Bookkeeper Resume: Examples and Tips
Bookkeepers are responsible for overseeing and recording a company’s financial operations, such as sales, department payments, purchases and revenue. They also gather, analyze, and prepare detailed summaries of accounting information to create comprehensive financial reports.
Use our professional resume examples and expert tips below to create a bookkeeper resume that’s “one for the books.”
Table of Contents
Featured Resume Example: Bookkeeper
Name: JOHN HENSLEY
Address: City, State, Zip Code
Phone: 000-000-0000
E-Mail: email@email.com
SUMMARY STATEMENT
Organized and efficient office assistant seeking a bookkeeper role. Proficient in using accounting software such as Quick Books. Executed bookkeeping tasks for a large construction company and excelled at quickly learning new accounting methods and procedures.
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
- Multi-talented with skills in supply management, record keeping, and schedule coordination.
- Experienced with updating records and creating reports using a variety of software programs
including Microsoft Excel, Ouick Books, and Xero. - Able to meet business objectives with an organized approach and strong multitasking abilities.
RELEVANT SKILLS
Bookkeeping
Company Name, City, State
- Processed payments and documented account changes for accuracy and transparency.
- Handled daily bank deposits and managed statements.
- Updated Ouick Books accounting software to reflect accurate financial records.
Organization
Company Name, City, State
- Applied proper codes to invoices, files and receipts to keep records organized and ‘nay
searchable. - Organized weekly staff meetings and logged minutes for corporate records.
- Maintained office supplies inventory by checking stock and ordering new supplies as needed.
Attention to detail
Company Name, City, State
- Verified accurate record keeping processes, effectively reducing financial inconsistencies.
- Verified time cards of 30 contract employees to prepare accurate bi-weekly payroll.
- Proactively identified all errors by developing cross-referencing databases.
WORK HISTORY
MARCH 2019-CURRENT
Company Name, City, State
AUGUST 2017-MARCH-2019
Company Name, City, State
EDUCATION
Associate of Science: Accounting,City, State
Top 4 Characteristics of a Best-in-Class Bookkeeper Resume
- Summary Combine your work experience and skills to present a short yet defining summary statement that aligns with the job you’re applying to. Mention your current job title, years of experience, and if applicable, the specific areas of specialization. For example: “Resourceful bookkeeper with 7 years’ experience in processing financial reconciliation and regulatory reporting.”
- Skills Review the job description to find the important skills that the hiring manager is looking for in an applicant, and match them with your own skills. List out technical skills such as recording and reviewing financial reports and proficiency in QuickBooks and Xero. Also incorporate soft skills like attention to detail, time management, and quick thinking.
- Work History Focus on highlighting quantifiable work achievements, limiting yourself to jobs you’ve held in the past 10 years. Use bullets to showcase effective on-the-job performance, backing up your accomplishments with metrics. For example: “Handled bank deposits and statements for 25 clients per week, on average.”
- Education A high school degree or GED is the basic education required for a bookkeeper position, however, many employers prefer candidates with associate or bachelor’s degrees in business administration or accounting. Coursework and certifications related to the field (e.g., certification in bookkeeping software such as QuickBooks) are also helpful to add.
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Find the Right Template for Your Resume
Present yourself professionally, using one of our free templates to organize your information.
Emphasized
This template highlights the applicant’s name at the top with a touch of color. The design is neatly split into two columns, with bold section headings organizing information.
Qualified
This layout aligns the applicant’s name in the center, with contact details defined using subtly colored bullets. The section titles are arranged on the left for easy navigation.
Centered
This template uses striking dotted lines to highlight the summary statement. A solid line for the header provides your document with a distinguished look.
Find more free templates and inspiration for your resume in free resume templates.
Do’s and Don’ts for Your Resume
- DO use your summary as an “elevator pitch.” A recruiter typically decides to shortlist you based on reading your resume. To grab their attention from the get-go, make your summary statement an elevator pitch in which you showcase the work achievements and strengths that best explain why you’re an ideal candidate for the job. For example, if the job emphasizes accuracy and record-keeping proficiency, you could write: “Diligent bookkeeper with 10 years of experience in consistent recordkeeping and maximizing financial accuracy for medium-sized businesses.” For more summary section tips, see our article How to Write the Perfect Summary Section.
- DO proofread your resume before submitting. Just like you will be expected to keep your accounting and financial records error-free and organized, you should keep your resume spic-and-span. Check your resume for factual or grammatical mistakes, remove the unusual spacing between sections and lines, and correct the misspelled words. Our Resume Builder can also check your document for these kinds of mistakes.
- DO use quantifiable achievements. Highlight your most vital career accomplishments with statistical data to get your resume noticed by the employer. Appropriate use of numbers and facts give recruiters a better handle on your abilities. Instead of “Used manual and automated systems for account inspection,” it is much more impressive to write: “Inspected over 35 business accounts every month using bookkeeping software.”
- DON’T make your resume too long. Cut down on random tasks and other unnecessary information that don’t pertain to the job you’re applying to. Your resume should be two-pages long at most — keep in mind that employers typically take only a few seconds to read a resume.
- DON’T forget to tailor your resume to the job. Study the job application and the specific requirements the employer is looking to fill. Then customize your resume to address these requirements. For example, if the job description calls for skills in payroll, consider mentioning a work experience such as: “Handled payroll and accounts payable for a retail firm” or “Installed a new payroll system that eliminated errors by 15%.” Our article How to Create a Targeted Resume contains more tips on resume customization.
- DON’T include first-person pronouns. Resumes don’t need personal pronouns such as “my,” “I” and “me.” Recruiters already know your resume is talking about you. Stick to punchy phrases over long-winded complete sentences that don’t supply additional info. For example, “I prepared the bank’s deposits and recorded payroll details” should be changed to “Managed deposits and comprehensive payroll procedures.”
Bookkeeper Resume FAQs
- 1. What are some of the skills that best fit a bookkeeper resume?
- 2. How should I format my bookkeeper resume?
- 3. How do you incorporate relevant keywords in your resume?
- 4. What powerful action verbs can you use in your resume?
- 5. Do you need a certification to work as a bookkeeper?
1. What are some of the skills that best fit a bookkeeper resume?
| Technical skills: | Soft skills: |
| Reporting research results | Task prioritization |
| Data entry | Written and verbal communication |
| Invoicing | Detail-oriented |
| Maintaining payment history | Critical thinking |
| Fiscal budgeting | Reliability |
| Payment reconciliation | Solution-oriented |
| General ledger entries | Attention-to-detail |
| Accounts receivables | Identifying variance |
| Accounts payable | Organizing and sorting |
| Maintaining trial balance | Adept |
| Account maintenance | Flexible working hours |
| Financial information analysis | Time management |
| Organizing records | Active listening |
| Deferral transactions | QMultitasking |
| Proficiency in QuickBooks and FreshBooks | Punctuality |
| Technical skills: |
| Reporting research results |
| Data entry |
| Invoicing |
| Maintaining payment history |
| Fiscal budgeting |
| Payment reconciliation |
| General ledger entries |
| Accounts receivables |
| Accounts payable |
| Maintaining trial balance |
| Account maintenance |
| Financial information analysis |
| Organizing records |
| Deferral transactions |
| Proficiency in QuickBooks and FreshBooks |
| Soft skills: |
| Task prioritization |
| Written and verbal communication |
| Detail-oriented |
| Attention-to-detail |
| Critical thinking |
| Reliability |
| Solution-oriented |
| Attention-to-detail |
| Identifying variance |
| Organizing and sorting |
| Adept |
| Flexible working hours |
| Time management |
| Active listening |
| QMultitasking |
| Imaginative and creative |
2. How should I format my bookkeeper resume?
Choosing the right resume format will depend on your experience. If you have over five years of related work experience, go with the chronological format, which focuses on your work history and career growth. The combination format is a good choice if you have a few years of bookkeeping experience, as it balances professional skills and work history. If you lack experience or are a first-time job seeker, opt for the functional format, which concentrates on skills rather than work experience.
3. How do you incorporate relevant keywords in your resume?
Most employers now use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to scan resumes and find the right keywords. To pass ATS, it’s important to incorporate keywords in your work history, skills and summary. Review the job posting and note the phrases used to describe major responsibilities and requirements, and incorporate them in your resume. For instance, if a job emphasizes taxation work, you could mention a work experience where you “prepared tax reports and resolved inconsistencies.” For more ATS advice, see How to Write an ATS-Friendly Resume.
4. What powerful action verbs can you use in your resume?
Strong active verbs portray you as a proactive person, and show initiative. Words like execute, corresponded, monitored, delegated, managed and established are excellent options to kick your resume up a notch. Note the difference in impact when you write: “Processed payment reconciliation and handled tax adjustment efficiently,” compared to “Worked on payment reconciliations and handled tax adjustments.” See this action verbs article for more suggestions.
5. Do you need a certification to work as a bookkeeper?
It’s not mandatory to get a certification, but it is a very useful way to gain experience, especially if you don’t have postsecondary education. Adding certifications and training programs you have acquired will show you’ve put in the time and worked hard to become an expert in the field. Consider gaining and adding the following certifications to present yourself as a suitable candidate for the job:
- AIPB Certified Bookkeeper
- NACPB Licensed Bookkeeper
- QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor Certification
Pair Your Resume with a Matching Cover Letter
