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Research Summary. Here are some key points about hiring bookkeepers in the United States:
To hire a bookkeeper, consider the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Follow these steps to hire a bookkeeper:
Before you get started with hiring a bookkeeper, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.
Before you hire a bookkeeper, you should also consider the ideal background you'd like them to have. For example, what industry or field they have experience in, what level of seniority or education the job requires, and how much it'll cost to hire a candidate that fits the bill.
The list breaks down common bookkeeper roles and compares their salaries.
Type Of Bookkeeper | Description | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|
Bookkeeper | Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks produce financial records for organizations. They record financial transactions, update statements, and check financial records for accuracy. | $14-25 |
Account Payables Analyst | An accounts payable analyst is primarily responsible for managing and processing invoices and payments, ensuring accuracy and timeliness. They are also responsible for coordinating with various departments to obtain and acquire data and invoices, submitting payments to external vendors and suppliers, identifying errors and inconsistencies, and providing corrective measures... Show More | $18-35 |
Accounting Technician | An accounting technician is responsible for evaluating financial information procedures to support accounting and taxation tasks, verifying the accuracy of account statements for the reference of accountants. Accounting technicians manage the payroll processes, generate invoices, perform account reconciliations, analyze account receivables, prepare budget reports, and monitor the company's financial transactions... Show More | $14-25 |
Before creating a bookkeeper job description, imagine the ideal employee for this position and begin creating a profile. What skills do they have and what responsibilities do they have to be proficient in?
Here is a list of skills that are commonly associated with bookkeeper:
Here is a list of common responsibilities that bookkeepers may be expected to fulfill:
Cultural fit is also an essential factor that you shouldn't overlook. Consider how your perfect bookkeeper will contribute to the team dynamic and help grow the team's culture in a positive way. If you can include a clear vision of this in your bookkeeper job description, it'll help attract candidates who are better suited for the position.
Rank # | State | # Of Jobs | % of Population | Avg. Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Illinois | 793 | 6% | $40,846 |
2 | Massachusetts | 546 | 8% | $47,205 |
3 | Virginia | 521 | 6% | $40,593 |
4 | Maryland | 423 | 7% | $44,494 |
5 | Minnesota | 392 | 7% | $40,965 |
Including a salary range in the job description is a good way to get more applicants. A bookkeeper salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, their level of experience, education and certifications, and the prestige of the employer. For example, the average salary for a bookkeeper in Arkansas may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level bookkeeper. Additionally, a bookkeeper with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.
Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | District of Columbia | $48,188 | $23 | 8 |
2 | New York | $48,135 | $23 | 82 |
3 | Massachusetts | $47,119 | $23 | 2 |
4 | Washington | $44,733 | $22 | 5 |
5 | Maryland | $44,673 | $21 | 4 |
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | NTT Data International L.L.C. | $61,327 | $29.48 | |
2 | Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School | $55,289 | $26.58 | 1 |
3 | Lewistown Hospital | $54,404 | $26.16 | |
4 | CSG | $51,297 | $24.66 | |
5 | CBIZ | $50,007 | $24.04 | 8 |
6 | Monster Products | $48,815 | $23.47 | 2 |
7 | Town & Country Markets | $47,860 | $23.01 | |
8 | World Learning | $46,538 | $22.37 | |
9 | E. & J. Gallo Winery | $46,051 | $22.14 | |
10 | GPAC | $45,981 | $22.11 | |
11 | Armanino | $45,553 | $21.90 | |
12 | United Natural Foods | $45,287 | $21.77 | 3 |
13 | Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP | $45,237 | $21.75 | |
14 | CyberCoders | $45,144 | $21.70 | 1 |
15 | Mollie Stone's Markets | $44,959 | $21.61 | |
16 | Staffing.com | $44,793 | $21.54 | 3 |
17 | Regional Medical Center- Orangeburg | $44,531 | $21.41 | |
18 | Mayo Clinic | $44,445 | $21.37 | 1 |
19 | UMiami Health System | $44,317 | $21.31 | |
20 | Weber Murphy Fox Architects | $44,304 | $21.30 |
A job description for a bookkeeper 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 a bookkeeper job description:
To find bookkeepers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:
Post your job online:
To successfully recruit bookkeepers, your first interview needs to be all about engaging with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.
You should also ask about candidates' special skills and talents to see if they match with the ideal candidate profile you came up with earlier. Candidates who are good enough for the next step can then move on to the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Once you've decided on a perfect bookkeeper candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should also include details such as benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.
It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.
To prepare for the new bookkeeper first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources needs to make sure that a new employee file is created for internal recordkeeping.
Hiring a bookkeeper comes with both the one-time cost per hire and ongoing costs. The cost of recruiting bookkeepers involves promoting the job and spending time conducting interviews. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider the cost of bookkeeper recruiting as well the ongoing costs of maintaining the new employee.
You can expect to pay around $40,337 per year for a bookkeeper, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for bookkeepers in the US typically range between $14 and $25 an hour.