Accounting Services

STA Quality Accounting Office

STA Quality Accounting Office is supported by government and private agencies. We have received awards and certificates from the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce; the Revenue Department, Ministry of Finance; and the Thai Chamber of Commerce. We are the first accounting office to receive the Outstanding Ethics Award from the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Outstanding Business Governance Award from the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce. We conduct business based on the principles of good governance, transparency, honesty, social responsibility, and fairness to all involved parties. These principles are reflected in the policies and activities that STA Quality Accounting Office has consistently implemented.

Accounting staff placed at your office

Service details

Experienced accounting staff placed at your office

Suited to a business whose accounting has to keep moving every day but has nobody to do it. Someone resigned without warning, someone is on maternity leave, the work has piled up during closing season, or the volume is not yet enough to justify a full-time hire but cannot be left either.

STA staff are trained in accounting and tax to Quality Accounting Firm standards, and have the office team behind them as mentors when they meet a case they cannot decide alone. That is the difference from hiring ordinary temporary help who has to solve everything by themselves.

Five levels available
- Accounting assistant - sorting and filing documents, initial data entry, preparing documents for the accountant
- Accounting officer - daily bookkeeping, setting up receivables and payables, bank reconciliation, preparing tax filing data
- Senior accounting officer - monthly closing, reviewing the team's work, preparing interim financial reports
- Accounting manager - overseeing the whole system, designing the workflow, reviewing before the statements go out, and liaising with the auditor
- Financial adviser - financial analysis and planning on specific projects

What this service is not
This service places a person at your office. It is not outsourced bookkeeping. The accounting work and the responsibility for it stay with your business, and STA does not become your registered accountant. If you want us to take responsibility for the whole set of accounting work instead, see the monthly bookkeeping service.

Benefits to be received

1. You get someone who can do the job from day one
Our staff have already been trained in accounting and tax, so you do not spend time teaching the basics as you would with a new hire of your own.

2. No hidden cost of a permanent employee
No employer's Social Security contribution, no bonus, no provident fund, no training costs and no severance when the role ends. The service fee is the whole cost.

3. Choose the level that matches the actual work
Data entry does not need an accounting manager, and closing the books should not be given to an assistant. Matching the level to the work is where you save the most.

4. A firm standing behind them
When they hit an entry that is hard to interpret, our staff can consult the STA team instead of guessing. That is something an ordinary freelance hire cannot offer.

5. Scale the days up and down with the workload
Add days during closing season and cut back the rest of the year. You do not have to employ someone full time to cover one annual peak.

6. Move up to full outsourcing whenever you want
If after a while you find it is better value to hand the whole set of work to the accounting firm, you can switch to the monthly bookkeeping service, and the person who already knows your system hands the work over.

Criteria for calculating service fees

Daily rates by level
- Accounting assistant - THB 1,500 a day
- Accounting officer - THB 2,200 a day
- Senior accounting officer - THB 3,000 a day
- Accounting manager - THB 4,500 a day
- Financial adviser - price on request

All prices exclude 7% VAT.

Working conditions
- 8 hours a day, with a 1 hour break
- Working on the client's business days and hours
- Working at the client's premises, within the agreed scope of accounting work
- The number of days a month is agreed in the contract and can be adjusted when the workload changes, with notice

Contract term
- Minimum contract 6 months
- Shorter engagements, such as the closing season only, are considered case by case at a rate different from the table above

Not included in the fee
- Overtime, and work on the client's holidays
- Travel costs where the workplace is outside Bangkok and the surrounding provinces
- Work outside the scope of accounting, such as general administration, sales or purchasing
- Accounting software and equipment used for the work, which belong to the client

The terms for providing a replacement in case of sick leave, personal leave or resignation are set out in each contract. Please check this point before signing.

Work steps

1. Agree the scope and choose the level
- We look at what work you need done, how many documents a month, and which accounting software you use
- Together we assess which level of role is right, and how many days a week

2. Quotation and contract
- The role, the number of days a month, the rate, the contract term and the scope of work are all set out clearly in writing
- A confidentiality agreement covering your business information is signed

3. Getting ready before the first day
- The client provides a desk, equipment and access to the accounting software
- The client names the point of contact the person reports to

4. Starting work
- The person works at your office, on the days, hours and scope agreed
- Anything hard to interpret or carrying tax risk is checked with the STA team before it is recorded

5. Reviewing during the contract
- We review together from time to time whether the level and the number of days still match the actual workload
- These can be increased or reduced as agreed in the contract

Documents to be prepared for the company

What we ask the client to prepare before the person starts

1. Scope of work
- The list of tasks you want done, and the tasks that are out of scope
- The approximate document volume per month
- The deadlines the work has to meet, for example the day of the following month by which the books must be closed

2. Systems and access
- The name of the accounting software you use, and access rights for the person
- Access to the files and folders they need
- An internal email account, if you want them to have one

3. Place and equipment
- A desk, a computer and office equipment
- Building access and permitted hours

4. Point of contact
- The name of the person they report to, and how to reach them
- Who has authority to approve when they need extra documents from another department

5. Opening accounting documents
- The chart of accounts in use
- The latest trial balance and the prior year financial statements, so the person can see the picture before starting

Document receiving time

How long it takes to arrange someone depends on the level of the role and the queue at the time. Assistant and accounting officer roles are generally arranged faster than senior and manager roles, which depend on the team's availability case by case. Please ask the team about the current queue before you plan.

The busiest period is January to May, the season for closing the books and annual filing. If you need someone during those months, give us as much notice as you can.

Once agreed, it is usually the client-side preparation, such as access to the accounting software and a desk, that decides the actual start date rather than anything on STA's side.

Frequently asked questions

1)
Q: How is this different from the monthly bookkeeping service?
A: The difference is who is responsible for the work. This service places a person at your office. The accounting work stays the responsibility of your business, and STA is not registered as your accountant. With the monthly bookkeeping service we take the whole set of work into our office, register as your accountant and take responsibility for the filings.

2)
Q: Why is the fee charged by the day but the contract has a six-month minimum?
A: Because assigning someone to a client means holding that person out of other work for the whole period, and a person who has just started needs time to learn your systems before they are fully productive. Too short a contract means the client pays for that learning time without getting the benefit. Shorter engagements are considered case by case, but at a different rate.

3)
Q: Is this more expensive than employing someone permanently?
A: Compare every line. Salary is only part of the cost of a permanent employee. There is also the employer's Social Security contribution, bonus, training, paid leave and severance, plus the cost of the period when you cannot find anyone and the work piles up. Our fee is a single figure, and the number of days can move up and down with the workload.

4)
Q: Can your staff use our accounting software?
A: Yes. Staff work on the client's software and systems, and the client grants the access. We recommend granting only the rights the scope of work requires. Administrator rights should not be given.

5)
Q: How safe is our company information?
A: A confidentiality agreement is signed before work begins every time, and the staff are bound by the same professional code of ethics as the team in our office. In addition, the client should set access rights to match the role from day one.

6)
Q: What happens if the person is off sick or resigns during the contract?
A: The replacement terms are set out in each contract. Please check this point carefully before signing, and tell us in advance which periods you cannot be short-staffed in, so we can plan for them.

7)
Q: What if we cannot work out which level we need?
A: Tell us what you want done and we will assess which level is enough. The simple rule is that if the main work is data entry and organising documents, an accounting assistant is enough. If the person has to close the books and check other people's work, you need the senior level. Choosing higher than you need is where money is wasted for no gain.