Career Guide: Bookkeepeing Specialist

A bookkeeper is someone who produces financial records for businesses or organizations. They record financial transactions, update statements, and check financial records for accuracy. Bookkeepers are employed in many industries, including firms that provide accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services. They are also employed in various levels of government and schools. The records that a bookkeeper works with include expenditures (money spent), receipts (money that comes in), accounts payable (bills to be paid), accounts receivable (invoices, or what other people owe the organization), and profit and loss (a report that shows the organization’s financial health).

Some bookkeepers are full-charge bookkeeping clerks who maintain an entire organization’s books. Others are accounting clerks who handle specific tasks. A bookkeeper is responsible for processing the paperwork for a company’s business transactions. Ultimately the transactions will be recorded in accounts within the company’s general ledger. Today this often involves the use of cost effective software such as QuickBooks from Intuit. Bookkeepers are expected to be accurate, efficient, and knowledgeable about debits and credits, the chart of accounts, accounts payable procedures, sales and accounts receivable, payroll, and more. Each bookkeeper’s specific responsibilities will vary by type and size of the business. The bookkeeper’s role may be expanded to include adjusting entries in order for the bookkeeper to generate income statements and balance sheets from the accounting software.

About the Guide

This Career Guide provides guidance to people facing a variety of career challenges. These challenges may include dealing with redundancy, seeking a new job, changing careers, returning to work after a career break, building new skills, personal and professional development, going for promotion, and setting up a business. The common aim of the career guide, whatever the particular situation of the individual being guided, is normally to help that individual gain control of their career and, to some extent, their life. This comprehensive resource has been developed to provide you with a road map for your particular area of interest to shape the career as a Bookkeeping Specialist. Whether you are looking for that entry-level position, growing in your respective field, or making a career transition, the means to accomplish your goals are within this resource. The Career Guide looks at what a Bookkeeping Specialist is, the roles and responsibilities they carry out and the essential qualities needed to succeed.