A bookkeeper is someone who is able to execute most of the balance sheet needs for the finance department in a corporate environment. They can help to ensure the reporting of business success and failures to team leadership, product owners and various members of the operations team.

Table of Contents

• Bookkeeper Job Description Sample
• Bookkeeper Resume Summary
• Bookkeeper National Average Salary
• Bookkeeper Duties & Responsibilities
• Bookkeeper Skills
• Bookkeeper Requirements

Bookkeeper Job Description Sample

Bookkeepers work closely to the CFO or Chief Financial Officer to help the business prepare most of their economic and financial needs. This includes taxes, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and sometimes other needs. A bookkeeper is someone who looks over the general business balance sheet to ensure the accuracy of the business reporting is being produced for the executive team as well as for federal tax purposes. Bookkeepers work closely with managers and product owners to help account for P&L reports based on the various team successes or failures.

Bookkeeper Resume Summary

This is how you might describe your position as a bookkeeper in a resume summary, executive summary or professional summary:

3+ years as a bookkeeper and accountant. CPA certified. Balance sheet obsessed. Corporate tax trained. Ability to execute under fast-paced environments.

Related: 5+ Best Bookkeeper Interview Questions & Answers

Bookkeeper National Average Salary

National average salary for bookkeepers is provided by The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics. National averages are a cumulative total average as seen by a non-specific geographic mean average. That means this is the average salary that you might expect to have (regardless of geographic region) when entering into this job function.

National average salary: $11.99/hr - $26.20/hr

Bookkeeper Duties & Responsibilities

• Maintain accounts by verifying, allocating and ensuring transactions are real
• Review all corporate billings to ensure accurate recording of accounts payable or receivable
• Timely recording of financial transactions to their proper ledgers
• Monthly, quarterly and annual book closing process and procedures
• Employee reimbursement management
• Assist in the accounts receivable and accounts payable teams
• Work closely with controller, financial officers and product owners
• Work closely with the accounting clerk and other clerks
• Keep track of all financial records
• Balance a general ledger
• Work with all accounting software and process invoices
• Handle all accounting duties
• Handle all bank deposits
• Handle all cash receipts
• Work through financial data and determine an income statement from other supplier invoices
• Process journal entries
• Work with subsidiary accounts
• Understand general cash flow
• Comfort with recording transactions of each employer (including receipts)
• Generate a financial report for each client
• Work closely with bookkeeping clerks and other employees
• Understand how to use bookkeeping software
• Be able to pull and process a financial statement for each customer

Bookkeeper Skills

• Communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Organizational skills
• Financial modeling skills
• Multi-tasking skills
• Ability to rapidly prototype financial models
• Written communication skills

Tip: Two of the best soft skills to list on your resume are: time management and willingness to be flexible, agile and adaptable to change.

Bookkeeper Requirements

• 3 - 5 years in an accounting or bookkeeping position
• Previous employment in a corporate environment
• Previous experience as a professional bookkeeper, certified bookkeeper, auditing clerk, or full charge bookkeeper is preferred
• High school diploma preferred
• Experience working in a global office
• Knowledge of accounting concepts
• Knowledge of corporate tax needs
• Highly organized individual with attention to detail
• Ability to execute complex Excel Formulas
• Ability to grow with the company

Using Your Template

Follow these instructions to use your new job description template

• Step one: Fill out all details in your job description template using the provided sample on this page.
• Step two: Customize your requirements or duties to anything special to your workplace. Be sure to speak with team members and managers to gauge what's required of the position.
• Step three: When the census of the team has agreed on the description of the work, add in a Equal Employment Opportunity statement to the bottom of your job description.
• Step four: Check with your legal department, management team, and other team members to ensure the job description looks correct before creating a job advertisement. Choose a job board that's specific to your needs.

Related Hiring Resources

5+ Best Bookkeeper Interview Questions & Answers
Bookkeeper Resume Example