What Is Bookkeeping? Duties, Pay, and How to Become a Bookkeeper

If you are considering a career as a bookkeeper, here are some skills that will help you succeed in this profession. They may also increase your annual salary, access to better-paying positions with more responsibility, and a greater chance of getting hired. The US GAAP is a widely accepted set of accounting standards and practices in the United States that ensure consistency and transparency in financial reporting. Companies expect all employees, not just bookkeepers, to have computer literacy skills. If your company uses Quickbooks for bookkeeping, you can assess candidates’ proficiency with this test. Bookkeepers often have to deal with many tasks with competing deadlines, so they must have time-management abilities.

How to assess bookkeeping skills and traits

1. A bookkeeper’s job comprises maintaining and balancing financial records, including transactions from coworkers.
2. Regardless of how organized or tech-savvy you may be, if you consistently fail to meet your deadlines, there’s a good chance that your client will end your contract.
3. In 2023, the average bookkeeper in the United States earned an annual salary of $43,748.
4. In addition, you must be able to handle any issues with a calm and productive approach.
5. You can sometimes choose between full-time and part-time positions, and you may go to work in an office or work from home.

Once you’ve been in the profession for a while, you might pursue a more advanced position in bookkeeping. Accountants have more expansive roles than bookkeepers and typically earn more, making it a popular career pathway for bookkeepers. The average salary for a bookkeeper in the United States is about $43,000 per year. However, some bookkeepers can earn less (around $37,000) or more ($50,000 and above) depending on their bookkeeping skills, experience, location, niche, and the quality of their clients. Bookkeeping can be a great side hustle if you’re good at it and enjoy the work.

Enter financial transactions.

It’s easy to test your candidates’ literacy with our computer literacy tests. The Computer Literacy (PC) test applies to all your bookkeepers who are going to use PCs in the course of their jobs. A certified bookkeeper is also knowledgeable of the standards that govern bookkeeping activities, like the US GAAP, the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Research has found that 49% of accounting professionals see knowing and adapting to digital technology as their biggest challenge.

How to test bookkeepers’ data-entry skills

Internships can also provide ways for you to get your foot in the door with a specific organization. The good news is that you can do bookkeeping training from the comfort of your home. There are a lot of cheap bookkeeping courses online and a lot of free content too. You can find bookkeeping courses on standard bookkeeping work tools like bookkeeping software and financial reports. According to 81 percent of CBs who interviewed for a new job after becoming certified, having a certification contributed to getting the interview 4.

Many people who work in this field will go on to work in advisory and analytical roles rather than clerical ones. You can create a custom bookkeeping skills assessment to evaluate your candidates’ understanding of fundamental accounting principles and test proficiency in certificate of deposit accounting journal entry popular bookkeeping software. Data entry is crucial for bookkeeping tasks, from calculating accounting figures to recording financial data in general ledgers. Another way to get valuable bookkeeping experience and on-the-job training is through an internship. You can then learn how to use multiple accounting software programs and work tools on the job.

Consider earning a degree.

You can earn certification from the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB) and the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB). The NACPB offers a certified public bookkeeper (CPB) certification, while the CPB offers a certified bookkeeper (CB) certification. You can earn either certification by passing a four-part multiple-choice exam, agreeing to abide by a professional code of conduct, and verifying your budget definition bookkeeping accounting education and experience. You typically maintain accurate accounting records across all transactions while communicating with others.

Since you will be presenting crucial data to your clients, it is important that you can do it coherently and effectively. You should know how to express yourself competently, especially if you will be dealing with various people. Remember that you will also be gathering a lot of essential data, which means you need to have excellent communication skills to get the information you need. Being able to proficiently communicate with everyone involved, whether face-to-face truckers bookkeeping service or electronically, can make a big difference in your professional career. Bookkeepers and accountants usually do similar types of work and have interchangeable skills.