Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 1,620,000 people employed as bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in the United States. The median annual salary is $42,400. Entry level employees earn approximately $27,050 per year and senior employees earn approximately $63,900 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime pay, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• Compile statistical, financial, accounting, or auditing reports and tables pertaining to such matters as cash receipts, expenditures, accounts payable and receivable, and profits and losses.
• Maintain inventory records.
• Monitor status of loans and accounts to ensure that payments are up to date.
• Reconcile records of bank transactions.
• Compile budget data and documents, based on estimated revenues and expenses and previous budgets.
• Compare computer printouts to manually maintained journals to determine if they match.
• Transfer details from separate journals to general ledgers or data processing sheets.
• Classify, record, and summarize numerical and financial data to compile and keep financial records, using journals and ledgers or computers.
• Debit, credit, and total accounts on computer spreadsheets and databases, using specialized accounting software.
• Match order forms with invoices, and record the necessary information.
• Perform personal bookkeeping services.
• Prepare and process payroll information.
• Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.
• Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes.
• Complete and submit tax forms and returns, workers' compensation forms, pension contribution forms, and other government documents.
• Calculate, prepare, and issue bills, invoices, account statements, and other financial statements according to established procedures.
• Calculate costs of materials, overhead, and other expenses, based on estimates, quotations and price lists.
• Prepare purchase orders and expense reports.
• Prepare trial balances of books.
• Prepare bank deposits by compiling data from cashiers, verifying and balancing receipts, and sending cash, checks, or other forms of payment to banks.
• Compute deductions for income and social security taxes.
• Calculate and prepare checks for utilities, taxes, and other payments.
• Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.
• Receive, record, and bank cash, checks, and vouchers.
• Code documents according to company procedures.
• Perform financial calculations, such as amounts due, interest charges, balances, discounts, equity, and principal.
• Reconcile or note and report discrepancies found in records.
• Perform general office duties, such as filing, answering telephones, and handling routine correspondence.
• Access computerized financial information to answer general questions as well as those related to specific accounts.

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