Licensed CPA
Return review, technical positions, complex engagements
View role →FOR US ACCOUNTING FIRMS · BACKGROUND-CHECKED · 5-DAY RISK-FREE TRIAL
⌬ CAPACITY FOR YOUR PRACTICE
Your bench, without the hire.
Most remote staffing sells a bookkeeper to a business. You are not that buyer. You need capacity to serve yourclients — people who work inside your ledger software, follow your close process, and pass through your review chain. That is a different problem, and it starts with a different question: what happens to your clients’ data.
So we answer that one first, below — before the pricing, before the roles.
⌬ Quick Answer
How do US CPA firms use Zedtreeo for tax-season capacity?
As a dedicated bench rather than seasonal hires: US-licensed CPAs from $3,872/month and accounting staff (bookkeepers, tax preparers, staff accountants) from $1,760/month, full-time and exclusive to your firm, working inside your tax software and workpaper stack under your review. Client consent for offshore preparation is handled under IRC §7216 before any return data moves; the operating company is ISO 27001:2022 certified. Compare that with a loaded US staff accountant at roughly $8,717/month (BLS OEWS May 2025 median $83,680 × 1.25 ÷ 12). Shortlist in 48 hours, 5-day free trial per seat, month-to-month after that.
Reviewed .
What the bench does month by month
Nov – Jan · Ramp
Onboard onto your tax software, workpaper templates and review checklist; clean up prior-year carryforwards; organiser follow-ups; engagement letters and §7216 consents collected before any return data moves.
Feb – Apr · Peak
1040/1120/1120-S/1065 preparation to review-ready state, tie-outs and K-1 packages, e-file rejections and notices — the same named preparers every day, no temp churn, your reviewer signs.
May – Oct · Extension & advisory season
Extended returns, quarterly estimates, bookkeeping catch-up for write-up clients, sales-tax and payroll filings, and building next season's checklists — the bench stays productive instead of being let go.
Because seats are month-to-month, firms that only need peak capacity can scale a seat down after April with 14 days’ notice — but most keep the bench through extension season, where the same person already knows the client files. Rates and comparators are on the Rate Index.
⌬ YOUR CLIENTS’ DATA
§7216 is your obligation. Our job is to make it easy to meet.
Under IRC §7216, the consent obligation sits with the tax return preparer — your firm. No contractor can be “§7216 compliant” on your behalf, and any vendor who tells you otherwise is describing something that does not exist. What a vendor can do is make your side of it straightforward.
What your firm keeps
You obtain and retain client consent, you set its scope, and you keep the engagement and the sign-off. Bring your consent language to the requirements call and we work inside it.
What we contract for
Our engagement agreement covers confidentiality of your clients' data. The specialist works inside your systems under your access controls — not on copies held elsewhere.
Who carries the employment
LegelpTech Outsourcing Private Limited, an ISO 27001:2022 certified company, employs the specialist and handles payroll, HR and continuity.
If your firm has specific requirements on taxpayer-identifier handling or data residency, raise them on the first call. We would rather tell you what we do and do not do than discover the mismatch after placement.
⌬ AI-READY SCREENING
Six stages. About 1 in 12 applicants clears them.
The same standard every Zedtreeo specialist passes, applied to accounting work. A specialist who clears it is fluent in the tools your practice already runs — from day one, not three months in. Background verification is stage 5, applied to every placement rather than sold as an upgrade.
STAGE 01
Resume review
Experience against the role brief you wrote, not a generic profile.
STAGE 02
Skills assessment
Ledger work, reconciliation, close process — the actual job.
STAGE 03
Technical test
QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, NetSuite. Whichever stack your practice runs.
STAGE 04
Communication evaluation
Written and spoken. They will be emailing your clients.
STAGE 05
Background check
Every specialist, before placement. Not an upgrade tier.
STAGE 06
Trial project
Real work, reviewed, before anyone reaches your engagements.
⌬ TWO TIERS
A licensed CPA, or the capacity underneath one.
Most offshore firms sell you one thing: unlicensed staff. Some of the work in your practice genuinely needs a licence, and most of it does not. You should be able to buy either without buying both.
TIER A
US-licensed CPA
$22–30/hr
$3,872–5,280/month
An active, state-licensed CPA on your bench. Review-level work: technical positions, complex returns, and the judgement calls a preparer cannot make.
- ›Return review and technical sign-off inside your chain
- ›Complex 1040, 1120, 1120-S and 1065 engagements
- ›Multi-state apportionment and K-1 work
- ›Workpaper review and trial balance tie-out
Licence state and status are provided at shortlist so your firm can verify them directly with the state board before any engagement begins.
TIER B
Accounting staff
$10–12/hr
$1,760–2,112/month
Preparation capacity under your review. The work that consumes your seniors' hours without needing their licence.
- ›Workpaper preparation and trial balance tie-out
- ›1040 and 1120 preparation to review-ready state
- ›Month-end close, reconciliation, cleanup engagements
- ›AP/AR, payroll runs and organiser intake
Every output goes through your review chain exactly as a junior's would. Your firm signs.
Both tiers carry the same terms: a shortlist within 48 hours, five working days of real output free before you commit, and replacement on a 48-hour SLA with no time limit for the life of the engagement.
⌬ YOUR STACK, NOT OURS
Specialists work in the software your practice already runs. Stage 3 of the screening is a technical test on the actual package, so a placement is productive in it from the first week rather than learning it on your engagements.
Tax
Drake Tax · Lacerte · UltraTax · CCH Axcess · ProSeries · Thomson Reuters
Ledger & close
QuickBooks Desktop and Online · Xero · Sage · NetSuite
Running something not listed? Say so on the requirements call — we screen against your stack, not a generic profile, and we would rather tell you we cannot staff it than place someone who will learn it on your time.
⌬ WHAT YOU CAN STAFF
Roles that sit on your bench.
Hire one, or compose several as an AI-Augmented Team — three roles, one invoice, every specialist cleared through the same standard.
Workpaper Specialist
Workpaper prep, trial balance tie-out, lead schedules
View role →Tax Preparer
1040, 1120, 1120-S, 1065 and K-1 prep to review-ready state
View role →Bookkeeper
Month-end close, reconciliation, cleanup engagements
View role →AP / AR Specialist
Client payables, receivables, collections follow-up
View role →Payroll Specialist
Multi-client payroll runs, filings support
View role →Related proof: remote finance & accounting staff · all finance case studies
⌬ QUESTIONS FIRMS ASK
Frequently asked questions
How does §7216 work when we use offshore staff?
The obligation under IRC §7216 sits with your firm as the tax return preparer, not with us — a contractor cannot be '§7216 compliant' on your behalf. What we do is make it straightforward for you to meet it: our engagement agreement covers confidentiality of your clients' data, every specialist clears a background check before placement, and we are operated by LegelpTech Outsourcing Pvt Ltd, an ISO 27001:2022 certified company. Your firm still obtains and retains the consent. Bring your specific consent language to the requirements call and we will work inside it.
Are the staff background checked?
Yes, for every placement. The background check is stage 5 of the Zedtreeo 6-Stage Standard — it is part of the standard screening, not a premium add-on. About 1 in 12 applicants clears all six stages.
Do they work on our clients, or on us?
On your clients, inside your systems, under your direction. A remote specialist is capacity added to your bench — they work in your practice management and ledger software, follow your close process, and their output goes through your review chain exactly as a junior's would. You keep the client relationship and the sign-off. We place people; we do not take output accountability and we never contract with your clients.
Are your CPAs actually US-licensed?
Tier A specialists hold an active US CPA licence. Licence state and number are provided at shortlist so your firm can verify them directly with the issuing state board before any engagement begins — we would rather you check than take our word for it. Tier B specialists are experienced accounting professionals who are not licensed; they prepare to review-ready state and your firm's own reviewer signs.
Can you take the workpapers off us entirely?
We staff the work; we do not take it over. A workpaper specialist prepares to your standards and your templates, ties out the trial balance, and hands it to your reviewer — the same handoff a junior would make. Zedtreeo is a resource provider, not a delivery firm: we do not white-label output, do not resell work under your brand, and do not carry accountability for a filing. Your reviewer signs, always.
What happens during tax season?
Specialists are full-time and dedicated to your firm, so tax season capacity is already in place before January rather than recruited during it. The firms that handle busy season well start the conversation in October, not in February — placement takes 5–10 days, then there is onboarding into your workflow on top, so a December start is already tight for a February crunch. October through December is the window: a specialist who joins in October has been through your close process twice before the first 1040 lands, and is useful through extension season in September rather than idle after April.
How do our client files actually reach them?
They do not leave your environment. The specialist works inside your systems — your practice management, your document portal, your tax package — under credentials your firm issues and can revoke, with whatever access limits you set. There is no separate copy of your client data held on our side and nothing is emailed around. Your engagement letter with your client is unaffected; ours is with you, and it covers confidentiality of the data they touch. If your firm requires named-user licensing, IP allowlisting or specific data-residency terms, raise them on the first call — those are answerable, and better answered before placement than after.
What does it cost compared to a US hire?
Two tiers. Accounting staff run $10–12/hour, which is $1,760–2,112 for a full-time 176-hour month — against roughly $8,500/month for a US staff accountant fully loaded, a saving of about 75–79%. US-licensed CPAs run $22–30/hour, or $3,872–5,280/month, against roughly $9,900/month for a licensed CPA at a typical US salary. Both are all-inclusive: no recruitment fee, no benefits load, no equipment cost, no payroll to run. Full-time means 22 working days at 8 hours.
What if the person is not right?
The first 5 days are a risk-free trial — if the fit is wrong, you pay nothing and we replace. After placement, replacement runs on a 48-hour SLA. You are not carrying the cost of a hiring mistake.
Who actually employs them?
LegelpTech Outsourcing Private Limited, an ISO 27001:2022 certified company, employs the specialists and handles payroll, HR and continuity. You contract for the capacity; we carry the employment.
Start with one specialist and five free days.
Tell us the role, the software your practice runs, and your consent requirements. We shortlist from specialists who have already cleared the standard — placement usually takes 5–10 days.