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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Bookkeeping and QuickBooks Consultant

💰 $45,000 - $90,000

AccountingFinanceConsultingSmall Business

🎯 Role Definition

We are hiring a Bookkeeping and QuickBooks Consultant to manage day-to-day bookkeeping, optimize QuickBooks setup and workflows, and deliver reliable financial records and actionable insights for small and medium-sized businesses. The ideal candidate combines deep QuickBooks expertise (QuickBooks Online and/or QuickBooks Desktop), strong transactional accounting skills (AP/AR, payroll, bank reconciliations), and experience preparing clean month-end close packages and management reports. This role is client-facing and consultative: you will troubleshoot bookkeeping issues, implement accounting best practices, train clients and staff, and support tax-ready records aligned with GAAP.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Bookkeeper / Bookkeeping Clerk
  • Accounting Clerk or Office Manager handling financials
  • QuickBooks Support Specialist or Billing Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Senior Bookkeeper / Lead Bookkeeper
  • Accounting Manager or Controller (small to mid-sized firms)
  • QuickBooks Consultant / Implementation Specialist
  • Fractional CFO or Finance Director for SMBs

Lateral Moves:

  • Payroll Specialist
  • Tax Preparer or Enrolled Agent (EA)
  • Financial Systems Analyst (ERP/Accounting integrations)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Maintain accurate general ledger entries in QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop, ensuring all transactions are coded to the correct chart of accounts, properly dated, and supported by source documentation to produce tax-ready books.
  • Perform monthly bank reconciliations for all operating, payroll, credit card, merchant, and loan accounts in QuickBooks, identify and resolve discrepancies, and explain reconciling items to management.
  • Manage full-cycle accounts payable: process vendor bills, match purchase orders, code expenses, schedule payments, reconcile vendor statements, and maintain vendor records and 1099 tracking.
  • Oversee accounts receivable operations: create and send invoices, apply payments, manage collections, reconcile AR aging, and implement credit policies to minimize DSO.
  • Execute monthly and quarterly month-end close procedures: review journal entries, accruals, prepaid amortizations, fixed asset entries, and prepare adjusted trial balances and reconciled sub-ledgers.
  • Prepare accurate financial statements (Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss, Cash Flow) and variance analyses in QuickBooks and Excel for internal review and client delivery.
  • Clean up and standardize chart of accounts and transaction classes in QuickBooks to improve reporting fidelity and support management decision-making.
  • Configure and maintain banking integrations, merchant accounts, and bank feeds to reduce manual data entry and maintain transaction flow integrity.
  • Customize QuickBooks reports and dashboards to deliver KPIs and actionable insights (gross margin, burn rate, AR aging, cash runway) tailored to small business owners and stakeholders.
  • Reconcile payroll liabilities and process payroll records or liaise with payroll providers (ADP, Gusto, Paychex); ensure payroll taxes, withholdings, and year-end filings are accurate and recorded.
  • Implement and maintain internal bookkeeping controls and procedures to mitigate fraud, ensure separation of duties, and improve month-end efficiency.
  • Prepare and support sales tax, payroll tax, and other regulatory filings; ensure accurate tax reporting and maintain records for tax preparers and auditors.
  • Manage monthly bill.com, Expensify, Hubdoc, or other AP/expense workflows integrated with QuickBooks; perform document capture, coding, and approvals.
  • Conduct bookkeeping clean-up projects: resolve unreconciled accounts, reclassify historical transactions, correct prior period errors, and bring books to a month- and tax-ready state.
  • Support budgeting and forecasting processes by preparing baseline historical financial summaries, variance analyses, and simple cash flow projections in QuickBooks and Excel.
  • Provide QuickBooks training and user onboarding for clients and internal staff: create step-by-step workflows, user guides, and recorded training sessions.
  • Handle client-facing advisory tasks: advise on best practices for invoicing, expense categorization, payment terms, and cash management strategies for small businesses.
  • Implement and manage multi-entity or multi-location QuickBooks setups, including intercompany transactions, consolidated reporting, and class/location tracking.
  • Maintain audit-ready documentation and collaborate with external accountants and tax preparers to ensure smooth year-end close and tax preparation.
  • Perform month-end journal entries and reconciliations for accrual accounting, depreciation, amortization schedules, and prepaids to align with GAAP where applicable.
  • Troubleshoot QuickBooks errors and data file issues, perform file backups, and coordinate with Intuit support or third-party consultants for complex data repairs or conversions.
  • Lead QuickBooks implementations and migrations: evaluate existing systems, design an optimal chart of accounts, import historical transactions, and validate data integrity post-conversion.
  • Monitor cash flow daily and produce short-term cash forecasts, recommended payables timing, and receivable collection strategies to maintain liquidity.
  • Create tailored financial reports for investors, lenders, or board members, including EBITDA reconstructions, adjusted cash flow statements, and KPI scorecards.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc financial and bookkeeping projects such as one-time cleanup engagements, merger & acquisition data preparation, and interim accounting while clients recruit permanent staff.
  • Assist in evaluating and integrating complementary financial tools (Stripe, Square, Shopify, Avalara) with QuickBooks to automate revenue and tax recording.
  • Provide periodic process improvement recommendations to increase automation, reduce manual reconciliation time, and strengthen internal control frameworks.
  • Participate in client status meetings, prepare progress updates, and document action items and recommended next steps for improving accounting operations.
  • Contribute to internal knowledge bases, template libraries, and training materials to standardize QuickBooks consultancy best practices across the team.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor with demonstrable, hands-on experience in QuickBooks Online (QBO) and QuickBooks Desktop data files, conversions, and advanced reporting.
  • Full-cycle bookkeeping skills: journal entries, month-end close, accruals, prepaids, depreciation, fixed asset reconciliation, and trial balance review.
  • Strong accounts payable and accounts receivable management, including aging reporting, collections best practices, and vendor statement reconciliation.
  • Expertise with payroll processing and payroll reconciliations, familiarity with payroll providers (ADP, Gusto, Paychex) and payroll tax filings.
  • Advanced Excel skills: VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH, pivot tables, complex formulas, and data validation for ad-hoc analysis and report preparation.
  • Experience integrating QuickBooks with third-party apps (Bill.com, Hubdoc, Expensify, Shopify, Stripe) and troubleshooting bank/merchant feed issues.
  • Solid understanding of GAAP fundamentals and how to apply accrual accounting in QuickBooks for month-end and year-end reporting.
  • Ability to prepare and customize management and financial reports: P&L by class/location, comparative statements, cash flow statements, and KPI dashboards.
  • Experience performing bookkeeping cleanups and historical reclassifications to create tax-ready books and support external audits or tax preparation.
  • Proficiency in data reconciliation techniques across bank, credit card, merchant, payroll, and loan accounts to ensure ledger integrity.

Soft Skills

  • Client-facing consultant presence with strong verbal and written communication; able to translate technical accounting items into business-friendly language.
  • High attention to detail and strong organizational skills to manage multiple client files, deadlines, and month-end close activities concurrently.
  • Problem-solving mindset: proactive in identifying discrepancies, investigating root causes, and proposing durable process changes.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to balance recurring bookkeeping cycles with project-based cleanup or implementation work.
  • Trustworthiness and discretion handling sensitive financial and payroll data, adhering to confidentiality and security best practices.
  • Collaborative team player who can work with external accountants, tax preparers, operations teams, and non-financial clients to achieve outcomes.
  • Adaptability to client environments and technologies—able to learn new integrations, ERPs, or industry-specific workflows quickly.
  • Coaching and training aptitude: comfortable delivering hands-on QuickBooks training sessions, documentation, and ongoing support to client staff.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent; formal bookkeeping certificate or QuickBooks certification strongly preferred.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field.
  • QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification and continuing education in small business accounting practices.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Business Administration
  • Bookkeeping / Professional Accounting Certificates

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–7 years of progressive bookkeeping experience, with at least 2 years focused on QuickBooks implementations, cleanups, or consulting.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years supporting multiple small-to-medium business clients, advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor status, demonstrated payroll and tax-ready bookkeeping experience, and prior consulting or client-facing role experience.
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