Accounting Firms ✦ Industry

Accounting Firms
virtual assistants

Offshore staff for accounting and bookkeeping firms — bookkeeping, payroll, data and admin — from $14/hr + GST.

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Looking for VA work? Apply at staffingsolutions.ph
$14/hrFrom, + GST · full-time
70%Average saving vs a local hire
14 daysBrief → first day
Fully managedWe hire, you lead

Virtual assistants for accounting firms

Firms scale margins by moving processing offshore. Dedicated bookkeepers, accountants and payroll staff handle the recurring work in your stack, so your onshore team focuses on advisory and review.

Every placement is recruited, hired and managed by us and backed by our zero-risk promise: no placement fee, money-back first week, free replacement.

What they actually do

The work that comes off your desk

In an accounting practice the load is not the return itself — it is everything wrapped around it: chasing signatures, coding a quarter of unreconciled bank feeds, building workpapers, re-requesting the same source documents three times, and keeping the lodgement program on track. Most of it is preparation and follow-up that a registered agent has to review but does not have to do.

The taskWhat that actually involves
Bank feed coding runs

Works through unreconciled bank feed lines in Xero or MYOB against the source documents sitting in Dext or Hubdoc, allocates to the client's chart of accounts, applies the tax codes the firm has set, and pushes anything unsupported to a query list rather than guessing.

BAS workpaper preparation

Builds the quarterly BAS workpaper: reconciles G1 back to the profit and loss, checks each line's coding against the GST matrix the firm has already set for that client and lists the exceptions instead of re-deciding the treatment, ties W1 and W2 to the payroll activity summary, reconciles the GST control account to the ledger, and flags every variance before the registered agent reviews and lodges.

Year-end workpaper packs

Assembles the file in Xero Workpapers, MYOB AE or the firm's own template set — bank and loan reconciliations, depreciation schedule roll-forward, accruals and prepayments, hire purchase and chattel mortgage amortisation — with the supporting document attached against each line rather than filed loose.

Source document chasing

Runs the outstanding items list client by client: logbooks, dividend and managed fund statements, private health statements, rental agent annual summaries, loan interest certificates. Sends reminders on the firm's schedule and marks items off in Karbon, FYI or Xero Practice Manager as they land.

Payroll processing and STP

Processes pay runs in Xero Payroll or MYOB against the client's approved timesheets, applies the award rates, allowances and withholding settings already configured on the client's file, checks that the super guarantee amount posts to the fund recorded against each employee and refers any mismatch back rather than changing it, and prepares the STP Phase 2 pay event and end-of-year finalisation for the registered agent to check and submit.

Accounts payable runs

Codes supplier bills from the client's Dext or Hubdoc inbox, matches them to purchase orders and delivery dockets, resolves duplicates, and builds the weekly payment batch as an ABA file or draft schedule — left for the client to authorise inside their own banking platform.

ATO correspondence handling

Files the correspondence the firm pulls down for each client — notices of assessment, statements of account, activity statement reminders, payment plan letters, penalty and interest notices — into the right client folder, updates the ledger where a balance has moved, and drafts the covering email for the agent.

Lodgement program tracking

Keeps the lodgement diary honest in Xero Practice Manager, FYI or Karbon: what is due at which concessional date, what is sitting with the client awaiting signature, what is blocked on a third party, and the weekly overdue list the partner actually needs to see.

Individual return preparation

Working on behalf of and under the supervision of the registered agent, prepares the draft return in the firm's tax software from the ATO prefill report, the client checklist and the documents supplied, reconciles work-related deduction claims to the substantiation actually provided, and hands the draft plus an open query list to the agent for review, sign-off and lodgement.

SMSF and trust file prep

Rolls the fund file forward in BGL Simple Fund 360 or Class, processes the data feeds, reconciles member balances and contributions against the fund's own records, prepares the investment movement schedule, and pulls together the audit request pack for the approved SMSF auditor.

Corporate secretarial file work

Prepares the ASIC annual review documents from the company statement, drafts Form 484 changes for officeholder, address and share movements, keeps the members and officers register current in the firm's corporate secretarial software, and diarises review fee dates for the registered ASIC agent to lodge.

Client onboarding administration

Sets the new client up in the practice manager, prepares the engagement letter from the firm's template, sends the identity and TFN declaration pack for e-signature through Annature or FuseSign, and — where the client is an entity with an ABN other than a sole trader, so client-to-agent linking applies — walks them through nominating the practice in Online services for business. Individuals and sole traders are onboarded without that step.

Debtor and WIP follow-up

Runs the practice's own aged receivables and reminder sequence on the firm's templates, reconciles fee-from-refund arrangements against amounts banked, prepares the monthly WIP, write-off and unbilled report for the partner meeting, and lists the jobs that have sat in progress without movement.

Query list management

Keeps one running query list per job so a reviewer is never chasing the same missing invoice twice: what was asked, when, who answered, what is still open, and which items are the reason the file cannot go to review this week.

What stays with you

We are a staffing company, so this list argues against our own interest. It is also the part that matters: the work below is reserved, and no amount of supervision moves it. Get the line written down before anyone starts in an accounting practice.

  • Lodgement and the client's declaration stay with the agentOnly a registered tax or BAS agent lodges returns and activity statements or deals with the Commissioner on a client's behalf. That is a tax agent service under s 90-5 (or a BAS service under s 90-10); providing it unregistered for a fee contravenes the civil penalty in s 50-5. Before the agent lodges, the client must make the written declaration required by s 388-65 of Schedule 1 to the TAA 1953 — nobody in a support role signs it, approves it or supplies it on the client's behalf.Tax Practitioners Board (TASA 2009, ss 90-5, 90-10 and 50-5); Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Sch 1, s 388-65)
  • Advice on liabilities and entitlementsTelling a client what is deductible, whether GST applies to a supply, or how a transaction will be taxed is a tax agent or BAS service. A contractor prepares the numbers and raises the queries; the registered agent forms and communicates the position.Tax Practitioners Board (TASA 2009, s 90-5 and s 90-10)
  • Payroll reporting is a BAS serviceReporting a pay event or update event to the Commissioner through Single Touch Payroll, and working out how much PAYG withholding or superannuation guarantee a client owes, are BAS services — the TPB's payroll guidance is explicit that a provider doing this for a client has to be registered. Support work runs the pay run to settings the firm has already set and refers anything that looks wrong back; the registered agent checks the figures and reports them.Tax Practitioners Board (TPB(GS) 29/2016; TASA 2009, s 90-10)
  • Supervision stays with the registered agentPreparation work can sit offshore, but the registered agent remains responsible for it being done competently and must direct, oversee and check it — supervision commensurate with the work, not a signature applied at the end. Preparing returns, activity statements and workpapers is only safe where it is done on behalf of and under that supervision.Tax Practitioners Board (Code item 7; TPB(GS) 53/2024; TPB(GS) 31/2018)
  • Client consent before data travelsClient information cannot be disclosed offshore without the client's permission. The TPB expects practices to set this out in the engagement letter — what is disclosed, to whom, and where it is held — rather than rely on a general clause.Tax Practitioners Board (Code item 6; TPB(GS) 31/2018); Privacy Act 1988 (APP 8)
  • No shared ATO credentialsEvery person who accesses Online services for agents needs their own Digital ID and their own authorisation in Relationship Authorisation Manager. Staff without Australian identity documents apply for a Basic Digital ID, which carries restricted access in RAM. Credentials and devices are never shared, and access is granted and revoked by the practice, not by the contractor.Australian Taxation Office (myID, Basic Digital ID and RAM)
Popular roles

Roles for Accounting Firms

Xero & QuickBooks VAs →
Role

Bookkeeper

Day-to-day books, invoicing, reconciliations and payroll in Xero or MYOB.

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Role

Accountant

Management accounts, reconciliations and reporting under your CPA's direction.

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Role

Payroll Processor

Accurate pay runs, timesheets, superannuation and leave admin.

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Industry-specific

Specialist roles for accounting firms

Six dedicated roles built for practice work, each with the registration boundary named explicitly.

Ledgers

Client bookkeeper

Client files coded, reconciled and month-end ready for review.

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BAS

BAS prep assistant

Reconciliation packs your registered agent signs rather than rebuilds.

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Tax

Tax return preparation

Returns prepared to review stage with workpapers.

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SMSF

SMSF administration

Fund data, reconciliation, workpapers and audit prep.

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Practice

Practice administrator

Onboarding, ATO correspondence, billing and deadlines.

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Workflow

Workflow coordinator

Job status honest, lodgements tracked, bottlenecks surfaced.

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Questions

Frequently asked

Do we need our clients’ permission?
If you are a registered agent doing this for your clients, yes. Code item 6 of the Tax Agent Services Act stops you disclosing a client’s information to a third party without their permission, and the TPB’s outsourcing guidance names offshore contractors as third parties. Permission has to be obtained before the disclosure, not after — a general third-party consent in your engagement letter is acceptable to the TPB, and it should name what is disclosed, to whom and where. If you are a business doing your own books, the question does not arise: it is your own information.
Will they work under our supervision as part of the practice?
Yes — they're your team member, not an outsourced job-lot sent away and returned. They work in your practice software, in your workflow, under your review, on the recurring processing that fills a graduate's day: bank reconciliations, workpaper preparation, BAS and IAS prep, ATO correspondence chasing, client onboarding and data collection. Lodgement, advice and sign-off stay with your licensed staff — nothing changes about your professional obligations.
How do you handle client confidentiality and PI cover?
Every placement signs an NDA and confidentiality clause before day one and works inside your systems, so client files never leave your environment. Practically, they're treated exactly as you'd treat a remote graduate: named user, permissions you set, revocable instantly. It's worth telling your PI insurer you use offshore support staff under supervision — most have no issue with it, but the conversation is better had upfront than at claim time.
How much does it cost?
From $14/hr + GST for a full-time, dedicated team member — roughly $29K a year against $95K–$115K all-in for the local equivalent once you add super, leave, payroll tax, software and a desk. No placement fee, no setup fee, no recruitment retainer: you pay from the day they start, for hours worked. Interviewing candidates costs nothing. Run your numbers →
How fast can we start?
Typically 14 days from your discovery call to day one. In the first week we source and screen against your brief; you get three matched profiles and interview whoever you like. Once you choose, we handle the offer, the contract, equipment and connectivity checks, and induct them on our side before they reach you. Specialist roles — developers, NDIS claims, anything needing niche software — can take a week longer, because we won't pad a shortlist just to hit a date.
What if it's not the right fit?
You're covered twice over. If it's clearly wrong by day five, your first week is refunded in full. After that, a free replacement any time — new shortlist, new interviews, no second fee, because there was never a first one. Before it gets that far, talk to us: our HR manager will work through it with you and the team member, since most problems turn out to be an unclear process rather than the wrong person, and a fortnight of coaching usually fixes it. Replacing someone is the last resort, not the first move.
Is there a minimum term?
Three months, then month to month. It's the same runway you'd give a new local hire to learn your systems, your clients and your standards — and the team members who get a fair run are the ones who stay for years. There are no exit penalties at any point, and if the issue is the person rather than the role, the first-week refund and free replacement cover that separately.
How do you handle confidentiality?
The same way you'd treat any remote team member. Every placement signs an NDA and a confidentiality clause before day one, and they work inside your systems — your email, your CRM, your file storage — so you control what they can see and can revoke access instantly. No client data is stored on our side.