Dear lajohn1,
In seeking freelance accounting contracts, you will find that the web is
rife with fraudulent offers of work. You should especially be suspicious
of contract postings that require you to send personal or financial
details to a purported employer or agency. In every such case I have
seen, and I have seen many, these are not genuine offers but cruel ploys
designed to bilk you of substantial sums. Bear in mind that there is no
real need, when you are establishing a short-term work contract, for you
to make any investment in the project or to reveal your identity. You
should be able to remain anonymous to prospective employers, so that all
they know of you are your qualifications and perhaps some recommendations
provided by others.
To preserve your anonymity and safeguard your financial interests in
seeking freelance work online, you are best off paying an agency to
provide you with leads and ideally to provide billing or negotiation
services between you and your short-term employers. The two major firms
providing these services at the moment are Guru and eLance. There are
other agencies that specialize in technical fields such as programming
and web design, but Guru and eLance are the only prominent ones that
have listings for short-term accounting contracts.
Guru currently has four listings for projects that call for CPA
skills. See the left-hand column on the following page.
Guru: CPAs (Accounting, Auditing, Tax Planning)
http://www.guru.com/category.cfm/1605
A basic account with Guru is free, but to enhance your search privileges
and to maximize your exposure to potential employers, you will want to
subscribe to the Guru service for $99.95 per quarter. Under this plan,
Guru charges you a 5% commission for the value of each project you
undertake. Most employers who use Guru avail themselves of the SafePay
Escrow service. In this way, the contract payment is submitted in advance
to a secure account where neither you nor the employer may access it
until you both agree that the contract has been properly fulfilled. In
the event of a dispute, arbitration services are provided by Guru.
Guru: How does Guru.com work?
http://www.guru.com/help/commonqs-emps.cfm#work
On eLance, three short-term accounting projects are listed at present.
eLance: Accounting & Bookkeeping
http://www.elance.com/c/search/main/lSearch.pl?domain=projects&mode=browse&catid=10245&cS=Y&countries=
The highest level of professional subscription to eLance costs $95
for one month or $195 per quarter, but less expensive options are
also available. Unlike Guru, eLance does not provide escrow accounts
for payment. However, if you use eLance's billing system to bill your
clients, you gain access to dispute-resolution services through the
reputable mediation firm Squaretrade.
eLance FAQ: Who pays me for my work?
http://www.elance.com/c/static/main/displayhtml.pl?&file=seller_faqs.html#11
You may also be interested to know that eLance cites Accounting &
Finance as one of its Up-and-Coming Categories, showing the greatest
increase in number of leads.
eLance FAQ: What is a typical project/buyer?
http://www.elance.com/c/static/main/displayhtml.pl?&file=seller_faqs.html#11
I have not personally subscribed to eLance, but I have used similar
contracting agencies in the fields of software development and copywriting
with a considerable measure of success. I also subscribe to Guru's free
service, which sends me project listings once in a while. If I should
feel the need to search more actively for short-term contracts, I shall
certainly subscribe to the paid Guru service. As for eLance, I would sign
up for just one month before committing myself to the quarterly or annual
plan. Once again, I urge you to be alert for the many crocks out there,
and I wish you all the best in your freelance work.
Regards,
leapinglizard |
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