Bookkeeping Assistant Job Description and Career Highlight

This post provides complete information on the bookkeeping assistant job description and career, including the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities they commonly perform.

It also provides ideas on how to become a bookkeeping assistant and the various career opportunities you can explore with a bookkeeping background.

The estimated salary for the bookkeeping assistant role is also provided in this post.

Please, keep reading:

What Does a Bookkeeping Assistant Do?

The bookkeeping assistant job description entails keeping the financial accounts of companies and ensuring that these are accurate.

It also involves preparing tax returns for companies.

A bookkeeping assistant produces balance sheet, profit, and loss statement and other reports as required by the business they work in.

They communicate adeptly and regularly with employees of the organization in carrying out their duties efficiently and effectively.

Bookkeeping assistants may prepare wage slips, pension schemes, deductions to government agencies like the Inland Revenue or tax authorities and other such documentation, which is necessary for day-to-day running of a business or organization.

The bookkeeping assistant also undertakes the payroll administration.

They also have to verify and advise on employee’s tax affairs in accordance with the law and regulations, as well as procedure of the organization.

The bookkeeping assistant may have to deal with customers’ queries, process credit payments, and deposit checks, and maintain cash flow in organizations.

It is the duty of the bookkeeping assistant to carry out internal audits, as well as international standards audit.

They are to ensure that all records are maintained according to set standards of the organization for auditing purposes.

Another duty of the bookkeeping assistants is the handling of accounts receivables and payables.

Their role includes preparing returns, keeping records up-to-date, and reconciling with bank statements.

The bookkeeping assistant needs to develop standard business forms and templates, such as invoices, purchase orders, and receipts, and other reports that may be required by the organization.

More on Bookkeeping Assistant Job Description

Additionally, duties of the bookkeeping assistant include preparing budgets for the company in order to improve profitability.

They sometimes do reconciliation work for the business in order to avoid disputes with suppliers or customers over goods or services received or paid for by these parties.

A bookkeeping assistant is required to be familiar with the terms of business, such as Terms and Conditions and other legal documents.

They are also required to draft contracts.

Furthermore, the job requires that they have good communication skills with both customers as well as internal staff of the organization/company.

Bookkeeping assistants must be creative in approaching new clients as well as utilizing existing client base for future potential business prospects.

They are expected to increase efficiency in their operations by implementing new technology for better bookkeeping systems into their work processes.

The bookkeeping assistant must also be able organize their work in such a way that it can be easily understood by others, including accounting professionals.

Bookkeeping Assistant Job Description Sample/Example/Template

The bookkeeping assistant job description involves the following duties, tasks, and responsibilities:

Organize and maintain financial records
Enter transactions into accounting and financial systems
Assist with periodic financial report preparation
Assist with tax preparation and filings (in some cases)
Filing of correspondence
Answer employee questions about financial matters
Produce records in response to requests from auditors, attorneys, and management
Provide administrative support to accounting department
Maintain inventory of supplies and materials
Prepare cash receipts journal entries
Produce expense reimbursement forms and purchase orders
Prepare bank reconciliations, general ledgers, balance sheets for internal financial reports
Work closely with management in the development of financial budgets for the company (on occasion)
Provide support for payroll through preparation of weekly and monthly payroll reports, as well as biweekly check runs and tax filings (in some cases)
Give support for sales tax filings (in some cases).

Bookkeeping Assistant Job Description for Resume

If you are making a new resume and have worked previously or are currently working as a bookkeeping assistant, you can show such experience in your resume by applying the sample bookkeeping assistant job description above.

You can use the above sample job description in emphasizing the duties and responsibilities you have successfully performed working as a bookkeeping assistant in the professional experience section of your resume.

This can enhance your chances of being hired as you are able to show that you have been effective in performing the duties and responsibilities of a bookkeeping assistant.

Bookkeeping Assistant Job Requirements: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for Career Success

Here are major requirements that you may be expected to meet to be hired for the bookkeeping assistant role:

Must have at least 1-2 years of experience working in accounting, preferably in a corporate environment
Possess minimum of 1 year of post-secondary education, ideally specializing in bookkeeping
Knowledgeable and proficient with QuickBooks Pro (preferred) or accounting software package
Should be able to keep accurate information for up to 65 employees
Proficient with Microsoft Office and other Internet-based software programs (i.e. Gmail)
Should have excellent skills in written and verbal communication skills
Must have the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines, as well as the ability to work independently and as part of a team when applicable
Should be able to work with a variety of people, such as superiors, employees, and clients
Must have the ability to prioritize multiple tasks and must be able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously
Possess excellent problem-solving skills, including working well under pressure in the face of unknown situations
Should be flexible as well as able to work at night/weekends and on short notice in order to meet deadlines as needed
Possess excellent organizational skills due to the need of maintaining employee files, financial data, electronic data files and other records pertaining to employees’ paystubs/wages/benefits/points/gifts, etc.

Bookkeeping Assistant Salary

According to salary.com, the average bookkeeper/accounting assistant pay in the United States is $45,600 as of April 26, 2022, with a normal range of $40,000 to $51,200.

The highest paying cities are Brooklyn, NY, $49,549; Denver, CO, $47,841; New York, NY, $46,920; Philadelphia, PA, $46,902; and Austin, TX, $44,432 per year.

There are currently over 764,492 bookkeeping assistants working in the United States.

Women make up 84.1% of all bookkeeping assistants, while men make up 15.9%.

An employed bookkeeping assistant is 50 years old on average.

White (72.1%) is the most common ethnicity among bookkeeping assistants, followed by Hispanic or Latino (12.6%), Black or African American (6.9%), and Asian (6.3%).

Women were projected to earn 97% of what men will earn in 2021.