If you are planning to outsource your accounting services to an independent contractor, don’t forget to draft an accounting and contract. By using a contract template, you can ensure both parties agree to the terms of the legally binding contract.
An accounting contract or accounting services agreement is any type of contract you sign in exchange for an independent contractor’s accounting services to your company.
Having an accounting contract protects you in any situation where you entrust another person to handle accounting services or where you are the person providing the services. Accounting contracts are required for any situation where a client and government entities or client and small business agree to outsource their accounting services. This can take place on a monthly basis, annual basis, or anything in between.
When an independent contractor decides to perform accounting services, they might be given access to financial statements or be required to maintain complete records so that client requests can be honored at any time. When an accountant agrees to complete services, they might be fully authorized to maintain complete records and access sensitive information.
Because of this, there need to be legal measures in place that restrict what an independent contractor can do with that sensitive financial data. You might also need sections of the written agreement for contractor accounting service to provide details on who is legally responsible for any breaches of the contract or mishandling of the information.
Most independent contractors need industry knowledge too, relevant to the company hiring them.
You can choose to create an individual accounting services agreement for every engagement you have. Conversely you can create one template that you modify for each engagement. If you plan to work with 1 accountant regularly but still as an independent contractor, you can work with an attorney to draft an agreement that has the possibility of ongoing amendments or ongoing hourly work for multiple years at a time. That way, the person you hire can be turned to for any random project but is not necessarily required to work for you full time.
If you plan to write your own accounting contract, just make sure you abide by the following:
Fill in all information, especially if you are using a template. This extends to information about the parties involved, the services, and the payment.
You should coordinate with all counterparts ahead of time. Don’t dive right in and start preparing a contract when you don’t even have someone you want to hire. You can, of course, use accounting contract templates and have that ready for when you do come across the accountant you want to hire.
Before an accountant agrees to provide services, all parties must come to an agreement. This includes agreeing to:
A company can hire an accountant to do single services, such as preparing taxes with a specific deadline and an agreement to be compensated one time as a lump sum. Alternatively, the company could hire an accountant to do things, such as tax monitoring or balancing the checkbook, and handling expense reports for the few employees a business has. All of these individual services will dictate the terms of the agreement.
With an accounting contract template, you can download a Word document or PDF that can be easily filled out and signed. Make sure you have something that you can edit directly so that you are not beholden to terms of the accounting contract that don’t necessarily apply to your situation.
When you use this accounting template contract PDF, you assume all responsibility and liability. Lawrina retains no legal responsibility for the legal document’s accuracy, reliability, or functionality.
The unprofessional use of this legal form or other templates on this website could result in direct or indirect losses or damages. By downloading, printing, or using this agreement, you accept all liability for any loss or damage you may suffer.
Frequently Asked Questions
To ensure contract accounting work, you can use any form of communication so long as it takes place between the two parties involved and everyone agrees. You can have a phone call, chat online, or exchange emails until you have a comprehensive idea of what the terms will be.
Governing law is that which applies to both parties. This is something you can include in a simple accounting services agreement based on where you are located and/or where the other party is located. If you are located in different states, you need to choose which state laws govern the contract. Be sure to discuss this ahead of time. There might be certain aspects of the accounting services you want to obtain which relate to federal law, in which case that might serve as the governing law. What matters most is that you explain exactly what happens if there's a breach of contract.
This is tricky. It is advisable that you speak with an attorney who can review the accounting service contracts you had, any applicable law, and the situation at hand. Just because you hired an accountant doesn't mean they won't make mistakes. Even simple mistakes can end up costing you a great deal of money when it comes to things like taxes. If it was a mistake and not negligence, there's very little you can do other than try to avoid the same mistake moving forward.
