How To Become An Accounting Bookkeeper: What It Is and Career Path

What is an accounting bookkeeper and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Jodi Olson

An accounting bookkeeper handles the daily tasks of recording and maintaining a business's financial transactions. These include, but are not limited to, expenses, payroll, revenue, and purchases. They keep track of all financial documents and invoices, organizing them into ledgers and balance sheets.

You don't have to hold a college diploma to become a senior accounting clerk. However, degrees in accounting, business, or finance do give you an edge on the job market. Experience is generally more valuable to employers than a formal education. Most companies require at least three years of prior experience in similar positions in finance or administration when they are looking to hire a new accounting bookkeeper.

Accounting bookkeepers in the United States earn roughly about $41,000 a year on average. That's more or less $20 an hour. While that might seem a bit low, accounting bookkeepers' average yearly salaries have been on the rise since 2012 and are expected to grow even further. The professional, manufacturing, or finance industries, in particular, offer competitive yearly salaries to their accounting bookkeepers.

What's a day at work look like for an accounting bookkeeper?

Jodi Olson

Assistant Accounting Professor, Winona State University

Graduates could see a range of possibilities from working entirely remotely to fully on-site with precautions in place, based on recent graduate and internship experiences we have seen during the pandemic. Except for a very few internships cut short or cancelled immediately at the onset of the pandemic as the profession adapted to unknowns and putting safety measures in place, we have not seen a significant change in the demand for interns or graduates. Some new graduates expect their first day on the jobs to be remote and feel ready to meet that challenge being familiar with the technology required to be productive and communicate virtually. It has become an assumption that precautions are in place, regardless of the remote or in-person setting. It seems that both graduates and employers are working hard together to achieve success, both with caution and the usual high professional standards.

ScoreAccounting BookkeeperUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,406

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 6.61%

Black or African American 6.88%

Hispanic or Latino 14.60%

Unknown 3.97%

White 67.31%

Gender

female 84.47%

male 15.53%

Age - 53

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 53

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.3

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an accounting bookkeeper

Explore accounting bookkeeper education requirements

Most common accounting bookkeeper degrees

Bachelor's

48.4 %

Associate

28.3 %

High School Diploma

10.8 %

Start to develop specific accounting bookkeeper skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Entry	8.47%
Reconciliations	8.12%
Payroll Taxes	7.62%
Journal Entries	7.28%
Vendor Invoices	4.96%

Complete relevant accounting bookkeeper training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New accounting bookkeepers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an accounting bookkeeper based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real accounting bookkeeper resumes.

Gain additional accounting bookkeeper certifications

Accounting bookkeeper certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific accounting bookkeeper certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for accounting bookkeepers include Bookkeepers Certification and Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

More About Certifications

Research accounting bookkeeper duties and responsibilities

Process bi-weekly payroll through ADP on-line system; manage distribution of live checks.
Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
General ledger entries for AR and AP, parts and sales of power equipment.
Prepare and print AP checks.

Prepare your accounting bookkeeper resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your accounting bookkeeper resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an accounting bookkeeper resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable accounting bookkeeper resume templates

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