The accounting landscape is changing rapidly, with most accounting functions being automated, and accountants are on the edge of their seats trying to meet all the IRS deadlines. CPA firms, particularly those serving small businesses and startups, often require virtual assistance to enhance productivity, minimize operational costs, and scale efficiently.

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Why a Virtual Assistant for CPA is Essential??

Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) play a critical role in managing financial responsibilities, Tax filing, and compliance for individuals and businesses. Before we discuss the role of a virtual assistant for accountants, let’s try to understand what a typical CPA’s day looks like.

Here’s an overview of the roles and responsibilities of a CPA

1. Tax Preparation & Filing

2. Financial Reporting & Analysis

3. Audit & Assurance

4. Budgeting & Forecasting

5. Regulatory Compliance &

6. Advisory Services

A CPA’s role isn’t repetitive or predictable; it requires application of tax expertise and strict diligence with deadlines. In a sense, a CPA is the financial & tax representative of an organization to the IRS and other stakeholders. Missing tax deadlines, filing errors, or audit delays can lead to compliance violations, penalties, and interest charges for the client. It could further result in damaged client trust and tarnish the CPA’s opportunities to grow.

Why should a CPA consider hiring a VA?

Hiring a virtual assistant for CPA firms is not just about delegating repetitive tasks in accounting, such as recording journals and posting ledgers. It is meant to help a CPA oversee functions that can be delegated and utilize their expertise in advisory roles. There is a strategic scene in hiring a VA, here’s why

1. Administrative Overload is Costly

CPAs often waste a significant amount of time on non-billable tasks, such as email management, scheduling, data entry, and document organization. A virtual assistant can take over these administrative duties, freeing up time for the CPA. Hence, making time for the CPA to focus on tax planning, audit preparation, and financial consulting.

 2. Tax Season Demands Extra Help

January to April each year marks the peak tax season, which is usually the time when CPAs and accountants face immense pressure to meet deadlines. A VA can be hired part-time or for a specific period to handle tasks such as document collection, client communication follow-ups, and deadline tracking, ensuring smoother operations during peak seasons. Hiring a VA for a few months relieves you of the commitment of hiring a full-time in-house employee.

3. Client Communication and Relationship Management

CPAs are required to maintain timely communication with clients. Having a VA manage client inquiries, send reminders for document submission, and assist in maintaining CRM systems can streamline lead management and ensure that leads aren’t lost.

4. Bookkeeping and Data Entry Support

While CPAs handle advisory roles, VAs with basic accounting knowledge can manage bookkeeping, invoice tracking, and receipt reconciliation, with the CPA overseeing these functions to ensure accuracy. This may be useful for firms working with e-commerce and freelance clients.

5. Cost-Effective Staffing Solution

Hiring a virtual assistant, especially an offshore virtual assistant, is more affordable than onboarding a full-time employee. It reduces overhead costs, such as office space, insurance, and benefits, and provides flexibility, enabling CPA firms to scale up or down the VA support based on workload fluctuations.

6. Support for Marketing and Outreach

A CPA’s role isn’t limited to accounting, Tax advisory, and filing. In 2025, digital presence matters more than ever. Virtual assistants can support CPAs by managing social media posts, email newsletters, blog publishing, and client engagement initiatives. This could help firms attract and retain clients in a competitive market.

7. Document Management and Cloud Integration

Cloud-based tools, such as QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Google Workspace, are the norm in the accounting industry. Hiring a virtual assistant can help manage digital document workflows, organize client folders, ensure naming conventions, and back up data. All of these functions are essential to the functioning of the accounting industry.

8. Time Zone Advantage

Many CPA firms in the USA are hiring VAs from India. This enables round-the-clock productivity. Tasks assigned at the end of the workday are completed overnight. Not only does this boost efficiency, but it maintains workflow seamlessly.

9. Increased Focus on High-Value Work

The CPA’s core roles cannot be delegated. Hiring a virtual assistant allows the delegation of simpler, non-billable tasks. The CPA can then focus on high-value services, such as consulting, tax strategy, and financial forecasting. Clients are willing to pay a premium for such tasks.

By streamlining operations and eliminating administrative clutter, VAs help CPA firms avoid bottlenecks, reduce errors, and maintain compliance.

What are the tasks you can delegate to a Virtual Assistant (VA) as a CPA Firm?

1. Calendar and Deadline Management

• Monitoring key tax and filing deadlines
• Sending reminders for deliverables and client document submission
• Scheduling appointments with clients and stakeholders

2. Client Follow-ups & Document Collection

• Chasing clients for missing tax documents or financial statements
• Organizing incoming documents in cloud-based folders
• Ensuring all required data is ready before filing deadlines

3. Pre-filing Data Entry and Organization

• Entering receipts, invoices, and expenses into accounting systems
• Reconciliations of bank and credit card statements ahead of the CPA review

4. Task Coordination and Workflow Management

• Creating to-do lists and project management boards (e.g., in Trello, Asana)
• Keeping track of open tasks for each client
• Supporting time tracking and billing efforts

5. Template Preparation & Admin Support

• Drafting client engagement letters
• Preparing standard email responses
• Formatting financial reports and proposals

How much does it cost to hire a virtual assistant for a CPA firm?

Costs vary by location and expertise, but here’s a vague estimation for you to understand the budget for it:

• Offshore VAs (Philippines, India): $5–$15/hour
• US-based VAs: $20–$45/hour
• Specialized bookkeeping or CPA-trained VAs: $30–$75/hour
  You can also hire on a part-time or project basis to stay within budget.

How to Hire a Virtual Assistant for Your CPA Firm?

Hiring a Virtual Assistant for your CPA firm can be a real game-changer. You can achieve higher profit margins than your competition by hiring a few virtual assistants. Here’s how you should approach it to get the maximum value for a deal. You can use this approach to delegate efficiently and find the right fit for your needs.

Start by identifying and defining what tasks you want to delegate. Common VA roles in accounting firms include the options explained in the previous section, i.e.,

·        Calendar and Deadline Management

·        Client Follow-ups & Document Collection

·        Pre-filing Data Entry and Organization

·        Task Coordination and Workflow Management

·        Template Preparation & Admin Support

Choose the Type of VA you require for your CPA operations

• General VA – handles admin tasks
• Bookkeeping VA – familiar with tools like QuickBooks, Xero
• CPA-focused VA – has accounting knowledge and experience working with CPA firms
• Specialized VA – handles specific tools (e.g., tax software like Drake, ProSeries)

Proceed to decide on the location. This is a vital decision when you want to hire a VA. Your options can be classified broadly as

• Domestic VAs (US-based): More expensive, but suited for client-facing roles or regulatory familiarity.
• Offshore VAs (India & Philippines): Cost-effective, often available for overnight tasks due to time zone differences.

Use Trusted Platforms to hire a virtual assistant for accountants

Here are the top websites and resources to hire reliable virtual assistants for CPA firms in 2025:

·        Belay

·        Upwork

·        OnlineJobs.ph

·        Toptal

·        Freelancer.com

·        Zirtual

·        Time Etc

·        TaskBullet / MyOutDesk

·        We Work Remotely

Profitjets’ Tips for Hiring the Right VA for Your CPA Firm

Hiring the right talent is crucial, especially when tasks pertaining to your customers’ financials and taxes are concerned. The talent you hire represents your quality of work. Here’s Profitjets helping you make an informed decision.  

• Request a trial project. Assign a test task to evaluate knowledge of bookkeeping and accounting practices and skills like attention to detail before onboarding. Verify that the trial project aligns with the qualifications and skill set represented on the CV. A VA who has previously worked with CPAs or bookkeeping firms is a bonus!
• Clearly disclose the full scope of roles and responsibilities, and explain the typical workload. A possible increase may occur during peak season. Fuss disclosure at the start helps avoid confusion once the VA has onboarded.
• An accounting VA’s work is no longer limited to accounting. You have to test a VA’s proficiency while working with cloud-based accounting. Are they proficient with  Google Drive, QuickBooks Online, Hubstaff, LastPass, etc. Our suggestion is to hire a couple of months sooner than peak season to account for the training period.
• Discuss the payment. Are you planning to bill on an hourly or monthly basis? What would be a convenient method? Also, remember to discuss the holiday calendar earlier.
• While preparing a contract, set up a robust NDA clause, as it is essential to secure your client’s financial data.
• Although client-facing jobs are typically carried out by the in-house teams of a CPA firm, if you need to delegate a client-facing task, discuss the change in shift when hiring offshore.
• Start small: Like all things new, incorporating a VA into your regular operations takes time. You can’t change your workflow overnight; the practice has to build slowly for it to fit into your typical functioning organically.  You could start with a trial period or part-time engagement and then scale up.

Key Takeaways:

Hiring a virtual assistant for accountants is an ‘out of the box’ solution to delegating non-billable tasks. A few recommendations and tips can be used to hire a Virtual Assistant (VA) to ensure value for money, seamless integration into the workflow, and data security.

Profitjets is an outsourced bookkeeping and accounting firm. We also provide tax filing, tax advisory, expert CFO services, and outsourced bookkeeping for CPAs. We have a track record of over 15 years and satisfied customers, serving as a testament to the quality of our services, as well as our proficiency and accuracy. You could benefit from our expertise, as we also provide VA services for CPA firms. Contact us for a quote.

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