Bookkeeper job description
A complete template to copy: duties, requirements, hours and pay. Replace the parts in [square brackets], or fill them in with the generator.
The template
Bookkeeper (remote) About us [Company] is [one line on what you do and who for]. We're looking for a bookkeeper to keep our books accurate and up to date every month. What you'll do - Bank and credit card reconciliations - Coding transactions and chasing missing receipts - Invoicing and polite reminders on late payments - Supplier bills and payment runs - Month-end close and simple reports - Payroll support in tools like QuickBooks or Xero What you'll need - Two or more years of bookkeeping for small businesses - Strong experience with Xero or QuickBooks Online - Monthly bank and credit card reconciliations - Bills and invoices, including chasing overdue ones - Careful with detail, and good at asking specific questions - Safe handling of financial logins and data Nice to have - Experience with [your country]'s sales tax or payroll - A bookkeeping or accounting qualification - Receipt apps like Dext or Hubdoc Hours and time zone [20 or 40] hours a week, overlapping [your time zone] business hours for at least [3] hours a day. Pay [Your rate: an hourly range or a monthly amount], paid [monthly] by [bank transfer, Wise or PayPal]. How to apply Send a short note on why this role fits you, two examples of similar work, and the hours you can reliably cover. We reply to everyone.
What to pay a bookkeeper
- Freelance rate, worldwide
- $11–25/hr
Typical range for bookkeepers on past Upwork contracts. Upwork (opens in a new tab), checked Oct 2026
- Full-time salary in the Philippines
- $600–2,000/month
Beginner $600–1,000 to expert $1,200–2,000, as workers report them in its accountant category. OnlineJobs.ph salary guide (opens in a new tab), updated April 2026
- US employee wage, median
- $24.36/hr
Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks, $50,670 a year. US Bureau of Labor Statistics (opens in a new tab), May 2025 data
Tips for this job ad
- Say which software you use and roughly how many transactions a month.
- Be clear whether they'll file taxes or hand over to your accountant.
- Mention the country your business files taxes in.
Questions to ask in the interview
All 25 bookkeeper interview questions- 1
Walk me through how you reconcile a bank account at month end.
A good answer: Clear steps: match transactions to statements, find and explain differences, and flag what they can't match instead of forcing it.
- 2
You find a transaction you can't categorise. What do you do?
A good answer: They park it in a clearly named holding account, note what they know, and ask you a specific question instead of guessing.
- 3
How do you keep our financial data and logins safe?
A good answer: Their own login with only the access they need, two-step sign-in, and no passwords shared over chat or kept on personal devices.
Questions about hiring a bookkeeper
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Keep reading
- Hiring a bookkeeperWhat a bookkeeper does, what they cost and how we test them.
- 25 bookkeeper interview questionsGrouped, with what a good answer shows and the red flags.
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