A Bookkeeper is the financial "record-keeper" of a company. While an accountant handles high-level analysis and tax strategy, the bookkeeper focuses on the daily, granular task of tracking every dollar that enters or leaves the business.
Core Roles & Responsibilities
Daily Transaction Entry: Recording all financial transactions—sales, purchases, receipts, and payments—into the General Ledger.
Accounts Payable (AP): Managing the company’s bills, ensuring vendors are paid on time, and taking advantage of early-payment discounts.
Accounts Receivable (AR): Generating invoices for customers, tracking outstanding balances, and following up on late payments.
Bank Reconciliation: Matching internal bank records against actual bank statements to ensure the "books" reflect reality and to catch fraudulent activity.
Payroll Processing: Calculating employee hours, managing withholdings, and ensuring staff are paid accurately through services like Gusto or ADP.
Financial Reporting: Producing standard monthly reports, such as the Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss (P&L) statement, for management review.
Data Organization: Maintaining a digital and physical "audit trail" by filing receipts, contracts, and payment confirmations.
Essential Technical Skills
Accounting Software: Proficiency in small-to-medium business tools like QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Excel: Using spreadsheets for data clean-up and basic financial modeling.
Accuracy: A high level of precision is required, as a minor data-entry error can skew a company's entire financial outlook.
Skills Required
- Recording daily financial transactions into the General Ledger
- Managing Accounts Payable and vendor payments
- Generating invoices and managing Accounts Receivable collections
- Bank reconciliation to match books to statements
- Payroll processing using services like Gusto or ADP
- Producing monthly financial reports (Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss)
- Maintaining organized digital and physical audit trails (receipts, contracts)
- Proficiency in QuickBooks Online or Xero
- Proficiency with Excel for data cleanup and basic financial modeling
- High accuracy and attention to detail in data entry
