How To Hire An Outsourced Accountant In Ukraine?

Starting your business in Ukraine, no matter what size it was initially, and no matter what business model you operate, you will face a number of standard questions:

• What form of business structure will be more profitable for me in Ukraine? LLC, sole proprietorship, or maybe a representative office if you are a foreign company that wants to expand its market?

• Can I start my business immediately or will I need special permits to operate in Ukraine? This includes all sorts of licenses and permits for different kinds of business activities subject to licensing in accordance with the law of Ukraine.

• What taxes will I have to pay during my activity and how do I make head of all the statements and forms of tax reporting?

Our lawyers will help you with all these questions, as well as the information on the website in the Publications section.

As for the topic of our article, the issue of tax reporting and proper organization of accounting at the start of your business has several subtle aspects:

• Do you need an accountant at the start of your business?

• If so, do you need an in-house accountant or may you use outsourced accounting services?

In fact, there are many more questions. We will try to debunk some of the fears and answer the most frequently asked questions of our Clients.

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Do you need to hire an accountant at the start of your business?

Based on our practice and those cases that brought us Clients with existing problems due to the lack of an accountant, we have made a list of situations where you need an accountant at the very start of your business:

• If your type of business explicitly provides for an accountant. This rule often applies to financial activities such as starting a pawnshop. In such cases, the presence of an accountant is required usually by the licensing regulations or work permit. And accordingly, you can’t even use the outsourced accounting services - this is the only case when you need an in-house accountant.

• If you plan to work with foreign contractors. A good example is an IT company working with foreign contractors and selling the right to use software or other results of intellectual labor. A big problem for such companies is the arrangement of relations regarding the transfer of rights to the software - the work is usually done by IT-specialists working as sole proprietors, which requires special arrangement of employment relations and accounting. 

• If you are a foreign company or a resident of another country and want to start a business in Ukraine by starting a company or a representative office. If you don’t know the norms, rules of doing business and peculiarities of communication with local tax authorities, you better immediately obtain the accounting services.

If you don’t know yet how profitable accounting services will be for you at this stage of your business development - contact our experts for advice. We will analyze your case and offer the best option. 

Please note! When ordering a follow-up service, the cost of consulting a tax accounting lawyer will be included in the cost of the main service.

Take an accountant in the staff or outsource will do?

From a legal point of view, you can work with an outsourced accountant in all cases except those where the presence of an accountant on staff is expressly provided for in the law.

In fact, the answer to the question of who to choose - an in-house accountant or an outsourced accountant, lies solely in the plane of professional accounting services and the required amount of services, because:

• Your main need is a professional bookkeeping and personnel accounting of the company. It’s impossible to say which accountant, in-house or outsourced, will be more professional - it all depends solely on the specialist;

• A large volume of tasks is more likely to get handled by a professional accountant and lawyer working together, as it happens in our firm. In-house accountants are often treated as a magic wand that will solve any problems, but such an in-house specialist will either be incredibly expensive, or will not have all the necessary skills.

The undeniable advantages of outsourced accounting services include:

• No sick leave - when you work with outsourced staff, you agree on a certain amount of services to be performed. You are not in danger of postponing deadlines or late reports because of sick leave. 

• No need to rent or expand an office for an accountant.

• No need to provide an accountant with professional equipment or software. Outsourced accountants already have all this.

• Lack of standard costs for staff (accountants), such as vacations, insurance payments, or fixed salary rates. You will pay only for the amount of work done.

How to work with an outsourced accountant? 

Work with an outsourced accountant shall be built through the conclusion of an accounting services agreement. Such an agreement must stipulate the following provisions:

• the price of the services provided, the term and methods of payment;

• the list of accounting services for which you pay;

• the list of reports that the accountant will have to prepare and send to the regulatory authorities, the deadline for their submission;

• A list of documentation, which should be provided to a remote accountant for quality work;

• The obligation regarding the non-disclosure of confidential information, as well as penalties for violating this rule;

• Liability for non-performance or poor performance of obligations by an outsourced accountant.

Our company always offers its Clients individually drafted agreements for accounting services in Ukraine. Moreover, in order to guarantee the safety of our Clients we undertake to refund 5% for poorly rendered services, in accordance with the agreement.

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Is it safe to work with an outsourced accountant?

Outsourced accounting services are a contractual relationship, which allow you to  formalise all possible ways to protect your information and business. Often this format of work is even more reliable than a simple employment relationship.

What kind of accounting services does our firm offer?

• Timely completion and submission of reports to the tax authorities;

• Timely payment of taxes;

• Maintenance of payroll projects (payroll and bonuses);

• Transfer of funds between foreign accounts;

• Settlements in foreign currencies with Ukrainian and foreign counterparties, etc.

Please note! One of the advantages of our company’s accounting services is that the accounting documents are additionally checked by the company’s lawyer. This creates double control and a guarantee of keeping records within the law. Moreover, the lawyer can advise you how to get out of this or that situation, including tax consulting.

In addition, our company offers you the personnel accounting services, which is a mandatory requirement for all companies in Ukraine, which use hired labor. We offer:

• Maintenance of primary personnel records - this includes documenting the employment, dismissal, vacations of personnel, etc;

• Maintenance of accounting records for the accrual of salaries and other payments to employees;

• Assistance in developing the rules of internal labor regulations of the company;

• Preparation and submission of reports to the Pension Fund, tax authorities, statistics agencies;

• Preparation of documents on employment of foreign citizens;

• Execution of full financial liability agreements and much more.

How much do outsourced accountant services cost in Ukraine? Won’t I overpay?

It is a common myth that the price of accounting outsourcing services is higher than that of an in-house accountant. This is a misconception.

The cost of accounting services will depend on:

• What is the scope of services you need?

• Do you additionally need help with personnel accounting?

• How complex is your business in terms of accounting?

Our company offers you different packages of legal and accounting services, the price of which you can find here.

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Legal services for bookkeeping and personnel accounting is a comprehensive solution to your business problems.

If your goal is successful business in Ukraine, we can help you at any stage of this task. Accounting services and consulting are not our only bag of tricks.

We can help you obtain any licenses and employ, for example, foreign workers in your company.

Do you want to ensure high-quality and professional accounting for your business? Don’t hesitate to contact us! We provide accounting services both for Ukrainian and foreign companies doing business in Ukraine. Our goal is to ensure that you have no problems!

Didn’t find an answer to your question?

All information about Accounting in Ukraine here.