How to find an accountant for remote teams?
To find an accountant for remote teams or remote work, start by identifying your business needs, from routine bookkeeping to tax planning and multistate payroll. Look for candidates with experience supporting distributed teams, check their credentials, and ask how they handle accounting software, contractor payments, and state-specific tax requirements. Compare fees and service agreements before committing, so you know exactly what you’re paying for. If you’d rather skip the lengthy search, a managed staffing provider like Remote Staff can help you find a suitable remote accounting professional.
You’re no rookie to outsourcing remote virtual assistants. You’ve outsourced roles similar to one another, or perhaps unrelated, like a bushel of different fruits in a single basket (do people still say bushel?).
(Or this is your first time outsourcing. In any case, do read on to peel the fruity analogy.)
So a business owner has a developer from this state, and a contractor in that state. They have a digital marketer and sales reps offshore – outside the continental U.S. Creative specialists, too, from writers to designers. But why is the company suddenly asking how to find an accountant for remote teams online?
Their chart of accounts needs a refresh since their business has grown.
How do you find an accountant who handles remote teams well, and what should you ask before working with the offshore specialist?
In This Blog:
- ➤How to find an accountant for remote teams?
- ➤What Type of Accountant Do You Need for a Remote Team?
- ➤How Do You Find an Accountant for a Small Business?
- ➤How Do You Know If an Accountant Understands What Working in a Hybrid Team Is Like?
- ➤What Questions Should You Ask Before Hiring an Accountant?
- ➤How Does Multistate Payroll Work for Remote Employees?
- ➤Do You Have to Send a 1099 to Remote Contractors?
- ➤How Do I Calculate How Much to Pay an Accountant in a Small Business?
- ➤What Are the Red Flags When Hiring an Accountant?
- ➤How Do You Work With an Accountant After You Hire One?
- ➤How Do You Know If Your Accountant Is Working Out?
- ➤How Do You Split the Work Between a Bookkeeper and an Accountant?
- ➤Better Strategy Through Hiring Support
- ➤FAQs About Finding an Accountant for Remote Teams
- ➤Account for “Ideal” and Not Just “Best” on Paper
What Type of Accountant Do You Need for a Remote Team?
If you work with accountants in other states or outside the States, you need an accountant who basically does the same quality work as someone employed in-house. With the added benefit of knowing how to handle the pressures of remote work.
Growing companies usually need bookkeeping, payroll support, entity guidance, tax planning, and help with worker status questions, often from more than one person.
- Bookkeeper
- Best for: Coding transactions, reconciliations, monthly reports
- Weaker fit for: Tax strategy, representation
- Tax Preparer
- Best for: Annual returns
- Weaker fit for: Ongoing payroll and planning questions
- CPA
- Best for: Tax strategy, financial statements, entity guidance, complex rules
- Weaker fit for: Weekly vendor bills
- Online Accountant
- Best for: Cloud software, digital approvals, distributed teams
- Weaker fit for: Owners who want regular face-to-face meetings
Many owners end up with a bookkeeper handling the weekly work and a CPA stepping in for planning and filings. That sounds like two separate payrolls, and they are.
Hiring online and remote for an accounting virtual assistant is what lightens the cost.
How Do You Find an Accountant for a Small Business?
These guidelines are, by the way, applicable to medium to large businesses. Here are steps you can take, in the same order as the list below.
Step 1: Write Down the Problems First
Why are you hiring an accountant? Why are you hiring an accountant when you already have a bookkeeper? And no, that’s not a repeat-typo, nor are they redundant questions.
Detail the following:
- Business structure: sole prop, LLC, S corporation, C corporation, partnership, or unsure
- Team setup: local employees, remote US employees, remote contractors, or a mix
- Current accounting software and what isn’t working
- Payroll provider, pay schedule, employee states, and hiring plans
- Reports you want, such as monthly profit and loss, job costing, or budget reviews
- Tax worries: estimated taxes, sales tax exposure, payroll taxes, year end planning
If your team mixes employees and contractors, say so. Make worker status and descriptions plain to avoid the potential risk of messy books.
Step 2: Local Accountant vs Online Accountant?
Most owners search for “how to find an accountant near me” or “where can I find an accountant.” With blinders. They’re unaware of the shortage chewing at local market pools in the United States.
Especially for experienced CPAs and public accountants.
As the universe (and economics) would have it, they’re shocked at how high rates or salaries are. We wouldn’t say “all-time” high. But they’re high; higher than in previous years. Supply and demand, right?
Know what your budget is, and don’t be short-sighted. Plan for the long-term. If you take on a local or outsourced accountant now and business grows, you’ll want a strategy in place to turn that work engagement full-time, without letting go and restarting the whole hiring process from a dusty drawing board.
Should I Hire Accountants In-Person or Remotely?
An online accountant suits a company that runs on cloud tools and digital approvals.
And these days, that’s most companies.
No office check-ins needed if documents and reports are worked on and handed in via secure portals and video calls.
Step 3: Where to Look for Accountant Candidates?
The usual way: making the announcement via job ads online. You sign up on job boards (or the person in charge of hiring does so – HR). If you have the time and resources, referrals make it easier to do the sifting. Rare, though, because again, local shortage.
Other sources: CPA society directories, accounting software partner listings, payroll platform partner networks, and founder communities. Searches like “online accountant for remote teams” or “accountant for small business with contractors” also turn up specialists.
Another easier way is with the help of managed providers, where you basically wait for pre-vetted candidates ready to go on your say-so.
How Do You Know If an Accountant Understands What Working in a Hybrid Team Is Like?
You’ll know during the back-and-forth, when they expound on what their previous remote work has been like. The best ones want to understand your business – they’ll ask about where your employees and contractors live. They’ll ask how payments are done and how work engagements are, for the most part.
They want to know whether your payroll provider is set up for the right states and whether your books separate payroll, contractor pay, software, and reimbursable costs.
Others might not proactively ask about these, and that’s fine. Go ahead and feel free to open the floor and explain it away.
You do need someone who treats remote hiring as a source of daily detail.
What Questions Should You Ask Before Hiring an Accountant?
Use this template as your guide. Update it if you think there are questions specific to your operations:
Accountant Interview Checklist
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Do you work with businesses that have remote employees or contractors?Look for: Specific examples close to your setup.
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Which accounting and payroll platforms do you support?Look for: Support for your current tools, or a clear plan to move you.
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What’s included: bookkeeping, tax planning, payroll support, advisory?Look for: A written list, with extras priced separately.
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How do you handle multistate payroll and contractor paperwork?Look for: A described process, plus when they’d bring in legal counsel.
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How often will we meet, and which reports do I get?Look for: A set schedule for monthly reports and check-ins.
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Who will do the work?Look for: Names and roles (partner, staff accountant, bookkeeper, or outside team).
What To Do: Have this template checklist in every interview; that way, every candidate answers the same questions. Comparing them will be easier.
Credentials, then tax strategy, financial statements, and advanced planning are pointers – you’re looking at a CPA.
Coding, reconciliations, and monthly reports skid across your mind as you plan, though these can be given to a bookkeeper who works under a CPA.
How Does Multistate Payroll Work for Remote Employees?
The thing to remember: where your employee works, regardless of where your office is. When someone works from home in a state where your company doesn’t have a physical office, you’re still generally required to withhold that state’s taxes and pay its unemployment insurance.
Make sure to register before their first paycheck is due.
Some takeaways that make this a bit more complicated:
- Some neighboring states have reciprocal agreements – withholding goes to just one of them. Other states don’t, and an employee can end up taxed by both their home state and the state where your business operates.
- Hybrid employees who travel need continual tracking, since the state they work in can change.
- States use different tests to decide who counts as an employee and who counts as a contractor.
- A remote hire can trigger registrations you didn’t plan for, which is why your accountant needs the hiring plan before the offer letter goes out.
Your accountant should keep a current list of every state where you have a worker and flag or update every new location added to each employee’s “place of work.”
Also, your accountant doesn’t replace payroll counsel.
Do You Have to Send a 1099 to Remote Contractors?
For payments made in 2026, you file a Form 1099-NEC once you’ve paid a contractor $2,000 or more for services during the calendar year. The threshold was $600 for 2025 payments, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised it. It adjusts for inflation starting in 2027.
Once a contractor reaches the threshold, the form reports everything you paid them. Everything.
Here’s how the paperwork differs by worker type:
Does filing a 1099-NEC confirm that someone is a contractor? It doesn’t; the IRS looks at the actual working relationship. They’re more concerned about how the work’s done.
Always bring any doubtful cases to your accountant before the first invoice goes flying out.
Collect the W-9 at onboarding too, so you won’t have to chase it and lose time when January starts knocking.
Contractors based outside the US file different paperwork – tell your accountant where each one lives.
How Do I Calculate How Much to Pay an Accountant in a Small Business?
Fees usually come as a monthly retainer, a project fee, or hourly billing, and many firms combine them. Compare proposals before you do; price tags. Be wary of too-low rates. Those are most likely low because tax planning or cleanups aren’t yet included.
See to it that no shadow is on any one detail – out in the open, all cards face up. You want the ones without hidden charges (and don’t we all?).
The engagement letter should describe the work in layman’s terms. Monthly bookkeeping, return preparation, quarterly planning, payroll support, sales tax help, contractor payment review and reporting.
If your remote team needs something specific, it should be in writing. Everything should be in writing, to the detail.
Before you sign, confirm:
- The fee structure, monthly or by project
- Setup or cleanup charges
- Which software subscriptions are included
- Response time expectations
- Meeting frequency
- Deadlines for sending documents
- Data security practices
- How either side can end the arrangement
A fixed scope makes it easier to manage your accountant like any other partner in your in-house operation.
What Are the Red Flags When Hiring an Accountant?
Local or remote, there are different risks that need… accounting for. That said, some are more staring-you-in-the-face, especially when spotted early on while the trail’s fresh.
What to Watch Out For When You Hire an Accountant:
Advice from social media threads on payroll and filings isn’t exactly the most reliable. Two or more of the above are practical things that should coax you to look into areas that meet your cash flow and tax exposure, one way or the other.
How Do You Work With an Accountant After You Hire One?
Onboarding
Use the accountant’s secure portal, never casual email, for tax documents, payroll reports, and bank statements. Grant access only to the systems they need. A strong first package includes:
- Formation documents and prior tax returns
- Recent financial statements
- Bank and credit card accounts
- Payroll records and contractor lists
- Accounting software access, loan documents, budgets and forecasts
- For remote teams, worker locations, payment methods, reimbursement rules, and hiring plans for the next few months
Name one internal contact, whether that’s you, an operations manager, or an office administrator. Questions that pass through three people stall.
Monthly Review
Monthly reporting beats waiting for tax season. At each review, check that:
- Bank and credit card accounts are reconciled
- Payroll and contractor payments are coded correctly
- Reimbursements are documented and approved
- Remote worker locations are current
- Contractor forms and invoices are complete
- Tax deadlines and estimated payments are on the calendar
- The numbers support your next hire
Tell your accountant before you hire in a new state. After payroll is already running is too late.
How Do You Know If Your Accountant Is Working Out?
Give it a few months. You should see tidy books, reports on schedule, fewer scrambles for documents, and a clear picture of labor costs across employees and contractors. Tax planning conversations should happen before deadlines.
If you still feel confused or reactive, look at scope, communication, software, and fit, in that order. Start with a direct conversation. If your accountant can’t support the way your remote business runs, it’s time to search again.
Related Read: Learn about How a Remote Accountant Can Help You During Tax Season.
How Do You Split the Work Between a Bookkeeper and an Accountant?
Many owners with remote teams run two people on the books. A bookkeeper handles the weekly volume, and a CPA or other licensed accountant handles judgment calls, filings, and planning. The split usually costs less than asking a CPA to code transactions, and it gives your accountant cleaner records to work from.
Goes to the bookkeeper:
- Bank and credit card reconciliations
- Coding transactions to the right accounts
- Accounts payable and receivable
- Payroll preparation and contractor invoice tracking
- Collecting W-9s and receipts
- Monthly report drafts
Stays with the accountant:
- Tax strategy and estimated tax planning
- Return preparation and anything requiring a licensed signature or representation
- Entity and structure advice
- Worker status questions
- Review of the bookkeeper’s monthly close
Most of what goes to a bookkeeper is inside cloud software, and location doesn’t impact anything about the output.
Your accountant gets a finished set of books at month-end instead of a box of loose ends, and the review takes less time. And when your accountant receives organized, up-to-date financial records at the end of each month, they spend less time fixing mistakes or chasing missing information.
Decide whether the bookkeeper can pay a contractor invoice on their own or whether it routes through you first, and put the dollar threshold on paper.
Can You Hire a Remote Bookkeeper to Work With Your Accountant?
Yes, and many owners do. A CPA handles planning and filings while a remote bookkeeper takes reconciliations to payroll prep.
Your accountant takes on tax advice and anything requiring a licensed signature.
Related Read: Discover the differences between Remote vs Traditional Accountants This Tax Season.
Better Strategy Through Hiring Support
The best answer to finding an accountant, the most ideal one for your business (because “best” doesn’t always translate to a “good fit” for your operations and team), there’s one hassle-free answer.
Managed providers.
That’s why U.S. businesses who’ve been partnering with Remote Staff for over 18 years don’t go through the stress and difficulty of strategizing hiring. Let alone going through the hundreds of candidates. Interview after interview after interview, and you might still not find what you’re looking for.
Maybe it’s the screening that’s off. Or the pooling.
Regardless, our team does all of that for you. As experts in pairing businesses with remote professionals, we lean in close to understand your business and business needs, and vet candidates to match exactly what you require.
FAQs About Finding an Accountant for Remote Teams
Do I Need a CPA or a Bookkeeper for My Small Business?
A bookkeeper covers transaction coding, reconciliations, and monthly reports. A CPA is the better choice for tax strategy, financial statements, tax representation and entity guidance. Many small businesses use both.
Should I Hire a Local Accountant or an Online Accountant?
Pick the one that matches your workflow. A local accountant helps if you want face to face meetings and local knowledge. An online accountant fits companies already running cloud software, digital approvals, and remote payroll.
Do I Need a Different Accountant If I Have Remote Employees in Other States?
Not necessarily a different one, but you need one who has handled multistate payroll and knows when to flag an issue. Ask about their experience before your next out-of-state hire.
What Documents Do I Need to Give My Accountant?
Formation documents, prior returns, recent financial statements, bank and credit card accounts, payroll records, contractor lists, and accounting software access. Remote teams should add worker locations, payment methods, and reimbursement rules.
What Are the Biggest Red Flags When Hiring an Accountant?
No written engagement letter, unclear pricing, slow replies, and no secure document sharing top the list. Dismissive answers about remote employees or contractors are another sign to keep looking.
Extra Read: As you and your accounting team will later strategize (very soon, we hope!), here’s a guide on How to Reinvest Profit In Your Business.
Account for “Ideal” and Not Just “Best” on Paper
It’s a challenging feat – distinguishing the two: ideal versus best. But there’s a difference, and we know how to spot it.
You’re already building a team across locations. Your books can keep up with it, and the right accountant makes hiring decisions easier because the data behind them is clean.
Whether you’re asking “how to find an accountant for personal taxes,” “where to find an accountant for business,” or “how to find a great virtual tax accountant” in general, or “find an accountant near me,” think outside the box. The “box” being “geography.”
When location’s no longer a hindrance to growth, take advantage of it. And if you’re almost there, almost ready to hire but have questions, Request a Callback.
We’re here to support you in your business journey, whether it’s accounting support you require at the moment, or other roles to come as you plan for the long term. Let’s talk about your options.
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Vaune Everis Cura has always been a writer in the truest sense, drawn to the art both as a personal creative pursuit and as a profession. Her experience penning content across digital marketing spaces and collaborating with business owners and market shapers has broadened her craft to include strategic direction and SEO insight. Having spent years with the InterContinental Hotels Group before stepping boldly into freelancing, she understands that at the centre of it all are genuine, meaningful brand–customer relationships built on purposeful, human content.
