Outsourced accounting services for US businesses
saved per year per accountant against the US median wage loaded for employer costs. A $108,784 fully-loaded US accountant (BLS median $83,680 × 1.3) against a dedicated accountant at $14,784/year. That is the gross figure, before your own onboarding and management time.
Dedicated remote accounting staff working under your finance lead, inside your accounting systems. Month-end close, accruals and reconciliations, management reporting, AP/AR oversight, audit prep and FP&A support — from $7/hour ($1,232/month full-time). You direct the work and sign off the close; we handle recruitment, contracts, payroll and HR. Your CPA still signs and files your returns.
Where the $94,000/year per accountant comes from.
US figures in this table are fully loaded — salary plus benefits, recruitment, equipment and office overhead — not take-home pay. The savings shown (86% gross · we quote 70–85% after your own overheads) compare that total with Zedtreeo’s published rate, before your own management time. BLS medians for each role are published in the Rate Index.
| Cost Component | In-House (US) | Zedtreeo Dedicated | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| US accountant median wage (BLS, Accountants and Auditors) | $83,680 | $14,784 | $68,896 |
| Employer costs at our published 1.3 load | $25,104 | Included | $25,104 |
| Total Year 1 | $108,784 | $14,784 | −$94,000 (86% gross · we quote 70–85% after your own overheads) |
Six reasons buyers move first.
Accounting is not bookkeeping, and the page you need depends on which you mean
Bookkeeping keeps the ledger current: bills, invoices, bank feeds, categorisation. Accounting turns that ledger into statements you can rely on — close, accruals, reconciliations, management reporting and audit prep. Whether one person handles both depends on workload, entity complexity and review requirements. If it is the daily ledger you need, the bookkeeping page is the better fit.
A close that lands before the numbers go stale
The common failure is not bad bookkeeping. It is a close that takes so long the board reads last quarter's numbers. A dedicated accountant owns the close checklist, the accruals and the reconciliations on a fixed calendar, so management accounts arrive while they still describe the business.
Your controller stops doing data entry
In most finance teams the most expensive person is reconciling accounts. Moving close preparation, reconciliations and reporting to a dedicated accountant frees your controller for analysis, budgeting and the board pack — the work you actually hired them for.
You keep the controls
Your accounting software, your user account, role-based permissions and two-factor authentication — the data stays in your cloud environment. Journal entries and reconciliations are reviewed and signed off on your side before the close is final, and releasing payments stays with your approvers. The accountant prepares, schedules and reports to your finance lead.
FP&A when the reporting outgrows the close
Budgets, forecasts, variance analysis and board-pack schedules are the natural next step once the close is reliable. A dedicated FP&A analyst starts at $9/hour, so the modelling capacity arrives without a second full-time US hire.
The line with your CPA stays where it is
Signing and filing tax returns, representing you to the IRS, tax advice and audit opinions stay with your licensed CPA. Your accountant prepares tax-ready books and the supporting schedules. This is the same split US firms already run internally.
From brief to first day of work.
Most engagements move from first conversation to a fully onboarded dedicated specialist in under two weeks.
Brief
Your systems, close calendar and the hours you need covered. We agree working hours and overlap at matching. Day 1.
Shortlist
Candidates screened for relevant US GAAP experience and your accounting software. Within 48 hours.
Interview
You interview and choose. Days 2–5.
Trial
5-day risk-free trial on your real books before you commit.
Run
Most accountants start 7–10 days after the brief. Free replacement, no time limit.
Tiered by experience, not by tricks.
No recruitment fees, no minimums, no per-task surcharges. Month-to-month.
Accountant
Junior accountant (1–3 yrs): reconciliations, invoice and expense processing, close support, basic reporting.
- ✓Full-time dedicated
- ✓Your accounting software
- ✓NDA + role-based access
- ✓Free replacement
Close lead
Mid-level (3–6 yrs): owns month-end close, financial statements, multi-entity work, payroll and tax-prep support.
- ✓Close checklist ownership
- ✓Multi-entity consolidation
- ✓Management reporting
- ✓Audit-prep schedules
Senior / specialist
Senior accountant (6+ yrs), controller functions from $10/hr, or an FP&A analyst from $9/hr.
- ✓Budgeting + forecasting
- ✓Audit preparation
- ✓ERP experience
- ✓Reviews junior work
When NOT to hire — an honest take.
A dedicated accountant runs your close and reporting inside your systems. Three situations call for something else first.
- Historical cleanup should be scoped separately from ongoing accounting.
- You need a licensed US CPA signature — filing, IRS representation and audit opinions stay with your CPA.
- The role is client-facing advisory, or needs to sit in the room with your team.
Common questions.
If you don't see your question, our team usually replies within 4 hours.
What does outsourced accounting cost?
What is the difference between outsourced accounting and bookkeeping?
How much does it save against a US hire?
Who employs the accountant?
Do they know US GAAP?
Which accounting software do they work in?
Who reviews the work and approves payments?
How fast can an accountant start?
What if the accountant is not the right fit?
Related pages.
Save $94,000 per seat. Year 1.
Get matched with a dedicated specialist in 48 hours. Free 5-day trial. No long-term contracts. No recruitment fees.