No matter whether you are a fresh graduate or a business veteran, the opportunities and challenges in today’s accountancy world make this the perfect time to become your own boss and launch your own accounting practice. Even though there are plenty of opportunities for freelancing accountants, you must also prepare for the pitfalls. The same could be said for clients, as hiring a stranger to deal with your business can lead to catastrophic consequences.
However, being aware of the specific features presented by freelancer sites is a good way to rise above the competition and find the golden mine for your clients and, most importantly, for yourself.
There is no other way to put it: freelancer accountants must have versatile talents in order to survive in the competitive online environment, especially since accounting gigs cover everything from categorizing expenses to preparing taxes and bookkeeping. The same could be said about the length of assignments: most of the time freelancers run into temporary jobs posted by certain individuals or smaller companies who cannot afford to employ an accountant all the time. But every now and then, long-term projects pop up, offering long-lasting assignments: for example, there is a high demand for handling business accounts in QuickBooks Online. Another option for long-lasting jobs is to join a small team of other freelancers lead by expert bookkeeping coordinators.
Whether you are a client or worker, there are a couple of features to look for when searching for a suitable freelancer site. First, the site should be a project site, meaning that employers must be the ones submitting the listing and dictating the conditions. Second, make sure the site has a profound profile system, capable of displaying different skills, as it makes easier to browse job offers and choose between candidates. Last but not least, the freelance site should categorize the gigs based on their difficulty, like “entry level”, “intermediate” or “expert”.
In case you are a newbie accountant and/or new to the freelancing world, let us give you advice on how to begin. First of all, put together a good resume; however, even if you have one already, you cannot copy an overly long test to the chosen site’s profile page. A good resume is short, effective and above all includes as many testimonials or proofs of your expertise as possible.
Make sure to show a positive outlook regarding ratings and comments as well: ask the client after each gig to write an objective criticism in an email and, at the same time, post something positive in the comment section. Be sure to emphasize your knowledge and experience with (online) accounting software: if you know how to handle the most popular ones, such as QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks and Sage, it is guaranteed that you will be flooded by gigs.
If you have to work on several projects at the same time, only accept those you can finish in time in order to prevent overexposing yourself. Also, avoid applying to jobs that ask for skills you are unfamiliar with: if you fail to perform the job in a satisfactory manner due to inexperience, you will definitely get a negative rating – and it’s enough to kill your career. And last but not least, never decline an offer just because the employer wishes to use tracking software: granted, you won’t be able to enjoy cat videos while working, but you’ll have proof of your progress (which is especially handy during a dispute).
Careful screening is the key in hiring an independent accountant from a freelancer site. Although many professionals claim to be capable of preparing your taxes or managing your books, you must still conduct a thorough test before hiring any of them.
During an interview you should ask how much experience they have regarding remote work, how familiar they are with online accounting software, and what kind of certifications they have. Interestingly, many accounting software companies, including those mentioned above, offer a certificate to those who went through many hours of studying, exams and test projects. However, if you see a seal of approval of any well-known accounting software provider, it is guaranteed that the chosen accountant will do his/her job in a fully professional manner.
Before going to a freelance website to post your project, make sure to prepare all the work you wish to outsource. And remember to decide how you’d like to pay your accountant: hiring someone with an hourly wage means that you have to pay for empty times too, while a flat fee means that you cannot force your freelancer to do “last minute extras”.
If you are curious what kind of freelance site would suit your needs, let us give you three examples worthy of choosing:
Freelancer.com is the pinnacle of the freelancing website world, boasting millions of users, eager workers and satisfied clients alike. The basic premise is pretty simple: employers launch a job offer, people start bidding on it, one or more people are being awarded the project and voilà, your virtual business is already on the roll. But Freelancer.com doesn’t stop here: with their fully translate website they cater to an international audience, even implementing more than one currency to help users around the world stay relevant. Both employers and employees can enjoy a feature-rich service: freelancers have an eye-catching tab detailing their achievements, while clients can monitor the worker’s activity through their smartphone or a desktop program. And as the icing on the cake: the site doesn’t charge people for joining its ranks (although added benefits can be purchased later on).
Fiverr is the place to go to find young talent offering up their skills on web design, writing, business, or marketing. What once started as a marketplace with services all at $5 (hence the name Fiverr) has now grown to become more complete, offering services and products of all sizes. The website is a place where anyone can present their forte. If you are good at translating, then you can create a gig for translating a specific number of documents for a fixed price. Fiverr covers all sorts of activities, going as far as including gigs for pranks. Steady work yields extra rewards, as sellers go up the ranks with added benefits. Numerous features are meant to make the buyer’s life easier as well since they can compare sellers with the help of user-submitted comments and a detailed profile card. And if you are the on-the-go kind of person, then make sure to download the mobile app to continue your work far from your desk.
Project4Hire (P4H for short) is a marketplace where not only talented freelancers can sell their services to employers, but clients can post open job positions or projects for freelancers with matching skills as well. In fact, practicality is the motivating force behind Project4Hire, as they created a page where workers can easily find the most fitting positions, while employers are able to specify their needs or look for people according to their skills. Although the site doesn’t seem to be buzzing with much life, it still kept many of its attributes from the glory days when it was a major force on the freelancers’ market. Such an attribute is the reason the site earned its popularity as a pioneer in freelance platforms to begin with: asking for only 5% of the users’ earnings.
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