Even before the pandemic, CPAs were some of the lucky workforce members who could sometimes work from home. Your tax accounting skills and credentials matter a lot more than your location, especially now. Even the stodgiest of old-fashioned business professionals have been forced to re-evaluate the merits of remote workers during COVID, and you could really cash in on this trend as a freelance CPA. Here are some places to look for work if you’re interested.

Even before the pandemic, CPAs were some of the lucky workforce members who could sometimes work from home. Your tax accounting skills and credentials matter a lot more than your location, especially now. Even the stodgiest of old-fashioned business professionals have been forced to re-evaluate the merits of remote workers during COVID, and you could really cash in on this trend as a freelance CPA. Here are some places to look for work if you’re interested.

Picnic Tax

We’re not going to lie. We want you. And if you’ll allow us to do so, we would like to toot our own horn for a minute. At Picnic Tax, connecting taxpayers and CPAs is what we do. The system we use to do it is specifically designed to put you in the driver’s seat. We’re not about cryptic job postings, mysterious pay rates or complicated bidding processes that pit one worker against another. That’s just not who we are.

When you work with us, you choose the remote accounting jobs you want to take. Each job listing clearly displays the type of return that needs to be prepared and how much you’ll make for preparing that return. We understand that you’re looking for work from home accounting jobs: not a hassle. That’s why we make our job listings clear and transparent. Just choose the jobs you want, complete them, and then get paid. We even offer free payment processing services and e-sign so you can get what you need without surcharges and fees cutting into your profits.

We admit we’re a little biased, but we’ve tried hard to put together a system that we think is pretty great for our taxpayers and our accountants. If you’re looking for remote CPA jobs, we really hope you’ll take a few minutes and check us out. We think you’ll be glad you did.

Traditional Job Boards

We’re proud of what we do at Picnic Tax, but we know we’re not the only game in town. If you’re looking for remote accounting jobs, don’t overlook the more traditional job boards online. Many of these boards have replaced now old-fashioned newspaper want ads in format but not in spirit. It’s true that many of the accounting positions listed on these boards are full-time positions that may require you to appear in an office, at least from time to time. But don’t let that discourage you.

Telecommuting is increasingly becoming the new normal, so some of the jobs here could surprise you. Even if a job is remote only for one or two tax seasons until COVID eases, you may be able to snag some good-paying temporary work. If you can prove you have the tax accounting skills and self-discipline to get the job done remotely, you might be able to talk yourself into continuing to work that way, even if that wasn’t the client’s original plan.

With that in mind, make sure you check out Monster, Indeed, Careerbuilder, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter and other similar sites. Make sure you peruse the job listings and upload your resume. You can specify in your resume that you’re looking for remote work. You may get lucky enough for the perfect opportunity to find you. These sites are popular and heavily traveled by recruiters.

Accounting and Financial Services Associations

Casting a broad net can help you make sure you don’t miss anything, but there’s nothing wrong with narrowing the field either. The American Accounting Association maintains a job board as does the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. Accounting Jobs Today, Accounting.com and the FinancialJobBank are all excellent sources for jobs specific to the accounting and finance fields.

As is true of the jobs you will find on traditional job sites, many of the jobs you find here may be full-time positions rather than freelance CPA gigs. But narrowing the field to accounting jobs scales down your search a bit and can give you some good starting points.

Since the jobs on these sites are all accounting-related, you may find an opening that perfectly fits your niche and specific experience. If so, don’t hesitate to approach the job poster about the possibility of working remotely. As a CPA, you know the numbers sometimes speak for themselves. If your resume does too, you might be able to negotiate a work from home deal with an amenable employer.

Freelance Sites

If you’re looking for work as a freelance CPA, it makes sense to search job databases and sites that cater to freelance workers. Tread carefully when checking out these sites, however. There are a couple of issues that tend to crop up here.

The first is that you’ll need to read job postings with an extremely critical eye and may have to wade through some flotsam. There are legitimate work opportunities for remote CPA jobs, but as soon as you type the phrase “work from home” into a freelance job search, you’re likely to be bombarded with MLM schemes and other postings that have nothing to do with accounting.

Many of these sites will also allow you to upload your credentials so potential clients can find you. Again, it’s important to remember that a lot of people want to work from home. Your resume is likely to get lost in a sea of others. Even worse, you may find yourself bidding against other workers who are so desperate for work that they’ll practically give their services away. A potential client who is used to dealing with thee workers isn’t likely to compensate you fairly or even reasonably.

Please understand — you can find some great remote accounting jobs and freelance CPA assignments on sites like Upwork and Accountingfly. These two sites in particular are fantastic if you’re looking to do some contract work for small businesses. But you will need to be careful to choose your freelance job sites carefully to avoid the common pitfalls found on some freelance-specific job boards.

Go Social

One of the best ways to find remote accounting jobs is also the most overlooked. If you want to pick up some extra clients so you can work from home, tell people what you’re looking for. Most people and small business owners find their taxes incredibly difficult. These same taxpayers also fear getting involved in a complicated and potentially ongoing relationship with a CPA when they just need a little help or a few answers. Tell people that you’re looking to pick up a few extra tax returns or are willing to serve as a consultant for a reasonable fee. You may be surprised just how far word of mouth spreads.

And of course, don’t forget the modern marvel that is social media. Spread your news far and wide in professional spaces like LinkedIn as well as on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. You can also advertise your services on sites like Craigslist so long as you follow all of their posting rules and regulations.

When trying to pick up some freelance CPA gigs or find remote CPA jobs, it can feel like you spend more time looking for work than actually preparing tax returns. With a little time, though, we’re sure you can find the right remote accounting job for you. We’re still hopeful that you’ll consider finding it with us here at Picnic Tax. We love helping taxpayers find the help they need, but we also think it’s pretty great helping our CPAs find the type of work they love to do and giving them a helpful platform to do it on.