How to Become a Bookkeeper

Bookkeeping is a continuously growing profession in Australia and provides fantastic career opportunities for those who have a mind for numbers. If you are planning on working in bookkeeping, there are a wide range of attributes and professional skills you will need to prepare yourself for a bookkeeping job.

A bookkeeper’s duties are to be across all accounts, including tracking the comings and going of money, paying bills on time on behalf of the business and keeping track of accounts received. As a bookkeeper, your role is to ensure all employees get paid regularly and ensure the business's financial records are accurate and up-to-date. If you are interested in knowing how to become a bookkeeper we have prepared all you need to know.

Should I Become a Bookkeeper?

Some of the character traits required to become a bookkeeper include:

• Strong analytical and problem solving skills
• Good organisational skills
• Numeracy accuracy and diligence
• Good computer skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Patience and dedication

For individuals who like solving problems and enjoy mathematics will be perfect for this profession. When it comes to bookkeeping there are two main types of bookkeepers, contract bookkeepers who work from home and workplace bookkeepers who work in an office environment. Therefore being able to work both independently and as part of a team is an important skill.

A Day in The Life of a Bookkeeper

Bookkeepers usually work in small to medium sized businesses across various industries, and the variety of tasks will be dependent on the size of the business. In larger companies, these responsibilities may be divided among a number of bookkeepers. Whereas, in a small business, a bookkeeper may be required to provide a wider range of activities. Daily tasks may include:

• Recording the financial transactions of a business in bookkeeping software such as MYOB, Quickbooks or spreadsheets and databases.
• Arranging payments of accounts.
• Receiving and processing invoices for payment and receipts to debtors.
• Processing payroll and maintaining employee records.
• Calculating profit and loss.
• Carrying out bank reconciliations.
• Reporting for the preparation of a Business Activity Statement (BAS).
• Checking figures and reporting for accuracy.
• Reporting any irregularities in data to management.
• Producing balance sheets, income statements and other financial documents.