As all business owners know, your accountant needs to do a lot more than simply process Accounts Payable and Receivable transactions through Quickbooks and reconcile bank, credit card, PayPal and account reconciliations. They need to bring skills to you beyond what invoicing and expense management software like Working Point (
https://www.workingpoint.com/features) can provide; and making sense of your tax preparation and double entry accounting principles (
https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-double-entry-accounting-1293675) for IRS submissions is why the services of qualified certified public accountant (CPA) are in demand. Look for these skills in your checklist:
1. There English should be perfect, with the ability to communicate clearly and professionally, both orally and in writing.
2. They should be able to tell you about accounting and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, with verified references that demonstrate ability to process invoices, track expenses and adhere to budgets with at least 1-2 years of transactional accounting experience using QuickBooks for a real, operating small business.
3. Somewhere in their accounts resume, should be evidence of interaction with title companies, maintenance of checking/savings accounts, production of modified-accrual financial reports, follow up on delinquent accounts, and interaction with CPAs during audits and reviews.