How To Become A Bookkeeping Clerk: What It Is and Career Path

What is a bookkeeping clerk and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Jodi Olson

The average bookkeeping clerk salary is $38,132. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a bookkeeping clerk. Bookkeeping clerks with a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -77,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What's a day at work look like for a bookkeeping clerk?

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.

ScoreBookkeeping ClerkUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,132

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 6.65%

Black or African American 6.94%

Hispanic or Latino 14.73%

Unknown 3.97%

White 67.08%

Gender

female 85.82%

male 14.18%

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 a bookkeeping clerk

Explore bookkeeping clerk education requirements

Most common bookkeeping clerk degrees

Bachelor's

35.6 %

Associate

31.0 %

High School Diploma

21.6 %

Start to develop specific bookkeeping clerk skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	17.94%
Data Entry	9.98%
Check Deposits	9.66%
Vendor Invoices	6.75%
Computer System	4.31%

Complete relevant bookkeeping clerk training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New bookkeeping clerks 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 a bookkeeping clerk based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real bookkeeping clerk resumes.

Research bookkeeping clerk duties and responsibilities

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Supervise invoice processing, purchase orders, expense reports, credit memos and payment transactions.
Verify automated teller machine (ATM) daily deposits.
Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.

Prepare your bookkeeping clerk resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your bookkeeping clerk resume.

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