Freelancers are sought after employees because of their diverse set of skills and experience in different industries. The ideal time to outsource to them may be now because of the competitive advantage you gain. However, before you hire one, you must be ready to do so. One way to attract the best freelancers is to provide a detailed scope of work.
Here’s how you can create a scope of work for bookkeeping services and others.
Justify the Project’s Purpose
Freelancers want to know the purpose of the project you’ll award to them. Start your pitch with a justification of the work. State the problems the project will try to solve and how it will get to its solution. Use specific reasons such as you want to launch a new product that counters the one your competitor recently released or the need to implement the feedback you got from your customers. These give the freelancer on your shortlist the big picture of the work.
Describe the Scope
Details matter when it comes to starting and finishing a project on time. Provide a description of the scope of work in detail. The more information you include, the better it is for all parties involved. State the inclusions and limitations of the project. This establishes the tasks required from the freelancer you want to hire. This also sets expectations and creative boundaries of the team handling the project.
Provide the Goals
A successful project takes phases to complete. Include the objectives of your project when discussing it with your freelancers. Explicitly define the goals of each step. This can include target sales numbers, conversions of a website, updated accounting books, number of new members of a group or others. This gives a freelancer a definite goal that is achievable. They can then determine the tasks they need to do to accomplish your objectives.
Identify the Deliverables
Similar to providing objectives, you need to determine the deliverables of your freelancer. Create a list of what they need to do and their output based on the schedule you give them. The deliverables can be an actual product, reconciled accounting books, marketing materials, number of articles and others. These can be daily, weekly or monthly output reports.
Exclusions of the Project
The exclusions of a project are just as important as the inclusions. Your freelancers need to know what they can and can’t do. Identify the exclusions in a clear and precise manner. This allows your team to focus on their tasks and complete each phase of the project.
These are some of the details of the ideal scope of work for bookkeeping services and other projects. Follow these to reduce miscommunication and be on the same page with your freelancers. If you need help with finding virtual accountants and bookkeepers, contact us here at Robookkeeper. We can connect you with first-rate virtual accountants and bookkeepers.
