Virtual Accounting Firm: How to Set Up and Run One

Key takeaways

• Recruit from a wider talent pool by opening roles to remote staff anywhere.
• Manage by objective, setting clear owners, deadlines, and goals for every task.
• Adopt cloud accounting and secure tools to cut manual data entry and protect client data.
• Protect team culture with regular check-ins and dedicated one-on-one time.

What is a remote accounting firm?

A remote accounting firm is an accounting practice that serves clients and runs its team entirely online, without a shared physical office. Staff work from anywhere, and client work happens through cloud accounting and communication tools.

Going remote lets your firm hire from a wider talent pool, cut office overhead, and give clients faster, more flexible service. The sections below cover how to get the setup right.

Open your recruitment options to anywhere staff

As a modern firm, you’re not bound by geographic borders when hiring talent. You can hire from almost anywhere across the U.S., which opens a world of recruiting opportunities for your firm and allows you to choose from a much larger selection of candidates.

Before you start hiring, map out your growth plan and create an organizational chart (if you don’t already have one). Identify your firm’s staffing needs and make the distinction between temporary and permanent hires.

Depending on the disciplines you need to bolster, you can either hire freelance (for short-term projects or sudden increases of work volume, like tax season) or permanent talent.

Get the home office set up correctly

One of the main concerns employers have around working from home is productivity. To optimize output, make sure you and your remote staff have a dedicated home office space equipped with the proper facilities to support their work.

A weak internet connection, for example, is a common issue, impeding efficiency. You do not want any glitches when a member of your team is talking to a client.

Upgrade your staff’s home WiFi, so they can work and communicate seamlessly, even if they’re sharing it with their twelve-year-old daughter. Other examples are comfortable office chairs, multiple monitors, and headsets to remove noise distractions during conversations.

Ensuring you and your staff have all the necessary home office tools will encourage productivity. Your team will be grateful, and your clients will get the service they deserve.

Strive to manage by objective

Some firm owners are reluctant to rely on remote staff, as managing from a distance poses significant challenges. But this is based on a misconception that distance imposes a more hands-on micromanagement approach to ensure team members perform.

Pivoting to a management-by-objective approach not only resolves the perceived difficulty but can also raise employee motivation and accountability.

As a leader, you should provide mission control: define the mission, the vision, the procedures, and the expected goals.

Assign a clear owner and deadline to every task. Then invest in project management software so nothing slips through email or call threads:

• Emails and calls create clutter and misunderstandings
• Assignments are harder to track without a shared tool
• A management tool gives you real-time visibility

There are various solutions in the market, specifically for accountants and bookkeepers, such as Xero WorkflowMax, Xero Projects, Karbon, and Jetpack Workflow. Using a management tool will allow you to have real-time control and overview of all tasks and their progress. When you have it all set in place, you can trust your team to get the work done, and they will deliver.

Maintain a team feel and spirit

A potential downside of working from home is that it often creates a sense of isolation. The office culture is harder to establish or preserve when working remotely. That is why the aspect of loyalty, cohesion, and morale requires rethinking.

A few actions help:

• Check in regularly with each team member
• Dedicate one-on-one time to everyone
• Encourage people to speak up in team meetings
• Create community channels for colleagues to connect
• Make time for casual chats as a substitute for water cooler talks

Harness cloud accounting and minimize manual data entry

Cloud accounting lets your whole team and your clients work from anywhere. It delivers:

• Instant access to data and reports
• Easy sharing with staff and clients, with no geographic limits

Cloud accounting must go hand-in-hand with adopting technological solutions to eliminate manual data entry (and any other routine, manual tasks.) The successful combination of the two will free up time and financial resources, and allow your firm to offer better services.

Implement communication protocols

Establish protocols to govern how you communicate with your team and clients. How often do you schedule meetings? When do you prefer to communicate via email?

Find technological solutions that will help your team communicate better, such as Slack and calendar scheduling tools. When using accounting or bill pay software, utilize in-app communication features and approval workflows.

Hopefully, utilizing these tips will help you make the most of your transition to a remote accounting firm, resulting in more efficiency, productivity, and growth.

This blog post is based on a webinar presented by Jeff Phillips, CEO of Padgett Business Services, hosted by Insightful Accountant and sponsored by Melio.

Making the most of your remote firm

Put these steps in place and your remote firm can run leaner, serve clients faster, and grow. Strong hiring, clear management, the right tools, and a connected team turn remote work from a challenge into an advantage.

Melio helps you handle bill pay and get paid online, so your team can manage client payments from anywhere.

Remote accounting firm FAQs