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office bookkeeper

title: Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Office Bookkeeper
salary: $40,000 - $65,000
categories: ["Accounting", "Finance", "Administrative"]
description: A comprehensive overview of the key responsibilities, required technical skills and professional background for the role of a Office Bookkeeper.
Office Bookkeeper job description, responsibilities and required skills. Designed for recruiters and hiring managers: includes detailed, SEO-optimized bookkeeping responsibilities, core competencies (QuickBooks, accounts payable/receivable, bank reconciliations, payroll, GAAP), and career path guidance for candidates and applicant-tracking systems.

🎯 Role Definition

The Office Bookkeeper is responsible for maintaining accurate and timely financial records for a small-to-medium business or department, handling day-to-day accounting operations including accounts payable, accounts receivable, bank reconciliations, payroll support, and month-end close tasks. This role ensures compliance with company policies and accounting standards (GAAP), produces routine financial reports for management, supports audits and tax filings, and drives continual process improvements to increase accuracy and efficiency.

This position is ideal for organized, detail-oriented professionals experienced with accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, or similar), advanced Excel skills, and strong communication skills to coordinate with vendors, employees and management.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Administrative Assistant with accounting exposure
  • Accounts Payable Clerk or Accounts Receivable Clerk
  • Junior or Assistant Bookkeeper

Advancement To:

  • Senior Bookkeeper
  • Staff Accountant
  • Accounting Supervisor / Billing Manager
  • Corporate Accountant or Controller (for candidates with continued education and experience)

Lateral Moves:

  • Payroll Specialist
  • Billing Specialist
  • Credit & Collections Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Maintain and update the general ledger by recording day-to-day financial transactions, preparing journal entries, posting accruals and adjustments, and ensuring accurate account coding for month-end and year-end reporting.
  • Process accounts payable: review and code vendor invoices, match invoices to purchase orders, obtain approvals, schedule and process payments, and reconcile vendor statements to resolve discrepancies.
  • Manage accounts receivable activities including generating and sending invoices, posting customer payments, applying cash receipts, following up on past-due balances, and maintaining aging reports.
  • Reconcile all bank accounts, credit card statements, merchant accounts and petty cash on a monthly basis, investigating and correcting reconciling items and interfacing with banks as necessary.
  • Prepare periodic financial statements and management reports, including balance sheets, income statements, cash flow summaries and variance analyses to support business decisions.
  • Process payroll or partner with payroll providers: validate timesheets, calculate withholdings and deductions, prepare payroll journal entries, reconcile payroll liabilities and prepare tax remittance schedules.
  • Support month-end and quarter-end close activities by preparing closing checklists, posting month-end entries (accruals, prepaids, amortization), and coordinating adjustment approvals.
  • Maintain fixed asset records and depreciation schedules: record additions and disposals, calculate monthly/annual depreciation, and reconcile to the general ledger.
  • Prepare and remit sales tax, payroll tax and other statutory filings on time; prepare supporting schedules and documentation for tax advisors and regulatory filings.
  • Ensure internal controls and segregation of duties are enforced by maintaining supporting documentation, reconciling accounts, and keeping audit-ready files for the accounting department.
  • Coordinate with external auditors and accountants during audits and tax engagements by preparing schedules, bank confirmations, and clarifying accounting entries and account balances.
  • Maintain vendor and customer master files, ensure correct coding and contact details, and conduct periodic vendor and customer data hygiene to prevent duplicate or erroneous records.
  • Process employee expense reports and reimbursements: verify receipts, validate business purpose, reconcile corporate card statements and maintain petty cash logs.
  • Assist in billing operations: prepare customer invoices, track deliverables tied to billing, apply discounts or credits with appropriate approvals and reconcile revenue accounts.
  • Monitor cash balances and assist management with short-term cash flow forecasting and banking relationships, recommending timing of vendor payments and collections strategies when appropriate.
  • Prepare reconciliations and schedules for intercompany accounts, accruals, prepaid expenses and other balance sheet items; investigate and resolve any inconsistencies.
  • Support accounts payable and procurement processes by reviewing purchase orders, validating receipt of goods and services, and assisting in vendor onboarding and W-9 collection.
  • Assist in software implementations, system upgrades and integrations across ERP, payroll and accounts systems; test reconciliations and support transition of historical data.
  • Identify and document process improvements and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to streamline bookkeeping workflows, reduce manual effort and minimize errors.
  • Respond to internal and external stakeholder inquiries about invoices, statements, and account reconciliations with professionalism and timely follow-up to maintain strong vendor and customer relationships.
  • Maintain confidentiality of payroll, employee and company financial information and apply best practices to protect sensitive data.

Secondary Functions

  • Support periodic budgeting and forecasting activities by compiling historical data, maintaining budget templates and preparing variance explanations for management review.
  • Provide ad-hoc financial analysis and reporting as requested by leadership, such as departmental spending summaries, cost center analyses, or vendor spend audits.
  • Train or mentor junior bookkeeping staff or administrative team members on accounting processes, software usage and documentation standards.
  • Coordinate with human resources on benefits, payroll deductions and new-hire setups to ensure accurate payroll and accounting records.
  • Assist with grants, donor reporting or fund accounting tasks for nonprofit organizations, including restricted fund tracking and reporting.
  • Participate in cross-functional projects such as ERP selection, internal control remediation and operational process redesign to improve accounting efficiency.
  • Help prepare documentation for sales tax audits, payroll audits or other regulatory reviews and support remediation of identified issues.
  • Maintain an organized filing system (physical and electronic) for invoices, contracts, bank statements and other financial documentation to support compliance and retrieval.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficiency with accounting software: QuickBooks Online/Desktop, Xero, Sage 50 or comparable ERP systems.
  • Strong Microsoft Excel skills including VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, INDEX/MATCH, conditional formatting and basic macros for data cleanup and analysis.
  • Accounts payable and accounts receivable management, including invoice processing, collections and vendor reconciliation.
  • Bank and credit card reconciliation experience, including investigating and resolving discrepancies.
  • General ledger accounting, journal entries, month-end close procedures and reconciliations.
  • Payroll processing knowledge or hands-on experience with payroll systems (ADP, Paychex, Gusto or similar) and payroll tax reconciliation.
  • Knowledge of GAAP, basic financial statement preparation and accrual accounting concepts.
  • Experience preparing sales/use tax, payroll tax filings and supporting tax documentation.
  • Fixed asset accounting and depreciation calculation.
  • Familiarity with electronic payments, ACH, wire transfers, credit card processing and merchant reconciliations.
  • Experience producing management reports and variance analyses; comfortable preparing summaries and presentation-ready schedules.
  • Basic understanding of internal controls, segregation of duties and audit documentation requirements.
  • Strong data entry accuracy and experience maintaining accounting spreadsheets and ledgers.
  • Exposure to invoice automation tools, OCR scanning, or AP workflow platforms is a plus.

Soft Skills

  • High attention to detail and strong organizational skills to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills; capable of interacting professionally with vendors, clients and internal stakeholders.
  • Problem-solving mindset with the ability to investigate discrepancies, identify root causes and recommend corrective actions.
  • Dependability and integrity: must handle confidential financial and payroll information responsibly.
  • Time management and prioritization skills in a fast-paced environment; ability to meet month-end and tax deadlines.
  • Team player with a collaborative attitude and willingness to cross-train and support colleagues.
  • Customer-service orientation when managing vendor inquiries and collections.
  • Adaptability and openness to process improvement and technology adoption.
  • Initiative to identify inefficiencies and lead small projects to improve bookkeeping operations.
  • Critical thinking and analytical skills to interpret financial data and highlight meaningful trends for management.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED with proven bookkeeping/accounting work experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate degree in Accounting, Finance or Business Administration; Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or related field preferred for higher-level roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Business Administration
  • Bookkeeping / Office Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of bookkeeping, accounting clerk, or related financial experience in a small-to-medium business environment.

Preferred:

  • 3+ years of progressive bookkeeping experience with direct responsibility for AP/AR, reconciliations and month-end close.
  • Demonstrated experience with QuickBooks or a major accounting package and advanced Excel competency.
  • Experience supporting payroll processing, sales tax filings and audit preparation; nonprofit or industry-specific experience (e.g., construction, healthcare, retail) is a plus.
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