With Vietnam's tax legal system constantly being updated, accounting and tax filing are becoming increasingly complex for businesses. Incorrect invoice processing, incomplete declarations, or failure to keep up with new regulations can expose businesses to administrative penalties, tax arrears, and negative impacts on their operations.
Therefore, tax accounting services have become a popular solution for many businesses to ensure that accounting records are prepared in accordance with regulations, optimize operational resources, and minimize risks related to tax obligations.
Professional tax accounting services go beyond simply data entry or report generation; they act as a financial support department, assisting businesses in controlling cash flow, managing documentation, advising on tax policies, and preparing paperwork for dealings with tax authorities.
What are tax accounting services?
Tax accounting services involve businesses hiring an external professional to perform tasks related to accounting, tax filing, financial reporting, and tax advice in accordance with legal regulations. For businesses without a dedicated accounting department, choosing an external accounting service is a viable option. hire a tax accountant Professionalism helps ensure that documents are processed correctly, minimizes errors, and optimizes operational resources.
Instead of maintaining an in-house accounting department with full personnel costs, businesses can partner with a tax accounting service provider to receive support from a team of experienced accountants and tax experts.
The scope of work for a service typically includes:
- Collect, verify, and process accounting documents.
- Record the economic transactions that occur.
- File periodic tax returns.
- Prepare year-end financial statements.
- Corporate tax settlement.
- Providing advice on matters related to tax policy.
- Business representatives will provide explanations to the tax authorities when necessary.
Distinguishing between in-house accounting and tax accounting services.
The key difference between tax accounting services and in-house accounting lies in specialization. Businesses don't just hire one individual to perform accounting tasks; they gain access to a system of processes, experience in handling various types of businesses, and the ability to stay regularly updated on policies. For a visual overview, please refer to the detailed comparison table below:
| Criteria | Internal Accountant (Permanent Staff) | Outsourced tax accounting services |
| Scope of responsibility | Directly responsible to the board of directors for organizing the accounting apparatus. | Be legally responsible and compensate according to the contract if errors occur due to professional errors. |
| Expertise/Update | Depending on individual ability, training costs are required. | Highly specialized, the team regularly updates the latest circulars and decrees. |
| Expense | Total personnel costs (Salary, insurance, bonuses, benefits, software costs…). | Fixed monthly/quarterly costs according to contract, more optimal than total internal personnel costs. |
| Continuity | Prone to disruption when employees leave or change. | Ensure continuity and stability because it is managed by an organization. |
Note after table: Outsourced tax accounting services are often the most cost-effective and risk-efficient option, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and businesses looking to focus on operational efficiency.
Why should businesses use tax accounting services?
In reality, many businesses struggle to organize their own accounting departments, especially newly established or small and medium-sized enterprises. Common problems include a lack of specialized personnel, errors in tax declarations, or inability to control document risks. Utilizing tax accounting services offers many practical benefits:
Save on operating costs.
Setting up an internal accounting department requires several expenses, such as:
- Accountant's salary.
- Insurance and benefits costs.
- Professional training costs.
- Accounting software costs.
- Human resource management costs.
Meanwhile, with tax accounting services, businesses only need to pay for the scope of work agreed upon in the contract. This helps optimize the budget, making it especially suitable for small businesses and startups.
Ensuring accuracy and compliance with tax laws.
Tax policies in Vietnam are frequently subject to changes regarding regulations on invoices, declarations, reporting deadlines, and tax obligations.
Professional tax accounting service providers like MAN – Master Accountant Network will have a process for continuously checking and updating legal documents to minimize errors during implementation.
Businesses that receive support:
- File your taxes on time.
- Verify the validity of invoices and supporting documents.
- Accounting is done according to regulations.
- Prepare all necessary documents for final settlement.
Minimize tax risks.
Accounting errors can have a significant impact on businesses, for example:
- These expenses are disallowed when calculating corporate income tax.
- Penalized for making false declarations.
- Tax arrears were collected during audits.
An experienced tax accounting service provider will help businesses detect potential problems early and offer appropriate solutions.
Focus resources on business development.
Accounting and taxation are fields that demand accuracy and constant monitoring of legal changes. By delegating these tasks to a specialized unit, business leaders can focus more on business operations, market development, and improving operational efficiency.
Who is a suitable client for tax accounting services?
Not every business needs to build a large accounting department. For many business models, outsourcing tax accounting is a more efficient option.
Newly established businesses
New companies often lack complete accounting systems and are unfamiliar with tax filing procedures.
Tax accounting services help businesses:
- Establish an accounting system right from the start.
- Instructions for preparing documents.
- Avoid mistakes in the initial stages of operation.
Small and medium-sized enterprises
This group of businesses typically needs to optimize costs while maintaining professionalism in financial management.
Using tax accounting services provides businesses with a team of experts to support them without having to maintain a permanent accounting department.
Businesses with complex operations
Some areas include:
- Import and export.
- Manufacture.
- Build.
- Foreign-invested enterprises.
- The company has related-party transactions.
Many complex accounting and tax issues often arise. In such cases, the experience of a specialized accounting and tax service provider is a crucial factor in mitigating risks.
What does a tax accounting service entail?
A reputable provider of comprehensive tax accounting services must clearly demonstrate its scope of work, covering all aspects from periodic reports to year-end settlements, in order to prove its professional competence.
Periodic tax filing
This is a group of tasks performed on a monthly or quarterly basis, including:
- Check the input and output invoices.
- Prepare the Value Added Tax (VAT) return.
- Filing personal income tax returns.
- Monitor tax obligations as they arise.
- Prepare a report on the use of invoices as required.
Accounting and bookkeeping
MAN – Master Accountant Network implements:
- Document classification.
- Accounting for transactions that occur.
- Track accounts receivable.
- Check the accounting data.
- Ensure that the accounting system complies with regulations.
Prepare year-end financial statements.
At the end of the fiscal year, businesses need to perform many comprehensive tasks such as:
- Prepare a balance sheet.
- Prepare a business performance report.
- Prepare a cash flow statement.
- Prepare explanatory notes to the financial statements.
- Corporate income tax settlement.
- Personal income tax settlement.
This is a crucial stage, requiring the tax accounting service provider to have expertise and practical experience.
Providing advice and support in dealing with tax authorities.
Beyond standard accounting services, many businesses trust tax accounting services for their ability to advise and assist in handling unforeseen situations such as:
- Explanation of accounting data.
- Assistance with tax audits.
- Tax policy consulting.
- Conduct a risk assessment before final settlement.
Depending on their management needs, businesses can choose individual items or combine them. full accounting service To receive comprehensive support ranging from document processing, accounting, periodic tax filing to year-end financial statement preparation, this is a suitable solution for businesses that want to maintain a stable accounting system without investing too much resources in their internal department.
What are the current costs for tax accounting services?
When searching for tax filing services, cost is a primary concern. However, understanding the factors that make up the cost and the criteria for evaluating reliability is key to avoiding risks.
Current tax accounting service costs: Reference price list
The cost of tax accounting services is not fixed for all businesses but is determined based on the number of documents, business sector, complexity of operations, and scope of support.
Factors directly affecting service costs:
- Number of invoices/receipts: The number of input and output invoices per month is the biggest determining factor.
- Staff size: Affects payroll calculation and personal income tax settlement.
- Business sectors: Specialized sectors (Construction, Manufacturing, Import/Export) have more complex operations.
- Transaction complexity level: Involves related-party transactions, foreign investment, and large fixed asset transactions.
- Current accounting status: Is this a new business or a business that needs to review and complete its accounting records from previous years?
For easy visualization, you can refer to the following cost classification table:
| Customer group | Number of invoices/month | Reference fee (VNĐ/month) |
| Startup Package | From 1 to 5 invoices | 1.500.000 – 2.500.000 |
| Standard Package | From 6 to 25 invoices | 2.500.000 – 3.500.000 |
| Professional Package | From 26 to 60 invoices | 3.500.000 – 5.000.000 |
| Enterprise Package | Over 60 invoices | Price quotation based on on-site survey. |
Note after table: The prices listed above are for reference only, do not include tax, and may be adjusted depending on the business sector, product quantity, and complexity of the transaction. Contact MAN today for free consultation and the most accurate quote!
6 golden criteria for choosing a reputable tax accounting service company
Choosing the right partner is a decisive factor for the financial security of the business. You should rely on the following 6 criteria to evaluate the reliability of the supplier:
- Expertise and Certifications: The team must possess professional qualifications such as Chief Accountant certification, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification, or Tax Practice certification.
- Practical experience: Has your company successfully served businesses in industries similar to yours?
- Transparent workflow: The process for receiving documents, processing transactions, reporting, and handing over data must be clear and have a mechanism for regular reconciliation.
- Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): The contract must clearly stipulate the confidentiality of financial information and a commitment to liability and compensation if tax arrears arise due to professional errors in the service.
- Cost transparency: Quotes need to be detailed, clearly listing all included work, and ensuring there are no “hidden fees.”
- Accounting software proficiency: The organization must have experience using popular software such as MISA, FAST, Bravo, or specialized ERP systems, ensuring consistency and efficiency in data management.
Risks and tips to avoid mistakes when hiring cheap services
Hiring tax accounting services at excessively low costs can expose businesses to significant risks. Even a small error in corporate income tax or VAT declarations can lead to long-lasting consequences and back taxes for many years afterward.
- Lack of experience handling complex transactions: Cheap services often only cover basic operations, and do not have enough expertise to optimize taxes or handle specific transactions.
- Failure to update laws in a timely manner: An unprofessional team can easily overlook or misapply new Circulars, Decrees, or direct guidance documents, leading to incorrect declarations and administrative penalties.
- Data loss or information disclosure: Lax security systems can lead to leaks of your critical business data.
Real life situation: A small trading and service company hired a full-service tax accounting firm for 700,000 VND/month. During an audit, the tax authorities discovered that the company had underreported sales revenue from e-commerce platforms and recorded several unreasonable input costs.
Result: The company was ordered to pay back Corporate Income Tax and Value Added Tax amounting to VND 150 million, and also faced administrative penalties. The former service provider did not include a compensation commitment in the contract, leaving the business to bear the entire loss itself.
Transfer and cooperation process
A clear cooperation process will ensure transparency and efficiency, helping businesses feel secure when transferring accounting work.
Guide for businesses to start cooperating with tax accounting services
The standard cooperation process usually includes the following four steps:
Step 1: Assessment and survey
- The service unit conducts a comprehensive review of the accounting situation, invoice system and tax obligations of the enterprise.
- Identify potential risks (if any) and propose solutions.
Step 2: Sign the contract and non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
- A detailed agreement on the scope of work, fees, and required non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
- Clearly define the service party's compensation responsibilities in the contract.
Step 3: Data handover and system setup
- Enterprises hand over documents, books, accounting software data (if any).
- Service unit sets up a secure data storage and management system on a technology platform (cloud, specialized software).
Step 4: Set up communication channels and regular reporting
- Appoint a chief accounting officer to work directly with the business.
- Agree on a regular reporting schedule (weekly/monthly) on tax status, emerging issues and optimization recommendations.
Conclude
Working with a professional tax accounting firm helps businesses maintain compliance, minimize errors, and optimize operating costs. When the financial and tax system is operating stably, businesses can focus resources on core business strategies. If you need to evaluate the status of your books or want to find a tax accounting solution suitable for your scale of operation, please contact us for detailed advice.
Don't let accounting risks hinder your growth. Contact MAN – Master Accountant Network now! To receive a FREE Tax Risk Assessment and updates on policies and changes in the accounting and tax field.
Contact information MAN – Master Accountant Network
- Address: No. 19A, Street 43, Tan Thuan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City
- Mobile/Zalo: 0903 963 163 – 0903 428 622
- E-mail: man@man.net.vn
- Google Business Profile: View MAN – Master Accountant Network's Google Business Profile
- LinkedIn Founder: View expert Le Hoang Tuyen's LinkedIn profile.
Responsible for production and professional content review by: Mr. Le Hoang Tuyen – Founder & CEO of MAN – Master Accountant NetworkHe is a CPA Vietnam auditor with over 30 years of in-depth experience in accounting, auditing, taxation, and corporate legal consulting.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about tax accounting services
If you hire a tax accounting service, do you still need an internal accountant?
Normally, for SMEs, hiring a full-package tax accounting service can completely replace the position of general accountant. However, the business should still keep an administrative staff/internal accountant in charge of managing invoices, original documents, cash receipts and disbursements and coordinating work with the service unit.
Who is legally responsible when there is a mistake?
According to the law, the final legal responsibility still belongs to the legal representative of the enterprise. However, if the error arises due to technical errors (late submission, data errors) of the service party, they must be responsible for compensation according to the terms signed in the contract.
How is accounting data stored and secured?
MAN uses professional accounting software and stores data on a secure cloud computing platform with regular backups. Absolute confidentiality is demonstrated through NDA agreements.
Should a newly established business hire immediately or wait until it has revenue?
Newly established businesses should hire tax accounting services immediately. The first task is to submit initial tax records, register accounting forms and declare business tax. If not done on time, businesses can be fined even if they have no revenue yet.
Is it a good idea to hire a cheap tax accounting service to save costs?
Businesses should carefully consider their options before choosing a tax accounting service based solely on the lowest price. Extremely low costs may come with limitations in experience, document review capabilities, or support when problems arise. A suitable service should strike a balance between cost, professional quality, and the ability to protect the business from tax risks.
What documents does a business need to provide when using tax accounting services?
Typically, businesses need to hand over: Business registration certificate, bank account information, input and output invoices, economic contracts, receipts and payment vouchers, employee records, payroll records, and previous accounting data (if any).
