--- title: "Virtual assistant services for accounting & bookkeeping firms" description: "Virtual assistant for accounting & bookkeeping firms: a named assistant handling admin, documents, scheduling and data. Ask about the hours you need." url: https://assistbpo.com/industries/accounting-firms/virtual-assistant/ updated: 2026-09-20 publisher: AssistBPO (SS Support Network LLC) language: en-US --- # Virtual assistant services for accounting & bookkeeping firms AssistBPO's virtual assistant services for accounting and bookkeeping firms put a named, employed practice assistant on the work that eats partner hours between January and October. Onboarding new clients, chasing provided-by-client lists, tracking deadlines, sending and chasing e-signatures, delivering returns through the portal and answering the phone when preparers cannot. [Get a staffing plan](https://assistbpo.com/get-a-staffing-plan/) [Book a 20-minute call](https://assistbpo.com/book-a-call/) This page [Accounting & bookkeeping firms](https://assistbpo.com/industries/accounting-firms/) [Virtual assistant services](https://assistbpo.com/services/virtual-assistant/) Updated September 2026 ## How does a virtual assistant work for accounting? The assistant works in your hours inside Karbon, TaxDome, Canopy or whichever workflow tool you run, follows your checklists and sends an end-of-day report listing what was chased, what arrived and which engagements are stuck on the client. Tax advice, preparation, review and signing stay with your licensed staff; the assistant never touches them. Where the firm also uses LedgerBPO for its own billing or for client bookkeeping, one team lead spans both, so a bank statement the assistant chases lands with the bookkeeper the same day. Onboarding takes about a week: we document your engagement types, portal, naming conventions, deadline calendar and the exact client-facing scripts, then the assistant shadows your office manager on the first engagements. Plain definition ## What are managed virtual assistant services? Managed virtual assistant services provide a remote assistant who is recruited, employed, trained and supervised by a staffing company rather than hired directly as a freelancer. You get a named person for a block of hours each month, a backup for continuity and a team lead who reviews quality. The provider handles payroll, equipment, security and replacement so you only handle the work. ## What tasks does a virtual assistant cover for accounting and bookkeeping firms? - Send engagement letters and organizers for e-signature and chase them - Set up new clients in your workflow tool and portal - Work the PBC list daily by portal, email and phone - Maintain the federal, state, extension and estimate deadline calendar - Send Form 8879 and deliver finished returns through the portal - Answer the firm line in your name during season peaks - Prepare the Friday WIP and stuck-engagement report - Hand billing and collections to LedgerBPO where the firm uses both ## The KPI that matters here PBC close rate before the internal preparation deadline. When documents arrive on time, returns get finished instead of extended, and that is the number the assistant moves. ## What rules does a virtual assistant follow for accounting? 1. **No tax advice or signing.** Under IRS Circular 230 and PTIN rules, only your preparers and licensed professionals give tax advice, sign returns or represent clients. In the UK that work sits with the firm's chartered or certified accountants; in Australia only a registered tax or BAS agent under the TPB Code provides tax agent services. Assistants collect, chase, schedule and organize. 2. **IRC Section 7216 and client confidentiality.** Section 7216 and Treasury Regulation 301.7216 restrict how tax return information is used and disclosed, and the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct rule 1.700 requires client confidentiality. The firm confirms its disclosure and consent position before an assistant sees return data, and the assistant works only inside the firm's systems under NDA. 3. **FTC Safeguards Rule and your WISP.** Tax preparers are financial institutions under GLBA, and the FTC Safeguards Rule (16 CFR Part 314) plus IRS Publication 4557 require a written information security plan. Assistants operate under your WISP: MFA, managed devices, least-privilege portal access and no local copies, including for files handled from the second office in Pakistan. 4. **AML client due diligence and privacy abroad.** UK firms run client due diligence under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, supervised by HMRC or their professional body; assistants collect ID and verification documents into the firm's system while the MLRO makes every decision. Canadian firms apply PIPEDA and Australian firms the Privacy Act, including APP 8 for cross-border handling. ## Accounting software we work in - [QuickBooks Online](https://assistbpo.com/software/quickbooks-online/) - [Xero](https://assistbpo.com/software/xero/) - [Microsoft 365](https://assistbpo.com/software/microsoft-365/) - [Calendly](https://assistbpo.com/software/calendly/) - [RingCentral](https://assistbpo.com/software/ringcentral/) Also in use - Karbon - TaxDome - Canopy [See all 80 tools we work in](https://assistbpo.com/software/) ## More for accounting and bookkeeping firms Other services for accounting - [Virtual receptionist](https://assistbpo.com/industries/accounting-firms/virtual-receptionist/) - [Appointment scheduling](https://assistbpo.com/industries/accounting-firms/appointment-scheduling/) - [Customer support](https://assistbpo.com/industries/accounting-firms/customer-support-outsourcing/) - [Email management](https://assistbpo.com/industries/accounting-firms/email-management/) - [Calendar management](https://assistbpo.com/industries/accounting-firms/calendar-management/) - [Data entry](https://assistbpo.com/industries/accounting-firms/data-entry/) - [The accounting pod](https://assistbpo.com/industries/accounting-firms/) Virtual assistant in other industries - [Financial advisors & wealth firms](https://assistbpo.com/industries/financial-advisors/virtual-assistant/) - [Mortgage brokers & lenders](https://assistbpo.com/industries/mortgage/virtual-assistant/) - [Insurance agencies](https://assistbpo.com/industries/insurance/virtual-assistant/) - [Coaches, consultants & creators](https://assistbpo.com/industries/coaches-consultants/virtual-assistant/) - [The full virtual assistant page](https://assistbpo.com/services/virtual-assistant/) ## Frequently asked questions ### Will the assistant prepare or review returns? No. Preparation, review, advice and signing stay with your PTIN holders and licensed professionals under Circular 230. The assistant does everything around the return: onboarding, document chasing, deadline tracking, e-signature follow-up, delivery and client communication about process. If you need bookkeeping done for the firm or its clients, that is LedgerBPO's job, and the two brands share a team lead so nothing falls between them. ### How does the assistant learn our firm's process? In the first week we build a desk manual with your office manager: engagement types, portal and naming conventions, PBC checklist by return type, deadline calendar, client scripts and escalation rules. The assistant shadows the first onboarding and chase cycle, and the team lead reviews the first two weeks of work against the manual. New rules, such as a state deadline change or a new engagement letter, go into the manual so the backup follows the same process. ### What happens outside tax season? The assistant moves to the summer list: extension chasing, quarterly estimate reminders, advisory meeting scheduling, client list cleanup, CPE and license renewal tracking for partners, and preparation for the next season's organizers. Many firms drop from a seasonal pod to one dedicated assistant in May and keep that person through October. Hours are agreed in the staffing plan and adjusted on notice. Next step ## Your desk, staffed. Wherever you are. Tell us what is overloaded. A named person replies within 1 business day with a staffing plan, and we propose your assistant within 72 hours. [Get a staffing plan](https://assistbpo.com/get-a-staffing-plan/) [Book a 20-minute call](https://assistbpo.com/book-a-call/) Or call [+1-657-777-0006](tel:+16577770006) during US, UK or Australian business hours, or [hear our demo receptionist](https://assistbpo.com/demo-line/). - A named assistant proposed within 72 hours - Employed, screened and managed staff, never freelancers - Your hours, your tools, your data --- Source: https://assistbpo.com/industries/accounting-firms/virtual-assistant/ · Contact: https://assistbpo.com/contact/ · Full site map for agents: https://assistbpo.com/llms.txt