How to hire an accounting assistant

How to hire an accounting assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step accounting assistant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an accounting assistant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new accounting assistant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an accounting assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The accounting assistant hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an accounting assistant to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an accounting assistant that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of accounting assistants.

   Type of Accounting Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Accounting Assistant	Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks produce financial records for organizations. They record financial transactions, update statements, and check financial records for accuracy.	$14-24
   Bookkeeper	Bookkeepers are employees who are in charge of the company's general ledger. They are well-versed in basic accounting principles, and they apply these in their work... Show more	$14-25
   Accounts Payable Clerk	An accounts payable clerk is responsible for supporting the accounting department by performing clerical duties to file financial reports timely and accurately. Accounts payable clerks manage and verify invoices documents, reconcile balance spreadsheets, process payments for suppliers and vendors, resolve billing discrepancies, confirm and post account statements, record outstanding credits, and maintain an organized record of transactions... Show more	$14-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Data Entry
   • Customer Service
   • Reconciliations
   • Purchase Orders
   • Credit Card Payments
   • General Ledger Accounts
   • QuickBooks
   • Expense Reports
   • Bank Deposits
   • Accounts Receivables
   • ACH
   • Account Reconciliations
   • HR
   • Balance Sheet

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
   • Participate in weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly audits to ensure SOX compliance and propose opportunities for improvement.
   • Meet with account teams to discuss job structure, new projects, client requests, billing procedures, and SOX requirements.
   • Reconcile departmental report cash against banking ACH transactions.
   • Process mortgage portfolio monthly payments and interest accruals.
   • Utilize online system for calculating payroll and family tuition payments.

   More accounting assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the accounting assistant job description is a good way to get more applicants. An accounting assistant salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an accounting assistant in Arkansas may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level accounting assistant. Additionally, an accounting assistant with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average accounting assistant salary

   $39,569yearly

   $19.02 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level accounting assistant salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

   Average accounting assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$48,174	$23
   2	New York	$47,876	$23
   3	California	$47,362	$23
   4	Massachusetts	$44,677	$21
   5	Maryland	$43,435	$21
   6	Washington	$42,841	$21
   7	Virginia	$42,455	$20
   8	Oregon	$39,308	$19
   9	Nevada	$38,924	$19
   10	Colorado	$38,848	$19
   11	Illinois	$38,515	$19
   12	Arizona	$38,397	$18
   13	Florida	$38,334	$18
   14	Texas	$37,983	$18
   15	Minnesota	$37,854	$18
   16	Pennsylvania	$37,786	$18
   17	Georgia	$37,630	$18
   18	Ohio	$36,789	$18
   19	North Carolina	$36,779	$18
   20	Michigan	$36,689	$18

   Average accounting assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$66,181	$31.82	4
   2	T.Y. Lin International	$65,628	$31.55	8
   3	Deloitte	$63,469	$30.51	21
   4	Latham & Watkins	$61,715	$29.67
   5	TALENT Software Services	$59,958	$28.83
   6	HDR	$58,464	$28.11	6
   7	Williams Parker	$56,219	$27.03
   8	Loza & Loza	$56,056	$26.95
   9	Moss & Associates	$55,770	$26.81
   10	Aditi Consulting	$54,540	$26.22
   11	General Dynamics Mission Systems	$54,363	$26.14
   12	SmithBucklin	$53,827	$25.88
   13	Freeport-McMoRan	$52,097	$25.05	5
   14	Encompass Health	$51,470	$24.75	11
   15	Emory University	$50,994	$24.52	4
   16	Northrop Grumman	$50,894	$24.47	19
   17	Genuent	$50,523	$24.29
   18	Fenwick & West	$50,290	$24.18	6
   19	Urban One	$50,225	$24.15
   20	Harvard University	$50,085	$24.08

4. Writing an accounting assistant job description

   A job description for an accounting assistant role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an accounting assistant job description:

   Accounting assistant job description example

   KEYE is looking for a dependable and self-motivated Receptionist / Accounting Assistant. This is an important role! The receptionist is our guests first point of contact. As such, the ideal candidate must possess excellent communication skills and act courteously with others. In addition, the candidate in this role must display a professional appearance and attitude.
   Responsibilities include:
   Greeting visitors in a courteous and helpful manner Maintaining files in an organized fashion Answering multi-line telephone system Maintaining sufficient supplies, inventory, ordering and organizing Perform general clerical and data input duties as assigned Code invoices in accordance with company GL Assist with various audits performed during the year Other duties as assigned Skills and Experience:
   Accounts Payable experience is plus 2+ years of receptionist experience is preferred Previous broadcast experience is a plus Must take initiative and be a problem-solver Must be detail-oriented and exceptionally well organized Great people skills and a positive, can-do attitude are essential The ability to work well in a team environment, as well as independently Proficient with Microsoft Office Knowledge of Public File is a plus Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and Drug Free Workplace!
   
   About Us
   
   Make your mark in Media with Sinclair Broadcast Group, a diversified media company dedicated to connecting people with content everywhere! We have consistently led the broadcast industry since our inception, and now Sinclair owns the largest regional sports network business and one of the largest television broadcast portfolios in the country. In addition, we have affiliations with all of the major broadcast networks, own Tennis Channel, and several multicast networks including TBD and Comet. Our content is distributed over-the-air, on multi-video providers, and through our industry-leading digital media platforms. We're at the forefront of NextGen technology, enabling innovative new ways to engage with broadcast content like never before. We also recently launched a free TV streaming service called STIRR. Our success is the direct result of our extraordinary employees and management team who believe in our vision and are dedicated to ensuring a great future for our employees. We are advancing the world of Media and want YOU to join our winning team!
   
   About the Team
   
   The life-blood of our organization is our people. We have a compelling story, a goal-oriented culture, and we take really good care of people. How good? Here is a glimpse: great benefits, open door policy, upward mobility and a strong desire to see you succeed. Ready to be part of a winning team? Let's talk.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find accounting assistants for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any accounting assistants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level accounting assistants with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your accounting assistant job on Zippia to find and attract quality accounting assistant candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit accounting assistants, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new accounting assistant

   Once you've found the accounting assistant candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new accounting assistant. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire an accounting assistant?