Ah, accounting. Such a small word for one that entails a great deal of work.
Financial management is critical to any business. Regardless of what businesses are trending, a healthy cash flow still remains to be the lifeblood of a functioning company. Staying on top of your sales and expenses (i.e., knowing where the money is coming from or going) is critical to your business success.
However, let’s face it. Accounting is tedious and time-consuming. Sure, you can’t do without it, but you also risk neglecting actually growing your business if you allocate too much time for it. On the other hand, hiring a full-time bookkeeper or accountant can be too costly for most small business owners too.
So, what’s the solution to all this?
In a word, it’s outsourcing to the Philippines. Now, before you roll your eyes, hear me out.
The Philippines happens to be a hotbed for some of the world’s best remote talents. Whether we’re talking graphic design, customer service, or bookkeeping, they’re bound to have some pretty viable candidates for it. In addition, the country’s melting pot history also resulted in its citizens having an excellent command of the English language. Their neutral accent, for one, makes communication a lot easier, and this is critical to any successful remote working relationship.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about how you can go about outsourcing accounting and bookkeeping successfully:
1. Identify the specific tasks you want to outsource.
Accounting is a big and diverse field. It would be easier to hire the right people if you’re clear about the specifics of what you want them to do from the get go.
What does this mean? Well, for example, instead of saying you need an accounting expert, list down the tasks you need to outsource. These may include:
- Bookkeeping;
- Payroll management;
- Tax preparation and filing;
- Drawing up financial statements.
If there’s a specific software your remote worker needs to be familiar with, be sure to indicate that as well.
2. Canvas your options.
You can look into hiring a freelancer vs. going through an outsourcing agency. For the former, you can troll online job platforms, check Facebook groups, or ask for referrals. In the latter’s case, well, you can check out Remote Staff. *wink*wink*
Both options have their own pros and cons, of course, which you can read about here. Thus, make your decision based on which option suits yours and your business’ needs better.
3. Seek out a remote worker or team with the right experience.
It’s all too tempting to hire the next stay-at-home parent with rock-bottom rates to do your numbers. But remember, an amateur’s mistakes could end up costing you far more than an expert’s paycheck ever could.
Related read: Here’s Why You Need to Outsource Your Bookkeeping
So, by all means, seek cost-effective options, but don’t neglect the level or sort of experience that your business needs too. If you have a small or medium business, you’ll want to work with someone who’s used to doing the numbers for such. It’ll make onboarding them easier, and you’ll have more peace of mind down the line.
4. Book a discovery call or call back to learn more.
This will apply if you opt to outsource your accounting or bookkeeping via an agency. Fortunately, such calls are free of charge, but they’re a great way to learn more about the company.
For instance, you’d want to know about how long they’ve been in the industry, their SOP’s for recruitment and onboarding, as well as their pricing. If you have concerns or questions about other things, you can bring them up during the call too.
Candidates:
Filter by Role:
*Booking interviews depend on candidates' availability and interest.
All-inclusive Rate: USD $13.71/hr
Ivy
Candidate ID: 361724
ADVANCED
-
Xero Accounting, Australian Business Register, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Australian GST...
INTERMEDIATE
-
QuickBooks, Australian Tax...
Median Rate
$13.71
$15.39
if $1 = PHP52
$18.89
if $1 = PHP40
Currency Fluctuation Range
*includes service fee. Please note that hourly rates are linked to the exchange rate, and fluctuate slightly from month to month.
**Please note that hourly rates are linked to the exchange rate and fluctuate slightly from month to month.
Employment Preferences
(inclusive of service fee)
*Plus GST for Australian Businesses
Full Time: $USD 13.71 per hour or $USD 2376.41 per month
Remote Staff Recruiter Comments
- Ivy is a seasoned professional with more than 10 years of experience in Australian accounting. She holds a degree in Accountancy and is Xero Certified. She worked with various clients through an accounting firm - medical, e-commerce, rental property, and construction.
- For over 10 years, she specialized in the following:
- Preparation of individual tax returns (ITR), company and trust tax returns, and BAS
- Accounts receivable recording
- Accounts payable recording
- Bookkeeping
- Company, trust, and SMSF setup
- Call & email handling
- Payroll
- PAYG Instalment Lodgment and variation
- She used a number of applications and software such as Xero, XPM, MYOB, ATO Portal, Microsoft Office Apps (Excel, Word, Outlook, Teams), Trello, Asana, Slack, QuickBooks, ASIC Connect, Mailchimp, Docusign, and Nowinfinity.
- She can start anytime.
- Ivy prefers working the day shift in either a part-time or full-time position that matches her skillset.
Strongest Behaviors
- Driven to protect the company against risk by thoroughly leveraging their background and strictly following “the book.”
- Cautious; follows a well-established and proven plan to avoid making mistakes. Does the background research necessary to have proof to support decisions before action is taken.
- Detail-oriented and accommodating; most comfortable working as part of a well-defined team for which they produce high-quality output and decisions.
Ivy Kristine is thoughtful, disciplined, and particularly attentive to, careful of, and accurate with the details involved in the job. Identifies problems, and enjoys solving them, particularly within their area of expertise. Works at a steady, even pace, leveraging their background for the betterment of the team, company, or customer.
With experience and/or training, they will develop a high level of specialized expertise. Serious and dedicated to the job and the company. Their work pace is steady and even-keeled, and they’re motivated by a real concern for getting work done thoroughly and correctly. Discipline and circumspect thinking will lend caution to their decision-making; Ivy Kristine plans ahead, double checks, and follows up carefully on decisions and actions.
Employment History
ACCOUNTANT/BOOKKEEPER/ADMIN
Industry:
Accounting / Audit / Tax
Employment Period:
November 2023 to August 2024 (9 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- E- commerce Bookkeeping
- Ecommerce Trust and Company Tax Return Preparation
- Rental Property & Estates Financials Tax Return
- Business Activity Statements
ACCOUNTANT/BOOKKEEPER/ADMIN
Industry:
Accounting / Audit / Tax
Employment Period:
November 2019 to November 2023 (47 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Company & Trust tax Return preparations
- Financial Statements Monthly, Quarterly or Annual GST / BAS Preparation
- Bookkeeping Workpapers Call & email handling
- Contacting Australian taxation Office to waive late H &R
- Block individual tax return training fees & interest
- Charges Xero Software
- Training Contacting ASIC for changes Issues & fee waiver.
- Virtual Assistant Training
- Updating ABN details on ABR
- Customer Service and Collections
- PAYG Instalment Lodgment and variation Training
Accountant/Bookkeeper/Admin
Industry:
Accounting / Audit / Tax
Employment Period:
October 2015 to December 2019 (50 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Prepared more than 1,000 individual tax returns
- Handled bookkeeping for construction companies,
- restaurants, labour hire and many more.
- Directly communicating with our clients via email and call
ACCOUNTANT
Industry:
Accounting / Audit / Tax
Employment Period:
September 2015 to July 2016 (10 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Allocating clients advertisement
- Payroll
- recording AP/AR
- Process employees reimbursements
Accountant/Administrative Assistant
Industry:
Accounting / Audit / Tax
Employment Period:
January 2013 to September 2015 (32 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Individual tax preparation
- Communication with ATO and ASIC
- Emailing Handling
- Communication with our clients
ACCOUNTANT/BOOKKEEPER
Industry:
Accounting / Audit / Tax
Employment Period:
November 2023 to August 2024 (9 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Bookkeeping
- Individual Tax Return Preparation
- E- Commerce Tax preparation
- Rental Property & Estates Financials Tax
- Return
- Business Activity Statements/IAS
Education History
Field of Study:
Finance/Accountancy/Banking
Major:
Accountancy
Graduation Date:
April 1, 2011
Located In:
Philippines
License and Certification: :
Xero Certified
Skills
ADVANCED ★★★
-
Xero Accounting, Australian Business Register, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Australian GST,
INTERMEDIATE ★★
-
QuickBooksAustralian Tax
Work at Home Capabilities:
- Internet Bandwidth: Between 5mbps to 100mbps
- Working Environment: Private Room
- Speed Test Result: https://www.speedtest.net/result/15500441997
- Internet Type: Fiber
- Hardware Type: Laptop
- Brand Name: MacBook Air
- Processor: M1
- Operating System: MacOS X
All-inclusive Rate: USD $8.49/hr
Jodel
Candidate ID: 311795
ADVANCED
-
MYOB, Microsoft Office, Bookkeeping...
INTERMEDIATE
-
Financial Statements, QuickBooks, NetSuite...
Median Rate
$8.49
$9.29
if $1 = PHP52
$10.96
if $1 = PHP40
Currency Fluctuation Range
*includes service fee. Please note that hourly rates are linked to the exchange rate, and fluctuate slightly from month to month.
**Please note that hourly rates are linked to the exchange rate and fluctuate slightly from month to month.
Employment Preferences
(inclusive of service fee)
*Plus GST for Australian Businesses
Part Time: $USD 5.64 per hour or $USD 489.08 per month
Remote Staff Recruiter Comments
- Jodel is well experienced in Bookkeeping
- He started working since 2000
- He worked with several industries like Food, Retail, Real Estate and BPO
- He handled MYOB for over 3 years.
- His skills and expertise are the following: .
- Prepares Monthly Financial Statement Report
- Balance Sheet & Trial Balance Schedule.
- Bank Reconciliation
- Subsidiary Ledgers.
- Schedule of Collection & Disbursement.
- Cash Position Report.
- Maintain file and records
- Invoice Handling
- Process AP and AR
- Monthly Flux Analysis
- Monthly Fixed Asset Depreciation and Disposals of Asset
- Candidate can start ASAP
Predictive Index Behavioral Profile - Controller
https://www.predictiveindex.com/reference-profile/controller/
Strongest Behaviors:
- Very careful with rules; is literal and unwavering in interpreting rules, schedules and results. Puts tremendous pressure on themself to move quickly through the day.
- Cautious, exacting, and very thorough; often perfectionistic. Works diligently to ensure nothing falls through the cracks, and follows up intensely to ensure results are precisely on-time, accurate, and were achieved using the proper methods.
- Needs operational efficiencies: pushes hard to get things done as fast as possible, using proven methods, and ensuring a high-quality outcome. Very little tolerance for routines.
Jodel is a self-disciplined, conscientious person who will develop a high degree of expertise and skill in a specialized job. Has the drive to get things done right and in accordance with established standards of accuracy and quality.
A conservative and analytical person who respects traditional organizational values. Reserved, serious, and thoughtful about everything to be done, is a no-nonsense worker who worries about getting things exactly right. Never superficial, will make sure that they know what they’re talking about before speaking. Needs a lot of certainty and structure in their work so that it meets very high, specific quality standards.
Employment History
ACCOUNTANT / CONSULTANT
Industry:
Call Center / IT-Enabled Services / BPO
Employment Period:
February 2017 to June 2020 (40 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Records journal entries for inter-company transactions and prepares reconciliation of balances.
- Prepares journal entries for amortization of prepaid expenses and intangibles, accruals, and other monthly recurring transactions.
- Inputs data on various MYOB Masterfile, which includes vendor & customer masterfile and cost centers.
- Records employee reimbursements, cash advances and liquidation.
- Prepares bank reconciliation statements.
- Prepares Daily Cash Position Report for budget monitoring.
- Prepares schedule for Monthly Expanded Withholding tax and Vat Relief with filing thru EFPS.
- Prepares schedules for the Monthly P&L and Balance Sheet Report.
- Process documentations for opening and closing of Corporate Bank Accounts.
FINANCE OFFICER
Industry:
Construction / Building / Engineering
Employment Period:
June 2014 to June 2016 (24 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Undertake processing of accounts payable and review of accounts receivables, including disbursement vouchers, checks and Purchase order preparation.
- Verify, review and confirm the accuracy, validity and propriety of all project expenses, including completeness and authenticity of supporting documents in compliance on financial policies and procedures.
- Confirm cost codes, task codes and tax deductions for each transactions.
- Initiate investigation of discrepancies or any unusual claims, and propose corrective actions for review by finance manager.
- Provide logistical support to Project operations including general banking duties.
- Prepare schedule of Expanded Withholding Tax and Vat Relief with filing thru Manual and EFPS.
- Prepare Monthly bank reconciliation report.
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE SPECIALIST
Industry:
Call Center / IT-Enabled Services / BPO
Employment Period:
January 2011 to June 2013 (28 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Review and book all valid invoices, credit card transactions and expense reports coming from USA, Australia and Philippines.
- Maintain file of all valid vendor and ensure all records are properly archived both hard copy documents and soft copies.
- Prepares schedule for month end reporting such as Accrual Journals, Fixed Asset Depreciation, Expanded Withholding Tax and Vat.
- Prepares Monthly Flux Analysis for such accounts assigned by the Manager.
- Reviews compliance of approval of invoices and expense report based on approval limits of authority and keep a master list of specimen signature of approvers.
- Prepares Monthly Fixed Asset Depreciation and Disposals of Asset.
- Reconciles with supplier on a scheduled basis.
- File and prepares Philippine statutory reports thru EFPS such as 1601E/ 1604E, 2550Q /2550M, 1604E / 1604C, 1702 /1702Q.
- Acts as a Liaison officer to the bank, internal revenue law firm and other government agencies.
- Process and file Annual Business Permits and PEZA reports.
PROPERTY ACCOUNTANT
Industry:
Accounting / Audit / Tax
Employment Period:
July 2009 to January 2011 (18 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Prepares Monthly Financial Statement Report such as:
- Balance Sheet & Trial Balance Schedule.
- Bank Reconciliation
- Subsidiary Ledgers.
- Schedule of Collection & Disbursement.
- Cash Position Report.
- Prepares BIR certificates for filing such as Vat 2550M & Q Expanded 1601E & 1604E
- Monitor & Control Petty Cash Replenishment
- Prepares monthly billing for Association Dues, Electricity / Water and Rental to Condo tenants.
- Issuance of Official Receipts for the cash collections from tenants.
SENIOR ACCOUNTING STAFF
Industry:
Employment Period:
April 2004 to December 2008 (55 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Conduct frequent asset inventory to all Company Outlets and Head Office.
- Custodian of Asset for Disposal and Auction.
- Verifies the completeness of Inventory of Asset thru accounting records and assesses balances and frequent Asset Inventory.
- Prepares Store Monthly Depreciation Report of all Outlets and Head Office for internal use.
- Monitor and controls the issuance of accounting documents like Transfer of Asset; Disposal Slips; Gate Pass and Asset Acknowledgement Receipt
- Heads and Supervise EGRESS (store demolition).
- Coordinates with prospective buyers for asset disposal.
- Reconciles/checks with the supplier’s records.
- Bank Reconciliation.
STORE SUPERVISOR (OIC)
Industry:
Retail / Merchandise
Employment Period:
August 2000 to November 2001 (14 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Manage and controls all store operations that includes staff/employees
- Controls inventory/stocks
- Prepares forecasting report and sales report for accounting use
- Performs month-end inventory of stocks
- Cashiering using Visual Fox Pro
- Monitors marketing replenishments
- Prepares month-end report/performance
Education History
Field of Study:
Finance/Accountancy/Banking
Major:
Banking and Finance
Graduation Date:
May 5, 2000
Located In:
Philippines
License and Certification: :
N/A
Skills
ADVANCED ★★★
-
MYOBMicrosoft OfficeBookkeeping
INTERMEDIATE ★★
-
Financial StatementsQuickBooksNetSuite
Work at Home Capabilities:
- Internet Bandwidth: 25 Mbps
- Working Environment: Private Room
- Speed Test Result: Download: 18.06, Upload: 54.05
- Internet Type: Fiber
- Hardware Type: Laptop
- Brand Name: LENOVO
- Processor: INTEL CORE I5
- Operating System: Windows 10
All-inclusive Rate: USD $8.49/hr
Amor
Candidate ID: 309290
ADVANCED
-
Accounting, Bookkeeping, Budgeting, Cash Disbursement...
INTERMEDIATE
-
QuickBooks, Xero...
Median Rate
$8.49
$9.29
if $1 = PHP52
$10.96
if $1 = PHP40
Currency Fluctuation Range
*includes service fee. Please note that hourly rates are linked to the exchange rate, and fluctuate slightly from month to month.
**Please note that hourly rates are linked to the exchange rate and fluctuate slightly from month to month.
Employment Preferences
(inclusive of service fee)
*Plus GST for Australian Businesses
Part Time: $USD 10.39 per hour or $USD 900.33 per month
Full Time: $USD 8.49 per hour or $USD 1471.65 per month
Remote Staff Recruiter Comments
- Amy is a Certified Public Accountant with 35 years of experience in end-to-end accounting. She's been with the government and renewable energy companies and is now keen to work remotely. At present, she is a project-based Finance Officer at a local company.
- Throughout the years, she became adept with the following:
- Data entry
- Cash management
- Budgeting
- Financial reporting and analysis
- Account reconciliation
- Taxation
- Bookkeeping
- Invoice and bill preparation
- She is exposed to Xero, QuickBooks, Microsoft Office Apps (Excel, Outlook, Teams) Zoom, and Google Forms.
- She is knowledgeable in MYOB and GST and has relevant work experience in using Xero for more than 2 years now.
- She enrolled herself in online courses for Australian Accounting and holds certifications for Xero and QuickBooks.
- She can start by February 12, 2024.
- She prefers working the morning or mid-shift to any part-time or full-time position.
Strongest Behaviors
- Detail-oriented and precise; follow-through is deep and literal to ensure tasks were completed in accordance with quality standards.
- Operationally, as opposed to socially, focused. Thinks, in specific terms, about what needs to be done and how to do it accurately and flawlessly; follows, in a literal way, that execution plan.
- Driven to protect the company against risk by thoroughly leveraging their background and strictly following “the book.”
Amor Corazon is a very conscientious person, particularly attentive to, careful of, and accurate with the details involved in the job. Identifies problems, and enjoys solving them, particularly within own area of expertise.
With experience and/or training, Amor Corazon will develop a high level of specialized expertise and efficiency. Disciplined and dedicated to the job and the company. Work pace is somewhat faster-than-average, and Amor Corazon is motivated by a real concern for getting work done on time and correctly. Discipline and circumspect thinking will lend caution to decision-making; plans ahead, double checks, and follows up carefully on decisions and actions.
Employment History
Finance Officer
Industry:
Consumer Products / FMCG
Employment Period:
June 2023 to January 2024 (7 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
Financial Accountant
Industry:
Utilities / Power
Employment Period:
August 2022 to January 2023 (5 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Sets up the organization details and financial settings in Xero.
- Sets up the chart of accounts.
- Sets up bank account feeds.
- Prepares invoices and bills.
- Issues invoices to customers.
- Sets up and prepares payroll.
- Reconciles bank balance with book balance.
- Prepares and submits financial statements (quarterly and annual) to the Parent Company
- Files income tax returns (monthly, quarterly and annual) and alpha list electronically to Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Internal Auditor III/II
Industry:
Government / Defence
Employment Period:
October 2019 to July 2022 (33 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
Finance Manager
Industry:
Oil / Gas / Petroleum
Employment Period:
September 2008 to June 2016 (92 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
Cashier IV
Industry:
Government / Defence
Employment Period:
August 1984 to December 2006 (268 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
May 1993 - Dec 2006
- Assisted the Division Chief in the supervision of collection, disbursement and fund management functions of the Treasury Division
- Checked the monthly reports of Collections and Disbursements.
- Handled the budgetary estimates of the Division
- Signed checks in the absence of the Division Chief
Jan 1991 - May 1993
- Reviewed the accounting documents and other statements that are for the signature of the Chief Accountant
- Prepared and submitted the Trial Balance of the agency for the signature of the Chief Accountant
- Reviewed the supporting schedules to the Trial Balance prepared by the bookkeeper.
- Prepared the bank reconciliation statements.
Aug 1984 - Dec 1990
- Verified disbursement vouchers with particular emphasis on compliance with governmental requirements on cash disbursements
- Prepared treasury reconciliation statements
- Recorded and maintained the books of account of the Department
- Handled actions required on voucher suspensions and disallowances by the external auditor a s may be required
Freelance Bookkeeper / Accounting Consultant
Industry:
Accounting / Audit / Tax
Employment Period:
January 2024 to August 2026 (31 Months)
Duties and Responsibilities:
Education History
Field of Study:
Commerce
Major:
Accounting
Graduation Date:
April 1, 1981
Located In:
Philippines
License and Certification: :
- Certified Public Accountant
Skills
ADVANCED ★★★
-
Accounting, Bookkeeping, Budgeting, Cash Disbursement, Cash Collection, Accounts Payable Management, Accounts Receivable Management,
INTERMEDIATE ★★
-
QuickBooksXero
Work at Home Capabilities:
- Internet Bandwidth: Greater than 100mbps
- Working Environment: Private Room
- Speed Test Result: https://www.speedtest.net/result/14256233293
- Internet Type: Fiber
- Hardware Type: Laptop
- Brand Name: Lenovo
- Processor: 12th Gen Intel Core i5
- Operating System: Windows 11
*includes service fee. Please note that hourly rates are linked to the exchange rate, and fluctuate slightly from month to month.
**Please note that hourly rates are linked to the exchange rate and fluctuate slightly from month to month.
5. Interview your remote working candidates individually.
Once the agency does forward a short list of candidates for you, take time to interview them one by one. A video call is actually advisable so that you can verify their identity and test the stability of their internet connection at the same time. The latter is especially important if you want to be in constant communication.
Also, a video call is great for assessing a candidate’s ability to communicate effectively. Analyzing and interpreting such numbers are a key part of the job, after all.
Lastly, when you do manage to hire your remote accountants or bookkeepers, do make it a point to stay in touch with them. Of course, you shouldn’t involve yourself in the nitty-gritty of things anymore, but you should have periodic meetings at least. The key is to keep yourself updated and for the team to always be on hand in case you have questions.
With Remote Staff, we’ve got a rich pool of Filipino remote talents. We also take care of pre-screening each of them to ensure that they’re proficient in the latest bookkeeping software and that they’re equipped to be responsive and efficient remote workers.
Click here to schedule a callback today and experience cost-effective convenience for yourself.
Serena has been working remotely and writing content for the better part of the last decade. To date, she's written for Pepper.ph and Mabuhay Magazine, among others, and has churned out more than a thousand articles on everything from The Basics of Stock Market Investing to How to Make Milk Tea-Flavored Taho at home.
