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Playbook

How to hire your first employee at an accounting firm

For sole practitioners and small partnerships deciding on a first hire. You finish with a decision, a role written around outcomes, and a plan for the first 90 days.

At a glance

  • 5 steps
  • 4 min to read
  • 4 to 8 weeks to put in place
  • 1 template included

What you’ll walk away with

  • A clear yes or no on hiring, backed by your own numbers
  • One route chosen from hire, outsource or offshore, with the reason written down
  • A role scorecard with outcomes and a named reviewer
  • A live ad, a pay range and your shortlist criteria
  • A 90-day plan with the check-ins booked

Learning check · before you start

What do you already have in place?

A few quick questions, so you can skip the steps you have already done. Each one has a line explaining what it means. Not sure, or never heard of it? Choose “Not yet / not sure”: that is where most firms start, and the playbook walks you through it.

  1. Have you checked your fees and named the recurring revenue that would pay for a hire?

    A hire fixes a capacity problem, not a pricing one, so check your fees first. Recurring revenue is income you can rely on each year, such as monthly bookkeeping, not one-off projects, and it has to cover the full cost of the role.

  2. Have you chosen between hiring, outsourcing and offshoring, and written down why?

    Outsourcing sends work to another firm; offshoring uses people based overseas. Either way, confidentiality, privacy and the quality of the work stay your responsibility, so compare cost, control, what clients must be told and the time you will spend reviewing.

  3. Do you have a role scorecard that lists outcomes and who reviews the work?

    A scorecard is a one-page description of the role built on results, not duties. "Monthly bookkeeping for a set list of clients, closed by the tenth and reviewed by me" is an outcome; "bookkeeping" is a task.

  4. Is the role advertised, with a pay range and shortlist criteria already set?

    Set the pay range from a published salary guide for your region before the first interview, so the first candidate does not anchor you. Shortlist criteria are three things from the scorecard you score every applicant against.

  1. Step 1: Check the firm is ready to carry a salary

    Done when: You can name the work the hire will take off you, and the recurring revenue that pays for it.

    Your task list the work you turn down or do late, and the hours you spend on work someone else could do, then compare the full cost of a hire with the regular revenue it would free you to earn.

    How to do it, and what to read

    A hire fixes a capacity problem, not a pricing one, so check your fees first. Then list the work you keep turning down or doing late, and the hours you spend on work someone else could do. Count only recurring revenue you can rely on, not one-off projects. Put the full cost of the role (pay, on-costs, equipment and your own training time) against the revenue it frees you to earn. Say you spend ten hours a week on bookkeeping you could hand over: what would you bill in those hours instead?

    Learning check

    What would you do? Pick one; every answer is explained.

    You run a small accounting practice and you are swamped, so you are thinking of hiring. Your fees have not gone up in several years. What should you look at first?
    This year your revenue included a large one-off project you are unlikely to repeat. Should you count it in the revenue that will pay for a new employee?
    You are working out what a new employee would really cost each year. What belongs in that figure?

  1. Step 2: Decide: hire, outsource or offshore

    Done when: You have chosen one route and written down why.

    Your task compare hiring, outsourcing and offshoring side by side on full cost, control over quality and deadlines, what you must tell clients about their data, and your review time, then choose one and write down why.

    How to do it, and what to read

    Compare the three routes in one table on four rows: the full cost, how much control you keep over quality and deadlines, what you must tell clients about who handles their data, and the hours you will spend reviewing the work. Outsourcing and offshoring do not move your obligations: confidentiality, privacy and the quality of the work stay with your firm. Mark which of your tasks are defined and repeatable, and which need judgement and client contact; the outsourcing guides set out which kinds of work travel well and which do not.

    Learning check

    What would you do? Pick one; every answer is explained.

    An outsourcing provider (an outside firm that does work for you) says they handle privacy and quality, so you need not worry about either. How should you treat that?
    You are deciding which of your tasks could go to an outside team. Which kind of work usually suits it best?
    An offshore provider has the lowest hourly rate of the options you are looking at. Is that enough to choose it?

  2. Step 3: Write the role around outcomes

    Done when: The role scorecard lists outcomes, not tasks, and who reviews the work.

    Your task fill in a role scorecard (a one-page description of the job) with three to five results the person will own, how you will know each is done well, who reviews the work, and which skills you are willing to teach.

    How to do it, and what to read

    Before you write an ad, fill in the scorecard: three to five outcomes the person will own, how you will know each one is done well, and who reviews the work. “Monthly bookkeeping for a set list of clients, closed by the tenth and reviewed by me” is an outcome; “bookkeeping” is a task. Add the skills those outcomes need, and mark which ones you are willing to teach. Fit the seat first, then look for the person. The scorecard also carries the 90-day plan you will finish in step 5.

    Learning check

    What would you do? Pick one; every answer is explained.

    You are writing a role scorecard: a one-page list of the results a new hire will be responsible for. Which of these is a clear result they could own?
    Someone you like and trust is available to start now, but you have not yet written down what the role involves. What should you do?
    Your scorecard lists six skills for the role, and almost no applicants have all of them. What should you do?

  3. Step 4: Advertise and decide what you will pay

    Done when: The role is live and you know your pay range and your shortlist criteria.

    Your task set the pay range from a published salary guide for your area and what the role is worth to you, post the ad, and write three shortlist criteria from the scorecard.

    How to do it, and what to read

    Set the pay range before the first interview, from a published salary guide for your region and what the outcomes are worth to you, so the first candidate does not anchor you. Post the role where accountants look, and weigh a recruiter’s fee against the hours you would otherwise spend screening. Write three shortlist criteria from the scorecard and score every applicant against them. Add a short practical task, such as reviewing a sample file, so you are not judging on the interview alone.

    Learning check

    What would you do? Pick one; every answer is explained.

    Your first interview is tomorrow and you have not decided what you can pay. What should you do?
    A recruitment agency offers to find candidates for you, for a fee. How should you decide?
    Two applicants both interview well. How should you choose between them?

  4. Step 5: Plan the first 90 days

    Done when: A 90-day plan exists before the start date, with check-ins booked.

    Your task write a 90-day plan before the start date covering week one, month one and month three, name who they ask when you are busy, and book check-ins at about weeks two, six and twelve.

    How to do it, and what to read

    Write the plan before the start date, matched to the scorecard: what they learn in week one, what they own by the end of month one, and what they run alone by month three. Name who they ask when you are with a client. Book check-ins at about weeks two, six and twelve now, so they happen. At each one, look at which work has stopped landing on your desk. Set up payroll, logins and system access before day one, not on it.

    Learning check

    What would you do? Pick one; every answer is explained.

    Your new hire starts in two weeks. When should you set up their payroll, logins and system access?
    You have written a 90-day plan for your new hire. When should you book your check-in meetings with them?
    Six weeks into a new hire, you sit down to judge whether it is working. What is the best measure?

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First hire role scorecard

Role outcomes, the reviewer and a 90-day plan on one page. Editable .docx.

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Frequently asked questions

Should my first hire be an accountant or an administrator?

Hire for the work that keeps you from your best-paid work. If admin eats your week, an administrator frees more of your time than a second accountant would; if technical work is backing up, hire for that.

Is outsourcing cheaper than hiring?

It can be per hour, but you trade some control and you keep the same obligations for client data and the quality of the work. Compare the full cost, including the time you spend reviewing.

How do I know the hire is working?

Write down the work they will own before they start, and watch when it stops landing on your desk. That, not hours logged, is the measure in the first 90 days.

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