Accountant staffing where the books are tested before the hire.
A month-end that slips, a GST return filed on wrong data, a reconciliation nobody has done since March — these are staffing failures with penalties attached. Accountant staffing is one of the few roles where a bad hire shows up in a statutory filing. Godstone Consultech screens for Tally or ERP proficiency, GST and TDS working knowledge and reconciliation accuracy, employs every worker on our own payroll, and keeps PF, ESI and contract-labour records with us — so the person on your floor is documented, replaceable and accountable from day one.
Software in use, transaction volume and role band are enough to shortlist.
Books, statutory returns, payables and reconciliation.
Accounts roles are graded by what they can close unaided. We test on your software and the returns you actually file, then place at the band that matches — executive, accountant or accounts lead.
- ✓Day books, journal entries and ledger scrutiny
- ✓GST, TDS and statutory return preparation
- ✓Vendor payables, receivables and ageing follow-up
- ✓Bank, stock and inter-company reconciliation
- ✓Month-end closing schedules and audit support
Accounts gaps surface at the worst possible time
Usually during an audit, a due date, or a bank query.
A candidate who claimed GST experience turns out to have only entered invoices, and the first return under their name needs redoing.
Interest and late fees on returns, an audit qualification, blocked vendor payments and a finance head doing entry-level work to catch up.
A practical test on your accounting software plus GST and TDS working knowledge and a reconciliation exercise, with reference checks before an offer goes out.
Get a rate card →What we test before an accountant reaches your office
Most accountant job descriptions ask for “Tally knowledge and 1–3 years’ experience”. That filters nobody. Our practical test takes about 90 minutes, runs on the software you use, and grades the candidate into a band before you interview anyone.
| Test | What the candidate does | What we look for |
|---|---|---|
| Software practical (Tally, SAP, Zoho Books or your ERP) | Posts a set of sales, purchase, payment and journal vouchers, configures GST ledgers and pulls a trial balance. | Correct voucher types and ledgers, GST fields filled, no shortcuts that break reports. |
| GST working knowledge | Matches a purchase register against a GSTR-2B extract, flags ineligible input tax credit and explains what goes into GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. | Spots mismatches and blocked credits; knows the monthly GSTR-1 (11th) and GSTR-3B (20th) timeline. |
| TDS working knowledge | Identifies which payments in a sample (contractor, professional fees, rent, salary) attract TDS and how it is deposited and reported. | Knows TDS is now under the Income-tax Act, 2025 with renumbered sections, and that late deposit attracts interest. |
| Bank reconciliation with seeded errors | Reconciles a bank statement with the ledger; we plant a duplicate entry, a missing charge and a wrong date. | Finds all three and explains each reconciling item. |
| Month-end close | Drafts accruals, prepaid and provision entries from a short brief. | Understands cut-off; bands the candidate as executive, accountant or lead. |
| Excel | Builds a lookup and a pivot from a raw ledger dump. | Speed and accuracy on the tools the role will use daily. |
Accountant role bands and an indicative wage basis
We place at the band the test supports, not the title on the CV. Pay varies widely by city and industry, so the figures below are indicative starting points drawn from published salary data, not quotes.
| Band | Can be trusted with | Indicative gross wage basis |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts executive (0–2 years, B.Com) | Voucher entry, bank and vendor reconciliations, filing support, petty cash. | Close to the assistant-accountant average on Indeed India of about ₹15,000 a month; never below the State minimum wage for clerical staff. |
| Accountant (2–5 years) | Books closed unaided, GST return preparation, TDS workings, payables and receivables ageing. | Around ₹19,000–₹27,000 a month nationally (Indeed India averages for accountant and senior accountant). |
| Senior accountant / accounts lead (5+ years, often CA-Inter or CMA-Inter) | Month-end close, statutory audit coordination, filings sign-off preparation, supervising executives. | Metro averages run higher — about ₹34,500 in Chennai, ₹38,300 in Hyderabad and ₹43,700 in Bengaluru on Indeed India. |
Indicative only. Gross monthly figures before PF and ESI deductions, from Indeed India salary pages for accountant, senior accountant and assistant accountant (national average ₹19,217 a month from about 2,400 reported salaries; range ₹9,190–₹40,185), checked September 2026. The legal floor is the State minimum wage for the clerical category — see our minimum wage calculator.
What a contract accountant costs, and how the role is run
Move the slider for an indicative monthly bill at an illustrative 12% service fee (your actual fee is set out in the rate card), built on a typical gross wage of ₹25,000 a month for an accountant who can close books unaided. Firm rates depend on the band, the city and the State minimum wage for clerical staff.
What clears before the worker reaches your gate.
KPIs and backfill SLAs for accounts roles
Accounts work is measurable. Agree these numbers at the start and a replacement, if one is ever needed, starts from a clear record rather than a guess.
KPIs for a contract accountant
- →Books closed within an agreed number of working days after month-end
- →Bank and vendor reconciliations up to date, with unreconciled items aged and explained
- →GST returns and TDS deposits made on time, with zero interest or late fee caused by delay
- →Mismatch between the purchase register and GSTR-2B reviewed every month before filing
- →MSME vendor bills tracked against the 45-day payment limit under the MSMED Act
- →Audit queries closed within the timeline your auditor sets
Backfill and handover SLAs
- →First shortlist: we aim for five working days from a signed requirement
- →Replacement if the accountant leaves or does not fit: we aim to replace within 15 days
- →Planned leave: a reliever briefed on your ledgers before the leave starts, where the contract includes relief cover
- →Resignation: notice served in full, with a written handover of open items, passwords reset and tokens returned
- →Monthly compliance pack for the accountant’s own PF, ESI and wage records
Controls to keep, and mistakes to avoid, with contract accountants
Keep maker-checker in place
A contract accountant should prepare payments and filings; someone on your rolls should approve them. Do not hand over net-banking approval rights or the company’s digital signature.
Leave the audit trail switched on
Companies must use accounting software that records an audit trail (edit log) of every change, and it cannot be disabled. Make sure a new accountant knows this before they start correcting entries.
Hiring on a Tally certificate alone
A course certificate shows exposure, not the ability to close books. Test on your own data and your own reports.
Contract for a role that needs continuity
A finance controller or the person who signs off statutory returns is usually better as a permanent hire. Contract suits audit seasons, backlogs, maternity cover and new-entity set-up.
No written handover
When an accountant leaves without a handover of open items, reconciliations and passwords, the next person spends a month rebuilding. Make handover part of the contract.
Confidentiality left implicit
Salary data and bank details are sensitive personal data. Get a signed confidentiality undertaking and limit access to what the role needs.
How do you screen accountants?+
A practical test on the accounting software you use — Tally, SAP or another ERP — plus GST and TDS working-knowledge questions and a reconciliation exercise, followed by reference and document verification.
Can accountants be supplied on contract rather than permanent?+
Yes. Contract staffing and third-party payroll both work for accounts roles, which suits audit seasons, maternity cover and project-based finance work. Permanent placement is available for core roles.
What bands do you place?+
Accounts executives for voucher entry and reconciliation, accountants who can close unaided, and accounts leads or managers who own statutory filings and audit coordination.
How long does it take to hire an accountant?+
We aim for a first shortlist within five working days and joining in about seven to fifteen days for contract roles; permanent placements take longer because of notice periods.
Is there a replacement guarantee?+
Yes. For contract roles we aim to replace within 15 days. For permanent placements, the free-replacement period and conditions are agreed in your contract.
How much does it cost to hire an accountant on contract?+
You pay the accountant’s gross wage plus the employer’s PF and ESI contributions, bonus and leave provisions, and a service fee, with GST on the invoice. Indeed India puts the national accountant average at about ₹19,000 a month, with metro averages well above that. The rate card sets out every line.
Which accounting software can your accountants use?+
We test on the software you name — TallyPrime, SAP, Zoho Books, Busy or another ERP. If a candidate has only worked on one package, we tell you, and we test how quickly they adapt to yours.
Can a contract accountant file GST and TDS returns?+
They can prepare the data and the returns, and file them where you authorise it. We recommend a maker-checker set-up in which someone on your rolls reviews and approves filings and payments.
When is a contract accountant a bad idea?+
When the role owns final sign-off on statutory filings, holds the company’s digital signature or needs years of continuity with auditors and banks. For those roles we recommend permanent recruitment.
Month-end slipping?
Send the role, headcount and site city. We aim to send an itemised rate card and deployment date within one working day.