It is tax time and you need to bring on a few accounting temps to help you with the process. Tax season is not the time to hire someone full time to manage your books, but it does make sense to bring on a few contract professionals to help with the process. If you do not take the time to hire the right people, though, you could end up with more of a mess than what you started with going into this season.
Do They Know Enough?
When hiring accounting temps, take a closer look at who you are bringing on. You likely do not want someone who will come in and try to make significant changes to your accounting practices. That would slow things down and affect everyone’s job. You do want to hire someone to offer the expertise necessary. Hire a professional with knowledge. Here is what to look for in these professionals.
- Ensure the accounting temps have experience using the types of software programs you are currently using. There is no time or patience right now for the new hire to learn the books. They need to know it before you bring them on.
- Are they go-getters? It can be hard to find the right accounting temps based on your lack of ability to interview them enough. However, you need someone that is going to jump right in and get work done without much training or hands on attention.
- They do not have to be certified accountants to do the job. However, they likely should have some experience in the field. After all, one mistake they make now means countless hours for your team to figure out the problem. Experience helps.
The right accounting temps is important, but it is also important for you to take steps to make the process go smoothly.
What You Need to Do Now
If you need to bring on accounting temps to help with the tax season, you also need to put your books in order now. Avoid waiting until the last minute to get organized. You may also want to hold onto a quality temp after the season is over for a few weeks to set up a system to keep you organized going into next year. The key here is to ensure that those who work with you have the ability to do their job well.
For those who are already behind, it pays to make this clear to anyone you plan to bring on. You may need to bring on more than one person to get the business’s records up to date. Be sure you state this as you look for and compare your options in accounting temps.
Do not be the last business to hire these professionals either. It is almost inevitable that a run on these professionals will happen in the weeks leading up to tax filing season. However, it is always a good idea to bring on temps sooner. You will get better qualified professionals.