to find most of their clients.

• Contact local CPAs or tax professionals to see if they can offer their services without in-person contact.
• By doing so, you'll be able to tap into our global talent pool and find the perfect Bookkeeper who will deliver exceptional results that meet your expectations.
• Get specific on one area you want to become an expert in, and stick with it.
• Ideal candidates for this project should have experience in Quickbooks and payroll management.
• Try agreeing on a plan where you provide specific services for a monthly retainer.

QuickBooks Live is a cloud-based bookkeeping solution where QuickBooks matches a business up with a team of online bookkeepers. Danielle Bauter is a writer for the Accounting division of Fit Small Business. She has owned Check Yourself, a bookkeeping and payroll service that specializes in small business, for over twenty years. She holds a Bachelor's degree from UCLA and has served on the Board of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

An accountant prepares reports for tax purposes and can also perform audits of public companies. Other factors that can impact the hourly rate include the freelance bookkeeper's level of education, certifications obtained, such as QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and the software used. A specialty in additional services like payroll or financial analysis, the frequency of services offered, and even an expertise in certain accounting applications can also affect the rate. Also, some remote bookkeeping services are able to automatically import your financial information—transactions from bank and credit accounts, for instance. Income for online bookkeepers and freelance bookkeepers may vary depending on several factors, such as experience, skills, location, client base, and the types of services that they offer.

Bookkeeper Certifications

Maybe you’re worried about income and supporting yourself and making bookkeeping a full-time career. You can even get to know other bookkeepers because many are at their capacity and may be willing to refer potential clients to you if they can’t onboard them themselves. I’ve received many questions about bookkeeping from other bookkeepers or potential bookkeepers. Potential clients have reached out to see if we’d be a good fit to work together. My network has grown steadily, and I’ve made wonderful online relationships with people I never would have run into in my own city.

• They also have convenient features like a time tracker and a mobile app so that you can check on the progress of your accountant in real-time, whether you have access to your computer or not.
• The paperwork previewed in the image will provide the structure and language for an Accountant/Bookkeeper to solidify a Client job.
• We keep your spending within budget and ensure all payments are made on time.

This site also has the most freelancers when it comes to sheer numbers. The site boasts the profiles of over 50 million freelancers– more than Upwork or Fiverr. Each profile features a short intro written by the freelancer that allows you to get a feel for who they are as a person and whether or not their personality could be a good fit for your team. They’ve worked for big-name brands like Microsoft and Lego, but don’t let that intimidate you.

Create your own professional resume in just minutes.

With the growing popularity of cloud-based services, many firms work remotely with clients. In this case, you’ll need to become acquainted with and use the same bookkeeping services your firm does. I am a professional bookkeeper with more than 17 years of experience. I can provide professional bookkeeping services for businesses such as information technology, refueling stations. CPAMomsbills themselves as“the ‘eHarmony’ of the Accounting World”.

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48 Days to the Work You Love is a great book that outlines the process of job searching. Dan Miller recommends picking out 40 businesses that you want to work for and researching them. From there, you will want to send them a letter letting them know you are going to call on a specific day, and when you call, ask to set up an informational interview. When you get to know accountants, often those accountants or firms have too much work, and they may refer some of the work to you.

A Schedule SE will be one of the schedules of your individual income tax return Form 1040. Before filling out your SE, you will calculate the total of your self-employment income/loss with the Schedule C form of Form 1040 on line 31. You can also ask an accountant to provide proof of their license and credentials. Looked at my numbers and Help me set goals, while giving advice. I owed approximately $10,000 in taxes and ended up paying $3,700.

As an independent contractor, the law classifies you as a business. As a business, you will need to pay taxes and keep up with your bookkeeping as well. You likely became an independent contractor to get away from the typical workday or have a particular skill that businesses desire.