Payout Atlas

Five questions to ask an accountant before you hire them

Creators ask every year how to tell, before paying for a consult, whether someone understands platform income. Five questions for that first call. They are questions, not answers: this page never tells you what to file, deduct or claim.

1. Have you worked with clients paid by online platforms rather than an employer?

Why it matters. Platform income arrives from several places at once, often in US dollars whether or not you live there, and none of it looks like a payslip. Every platform has its own statement, schedule and deductions.

A good answer sounds like questions back: which platforms, which countries, what each one sends you. Someone who quotes a fee before asking any of that is quoting for a different job.

Bring: a written list of every platform and payout provider that paid you last year.

2. Which income documents will you expect from me, and what if a platform sends none?

Why it matters. Documents differ by platform and by where you live. A US platform may issue a form in the 1099 series; someone outside the US paid by a US platform may instead see a 1042-S; many platforms send nothing beyond a statement you download yourself. Payout providers issue their own statements, which rarely match the platform's totals.

A good answer sounds like naming the documents that exist for your situation, and saying what serves as the record when none arrives. Waving off missing paperwork is a warning.

Bring: any forms you received, plus a downloaded earnings statement from each platform.

3. How do you handle the gap between what a platform reports and what reached my bank?

Why it matters. The platform's figure is usually gross: before its cut, processing, currency conversion and the payout rail's fee. Money still in a platform wallet or with a provider has not reached you, and refunds or chargebacks can reverse a payment months later, in a different period from the sale.

A good answer sounds like asking for both sides, platform and bank, and describing a real routine for reconciling them, reversals included.

Bring: bank and provider statements for the same months, and a note of any chargebacks, refunds or held payouts you know about.

4. What do the platforms already report about me, and to whom?

Why it matters. Platforms increasingly report on their own. Some collect and remit VAT or sales tax on sales to fans; in the EU, the rules known as DAC7 require platforms to report seller identification details and the total consideration paid to each seller to tax authorities. The UK has its own version, under which a platform must also give the seller a copy of what it reported. Figures about you may reach an authority before you send anything.

A good answer sounds like naming which of your platforms report where, or saying plainly "I don't know for that one, I'll check" — not surprise that this happens at all.

Bring: any annual seller or platform-reporting statement sent to you.

5. Do you take clients in my industry, and who inside your firm sees my file?

Why it matters. Creators describe disclosures that came too late to be cheap; one wrote of worrying that a preparer might mention the work to their day-job employer (r/CreatorsAdvice, 2025-01-15, paraphrased). Ask in the first call, neutrally, as a scope question: does this firm take clients in this industry, yes or no.

A good answer sounds like a plain yes or no with no commentary attached, then specifics: who can open your file, whether work is subcontracted or sent offshore, what the engagement letter says about confidentiality, and how your business is described on paperwork.

Bring: the question in writing, by email if you can, so the answer is too.

Bring to the first meeting

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