What Does a Bookkeeper Do? | What is Bookkeeping | Xero (2024)

Responsibilities of a bookkeeper

Bookkeepers are responsible for providing accurate, up-to-date financial information about a business. They’re always taking the pulse of a business.

Most often, their reports go to business owners and managers to help them make decisions. Some bookkeepers, however, are actually involved in strategy development.

Bookkeepers may also share some jobs with accountants, such as the preparation of annual financial reports and tax returns.

Bookkeeping duties

The two foundational tasks in small business bookkeeping are data entry and bank reconciliation. Without these, all other bookkeeping tasks fall over. Let’s walk through the core duties, common additional duties, and advanced bookkeeping.

Core duties

  • Data entry: Recording financial transactions and balancing the books. Learn more..
  • Bank reconciliation: Cross-referencing the books against bank statements and other source documents to confirm accuracy. Learn more.
  • Monthly reports: Summarizing the business’s financial position. Learn more.

Additional duties

  • Accounts receivable (and credit control): Creating and sending invoices, and following up to get them paid. Learn more.
  • Accounts payable: Making sure invoices from suppliers are accurate and paid in a timely manner. Learn more.
  • Payroll: Calculating pay and deductions. Learn more.

Advanced duties

  • Tax filing: Preparing tax returns. Learn more.
  • End of year reporting: Assisting with annual income statement and balance sheet reports.
  • Business strategy: Creating budgets and forecasts, and advising on how to improve the business.
  • Business process: Reviewing, researching and implementing software solutions and internal controls to streamline the business and enhance performance.
  • Training: Working with staff on best practice bookkeeping and use of software solutions.
  • Virtual office: Providing a full-service virtual office, for example telephones, postal address, and email communications.
  • Liaison: Meeting with accountants, on behalf of their clients, about financials and tax queries. Acting on behalf of the client with the tax authorities.

What Does a Bookkeeper Do? | What is Bookkeeping | Xero (1)

What Does a Bookkeeper Do? | What is Bookkeeping | Xero (2024)

FAQs

What Does a Bookkeeper Do? | What is Bookkeeping | Xero? ›

Bookkeepers

Bookkeepers
Bookkeepers are responsible for providing accurate, up-to-date financial information about a business. They're always taking the pulse of a business. Most often, their reports go to business owners and managers to help them make decisions. Some bookkeepers, however, are actually involved in strategy development.
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are responsible for providing accurate, up-to-date financial information about a business. They're always taking the pulse of a business. Most often, their reports go to business owners and managers to help them make decisions.

What are 5 duties of a bookkeeper? ›

A Bookkeeper job description generally includes:
  • Recording transactions such as income and outgoings, and posting them to various accounts.
  • Processing payments.
  • Conducting daily banking activities.
  • Producing various financial reports.
  • Reconciling reports to third-party records such as bank statements.

What does a bookkeeper actually do? ›

A bookkeeper is someone who prepares your accounts, documenting daily financial transactions. Bookkeepers have been around as far back as 2600 BC—when records were tracked with a stylus on slabs of clay—making bookkeeping not the oldest profession, but pretty darn close.

What skills do you need for bookkeeping? ›

11 skills and qualities bookkeepers need
  • Happy working with numbers. Yep, you guessed it. ...
  • Organisation and time management. ...
  • Data entry and technology. ...
  • Attention to detail. ...
  • Communication. ...
  • Bookkeeping knowledge and qualifications. ...
  • Integrity and transparency. ...
  • Problem solving and analytical.

What are examples of bookkeeping work? ›

Bookkeeping task examples
  • Recording all financial transactions.
  • Managing bank feeds.
  • Reconciling company bank accounts.
  • Managing payroll.
  • Handling accounts receivable and accounts payable.
  • Preparing financial reports and statements.
  • Assisting with tax preparation.
  • Using technology for streamlining tasks.
Jun 29, 2023

What is basic bookkeeping task? ›

What are the duties and responsibilities of a Bookkeeper? On a day-to-day basis, Bookkeepers complete data entry, collect transactions, track debits and maintain and monitor financial records. They also pay invoices, complete payroll, file tax returns and even maintain office supplies.

Is a bookkeeper job hard? ›

While this process is vital for a company to have an accurate understanding of the earnings and expenses, it is not a particularly difficult job to do. However, It does require a high level of attention to detail, organizational skills, and knowledge of basic accounting practices.

Does bookkeeping make money? ›

Average salary

Freelance bookkeepers set their own rates and often charge an hourly rate of $40-60. If a freelance bookkeeper has multiple clients and works full-time, they frequently earn more than the salaried bookkeeper's $35-40,000 per year.

Is bookkeeping a stressful job? ›

Also, there is no doubt that bookkeeping can sometimes cause a lot of stress. However, many ways exist to reduce this stress and ensure operations go smoothly. Bookkeepers who are proactive in all parts of their job have a good chance of success, even if they have to deal with some pressure and gain experience.

Do bookkeepers use QuickBooks? ›

Yes! QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping is an online bookkeeping service that connects small businesses with trusted, QuickBooks-certified virtual bookkeepers. Your bookkeeper takes the lead on your bookkeeping and runs essential reports so you can focus on your business.

How do beginners learn bookkeeping? ›

Use a Bookkeeping App: The best way to learn is to get hands-on in your own time and use a bookkeeping app that's both easy to use and understand. No formal degrees, no qualifications. Just look for one that has useful features you'll need and not packed full of ones you'll probably never use.

Can I teach myself bookkeeping? ›

Yes, you can teach yourself bookkeeping.

Classes a person should focus on should be topics like: Payroll Basics.

How long does it take to learn bookkeeping? ›

Seek On-the-Job Training

Most new bookkeepers complete on-the-job training to learn computer software and other skills. This training typically takes about six months.

What is the simplest form of bookkeeping? ›

Single-entry bookkeeping is a simple and straightforward method of bookkeeping in which each transaction is recorded as a single-entry in a journal. This is a cash-based bookkeeping method that tracks incoming and outgoing cash in a journal.

What are the three main activities of bookkeeping? ›

Answer and Explanation:
  • Identification: As the first step in the accounting process, every economic transactions are identified. ...
  • Recording: Recording stands for considering a transaction into the books of accounts. ...
  • Communication: Accounting information is prepared to be interpreted by its users.

What are the three types of bookkeeping? ›

The 3 types of accounting include cost, managerial, and financial accounting. ​​ Although 3 methods of accounting are both vital to the healthy functioning of a business, they have different meanings and accomplish different goals.

What can an accountant do that a bookkeeper can t? ›

Bookkeepers and accountants sometimes do the same work, but have a different skill set. In general, a bookkeeper's role is to record transactions and keep you financially organized, while accountants provide consultation, analysis, and are more qualified to advise on tax matters.

What does a bookkeeper do vs accountant? ›

Bookkeepers and accountants share the same long-term goal of helping your business financially thrive, but their roles are distinct. Bookkeepers focus more on daily responsibilities, like recording transactions, while accountants provide overarching financial advice and tax guidance.

Is bookkeeping a dead end job? ›

The last thing you want is another dead-end career that leaves you with few advancement opportunities. Thankfully, a bookkeeping position provides an excellent jumping-off point for advancing into other accounting positions. Bookkeepers are entry-level employees in accounting departments.

What is difference between accounting and bookkeeping? ›

Bookkeeping is a foundation/base of accounting. Accounting uses the information provided by bookkeeping to prepare financial reports and statements. Bookkeeping is one segment of the whole accounting system. Accounting starts where the bookkeeping ends and has a broader scope than bookkeeping.

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