The role of a bookkeeper is broadly similar to that of an accountant in terms of everyday tasks but may lack formal responsibility for tax returns, focusing more on the day to day finances of small to medium sized businesses and therefore often requiring less formal qualifications.

Bookkeeping courses are easy to access and can often be completed via home learning.

Required day-to-day tasks may include processing payroll, arranging payments of accounts and invoices, carrying out bank reconciliations and preparing financial documents and reports.

You will require a sound understanding of numbers, good IT proficiency and organizational skills, analytical thinking and the ability to compile and present detailed and accurate reports, often to tight deadlines.

Something else to consider is that many companies are happy to take on a freelance bookkeeper, meaning that if you are good at what you do and you can generate recommendations, you may well have the key to working from home!

In terms of outlook for the future, bookkeeping is predicted to be one of the slower growing industries, so if this is your choice, you need to be sure that you can be the best at it.

Your resume should be skills focused and highlight numeracy, organization, presentation and communication. You also need to be trustworthy and have good sound references.

Median Pay

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics states the median pay for bookkeepers in 2019 is around $41,240 per year,  and popular salary aggregator site pay scale.com states a somewhat higher median salary of a little over $40,000 per year.

Hourly rates can vary greatly from as little as $12 per hour for entry-level part time assistant work, to $24 an hour for more experienced professionals.

It should also be noted, pay can vary greatly depending on whether the bookkeeper works for an accounting firm, for a corporation, or as an independent contractor.

The above figures are median figures and do not reflect the outliers such as high-level bookkeepers for Fortune 500 companies, or sole proprietorships, which can greatly exceed $37,000 per year.

Bookkeeping, Accountant, and Auditing Clerk Salary Statistics

Industry Forecast

The industry forecast for bookkeepers is not a particularly sunny one, adding -8% growth rate between the years of 2014 and 2024.

One market segment in which bookkeepers are still in moderate demand are small businesses.

Small business owners may prefer to hire in-house bookkeepers rather than accountants from large accounting firms as over time they are much more cost efficient than paying a corporation.

Still, due to advances in technology, particularly software improvements and widespread use of cloud computing, many on-site bookkeeping positions have been made redundant for many fast growing, technologically savvy companies.

Advances in ease-of-use in terms of software will continue to chip away at the total number of bookkeeping jobs. The profession is expected to shed over 148,000 positions between 2014 and 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For these reasons, it is important to write your resume in a way that it can be used to advance your career beyond simple bookkeeping, such as more advanced accounting or financial controller positions.

The skills honed in bookkeeping can be of immense value when translated into more in-demand positions within the broader accounting industry.

Main Types of Bookkeepers

Bookkeeping is a relatively specific job title, However, many bookkeepers find themselves performing tasks often assigned to other professions such as accountants, controllers, and managers.

Within the bookkeeping profession, however, there are  generally considered to be three main types of bookkeepers.

General Bookkeepers

General bookkeepers are exactly that, a person who deals with the day-to-day financial transactions of company, and records single entry bookkeeping or double entry bookkeeping with tools like Quicken or QuickBooks.

General bookkeepers are also responsible for recording all company transactions and the general ledger, processing invoices and payments, and keeping up with regular bank reconciliations.

This can be done with software, as mentioned, or with an actual physical book, in some cases.

The position can range from entry-level to mid-level, depending on the size of the company and the total skill set of the individual.

The general bookkeeper is on the slightly lower end of the median salary scale, because the skill set is more broad, and supply is slightly higher.

Full Charge Bookkeepers

Full charge bookkeepers are bookkeepers whose responsibilities include all of the above-mentioned, plus a few other critical functions, namely organizing and distributing payroll.

Full charge bookkeepers are usually responsible for managing the financial transactions of small to medium-size businesses and generally are more experienced than entry-level bookkeepers, usually because they have taken accounting specific courses while pursuing some form of higher education.

It goes without saying, then, that with increased responsibilities, and increased educational requirements, full charge bookkeepers generally make a little bit more money than their general bookkeeper counterparts.

Certified Bookkeepers

Certified bookkeepers are the kings of their domain. They do everything full charge bookkeepers do and more.

For starters, certified bookkeepers must have at least two years of real life experience working within the accounting industry, and must also pass a standardized national exam.

Certified bookkeepers are very close to certified accountants, in that they manage all financial and income reporting, process all daily transactions for all accounts both payable and receivable, and keep a general ledger for other accounting purposes..

There are many places nationwide where you can take a certified bookkeeper exam, which is administered by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers.

Once you have passed the exam, you can include “CB” with your name at the top of your resume, just like certified accountants include CPA at the top of their resumes.

Because this type of bookkeeper requires the most work, the supply is the least of the three, and generally speaking, the salary for these types of experience professionals is much higher than the above two.

Sample Resume Download (MS Word Format)

Below is an example of a professionally written bookkeeper resume that you can use for reference when writing your own.

Downloaded it, print it, memorize it, whatever you have to do to get an idea of the types of things you should be including in your own resume.

How To Write Your Own

Bookkeeper resumes are relatively standard affairs. As with all resumes, it is the general policy to limit it to one page in length, with standardized margins all around, and a generally conservative font selection.

You will start your resume with the career objectives, where you state your experience level. In just a couple of sentences you want to state why you are qualified for the position and why the company should hire you.

This usually means emphasizing the experience, but can also include specific accreditation such as being a “certified bookkeeper” or “CB”.

In the body of your resume you want to include only the most relevant experiences, and avoid listing daily routine responsibilities that are expected of any and all bookkeepers.

You want to share experiences that will indicate to the employer that you are something special, that you have experiences and skills that they need to help grow their business in the future.

You can best do this by quantifying your achievements numerically whenever possible on your resume. This is the quickest and most direct way to communicate to the reader exactly what it is you did previously and how impactful these responsibilities were.

For example, you can list a dollar evaluation of the company or what you did bookkeeping in the past. You can also include numbers on savings you made for a company in dollar figures or percentage points.

Do not list experiences that are not relevant to the industry or experiences that are more than 15 years old as they are not really relevant anymore.

In your bullet points, older experiences should be listed last and with less detail, while your newer experiences should be listed first and with more detail included.

Compare your finished resume to the professionally written sample above, and try to identify the differences. This is for improvement on your resume.

Also, before sending your resume to any employer, be sure you send it to at least two friends or family members to not only proofread, but also to make sure that your wording is correct and you are presenting yourself in the best possible light.

This is something that can be at times difficult for individuals to identify, themselves.

Sample Bullet Points

Below are a selection of bullet points specifically selected for bookkeeping professionals and which you can use for inspiration when trying to compose your own selection of action-oriented bullet points.

Sample Bookkeeper Bullet Points

Career Objective

The career objective is a very important part of a bookkeeper’s resume, as it sets the tone for the professional experience, additional skills, and educational sections.

Be sure to specify whether you are a general bookkeeper, a full charge bookkeeper, or a certified bookkeeper right away in your career objectives so that HR managers know exactly who you are when viewing your resume.

The goal of the career objective is to pique the reader’s interest and get them to read the rest of your resume, so stay with your bookkeeper level, experience, and certification, if you have any, in achieving this goal.

Also, include other bookkeeping specific information such as whether you had experience with double entry methods or single entry methods of record keeping.

Likewise, you can include any specific industry software knowledge you have that is pertinent to the position you are applying for.

If you are an entry-level candidate, mention your educational experience if it is specific to accounting, or any other bookkeeping-related internships or experience, as these will serve to qualify you in place of actual work experience.

Additional Skills & Certifications

Additional skill sets bookkeepers can include should be analytical in nature, such is the ability to process large amounts of data, sometimes known as data mining.

You also want to emphasize your wizardry of Excel and your ability to effortlessly organize and manage a company’s financial records.

Also, do not forget to mention accounting specific software such as Quicken, QuickBooks, intuit, TurboTax.  The list goes on, and by listing more tools, you will make yourself more attractive to different employers.

It may seem excessive to list all of your software knowledge, but you never know what type of system the employer uses or has used in the past.

By listing all of your experiences, the likelihood of matching increases, which, in turn, increases your desirability as a candidate.

Include any accounting-related certifications you have, as well. Obviously, if you are a certified bookkeeper, you will include this, Both an abbreviation forming your title at the top of your resume, and also again here in your certification section, written out long-form.

Useful Skills to Include

In addition to the other above-mentioned skills you can include, we have selected a few bookkeeping specific skills that you can use on your resume in the table below.

Obviously, in addition to the below provided points, you want to stand out from the pack by including skills that are unique to you and which you do not think many other applicants will have.

Useful Bookkeeper Skills