Short answer: For a junior accountant or a Tally operator, a job portal or app is usually the right first step, because the applicant pool is large and the screening is simple enough to do yourself. For a senior accountant, finance manager or CFO, for an urgent opening, or when nobody in-house can judge an accountant’s technical answers, a finance-only agency saves more than it costs. Whichever route you take, ask the same six questions before you pay anyone.
Most owner-run companies in India use one of four routes: a job portal or app, a referral, a generalist consultancy, or a finance-only agency. None is wrong. Each one moves the work and the risk to a different place.
Naukri and Indeed are the large general portals: you post a job, applications arrive, and on a paid plan you can also search the CV database. Apna and WorkIndia are app-first platforms that grew in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and are strong for entry-level and operational roles, with candidates applying from their phones in minutes. Pricing differs by platform and changes often, so check each site before you budget. What you do is write the post, screen every application, call the candidates, test them and chase the no-shows. Most applications to an accountant post will not match.
A referral from your CA firm, a supplier or a current employee is cheap and comes with a character reference. The risks are a small pool, a hire you cannot easily correct because of the relationship, and a tendency to get someone similar to the referrer rather than someone right for the role.
A local placement consultancy sends CVs for any role: sales, admin, accounts, HR. Fees are often a percentage of annual CTC or a fixed amount, and replacement periods vary widely. The screening is usually a phone call about availability and salary. Nobody at the consultancy can tell a good GST reconciliation from a bad one, so the technical judgement stays with you.
A finance-only agency recruits accountants and finance staff and nothing else. The useful differences are who screens (someone who understands the work), how candidates are found (by approaching people already in similar roles, not only by waiting for applications) and what you receive (a few checked profiles rather than many raw ones). You pay a fee for that, and it is worth paying when the cost of a wrong hire is high.
| Route | Who screens | How you pay | Right for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job portal or app | You | A posting or database plan bought from the portal | Junior roles, high-volume roles, and when you have someone to screen and test |
| Referral | The referrer, informally | Nothing, or a small thank-you | A second accounts executive, and roles where trust matters most |
| Generalist consultancy | A recruiter without finance training | A percentage of CTC or a fixed fee; terms vary | Mixed hiring when you also need sales or admin staff |
| Finance-only agency | Finance professionals | A stated fee per hire, with the terms in writing | Senior, urgent or confidential finance roles |
Use a portal when the role is junior, the duties are standard, and someone in your office can screen and test candidates properly. To make it work:
Done this way, a portal hire for a junior role costs less than any agency, and an honest agency will tell you so. We say it ourselves on our Employers page: for junior or entry-level roles outside Surat, a job board or a local generalist agency will usually serve you faster and cheaper than we can.
Use an agency when the role is senior, urgent or confidential, or when nobody in-house can judge whether an accountant’s answers are correct.
Ask these six questions and get the answers in writing in the terms of business. An agency that will not state them is telling you something.
These are our answers for hiring in India.
| Question | Our answer |
|---|---|
| Fee basis | One month’s CTC of the person you hire, plus applicable taxes. The balance is payable within 10 days of the candidate joining. No retainer, annual fee or monthly charge. |
| Upfront charge | ₹5,000 per job opening, paid before we start work and adjusted against the fee. If we are not able to close the opening within 30 days of receiving it, we return 50% of it. |
| Replacement period | A 90-day replacement guarantee: if the candidate leaves or does not work out within 90 days of joining, one replacement for the same role at no additional cost, subject to our Terms of Business. |
| Who screens | Our team interviews each candidate, and a chartered accountant reviews each profile before it reaches you. Candidates are found through our Target-Company Search, from the companies you name. |
| How many profiles | 3 to 5 per opening. |
| How fast | Within 7 working days of receiving the service charge. |
Roles run from Tally operator to CFO. Surat is our home base; we also hire in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Mumbai and across India, with senior roles anywhere in the country. A worked example of the fee is in our post on what it costs to hire an accountant through an agency in India.
Paid service: one month’s CTC per hire, with ₹5,000 per opening paid upfront and adjusted against the fee, for employers anywhere in India.
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