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Finance & Accounting

Bookkeeper resume example & template

A full-charge bookkeeper resume for someone who keeps the books at a small contractor. It shows volume, deadlines and cleanup work in the units an owner or outside CPA checks.

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  • Volumes an owner can picture: 42 employees on payroll, about 60 active jobs, 38 subcontractor 1099s.
  • A named close deadline and reconciliation scope instead of a vague claim about accuracy.
  • Certified Bookkeeper (AIPB) and QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor listed with their issuing bodies.
100%
Darnell Price
Full-Charge Bookkeeper · Construction & Small Business
Albuquerque, NM(505) 555-0164darnell.price@email.comlinkedin.com/in/darnellprice

Summary

Full-charge bookkeeper with 8 years in small-business books, the last 5 at a 42-person mechanical contractor. Runs AP, AR, payroll and the monthly close in QuickBooks Online, with job costing, certified payroll and New Mexico gross receipts tax filings.

Experience

Full-Charge Bookkeeper · Sandia Mechanical ServicesMar 2021 – Present
Albuquerque, NM
  • Closed the books monthly in QuickBooks Online by workday 8, reconciling 3 bank accounts, 2 credit cards and an equipment loan.
  • Ran biweekly Gusto payroll for 42 field and office staff, plus certified payroll for public school projects.
  • Set up job costing by project and phase, tracking labor and material against budget on about 60 active jobs.
  • Cut receivables over 60 days from $212K to $88K in a year with weekly progress billing and calls on day 31.
  • Filed monthly New Mexico gross receipts tax returns and year-end 1099-NECs for 38 subcontractors.
Bookkeeper · Rio Grande Bookkeeping & TaxJun 2018 – Feb 2021
Albuquerque, NM
  • Kept books in QuickBooks Online and Xero for 14 clients, including 4 restaurants and a dental office.
  • Cleaned up 2 years of a new restaurant client's books before tax filing, reclassing about 1,100 transactions.
  • Prepared quarterly Form 941 and state withholding worksheets for CPA review and filing.
Accounts Payable Clerk · Lobo MotorsAug 2016 – May 2018
Albuquerque, NM
  • Entered 300 to 400 vendor invoices a week in CDK Drive and matched parts invoices to purchase orders.
  • Matched monthly vendor statements to the AP ledger and chased missing credits with 25 regular suppliers.

Education

A.A.S. Accounting · Central New Mexico Community CollegeMay 2018

Skills

Bookkeeping: Full-cycle AP and AR, Bank and credit card reconciliations, Accruals and prepaids, Job costing, Payroll and certified payroll, 1099 and sales tax filings
Software: QuickBooks Online, Xero, Gusto, Bill.com, CDK Drive, Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP)

Certifications

Certified Bookkeeper (CB), American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers · QuickBooks Online Certified ProAdvisor, Intuit

How to write a bookkeeper resume

What hiring teams in this field actually screen for, and the terms that get matched.

What employers screen for in a bookkeeper

Owners and controllers hiring a bookkeeper are trying to answer one question: will the books be right and on time without me checking every entry? Show the scope you carry alone: how many accounts you reconcile, how many employees on payroll, how many vendors or clients, and the day of the month your close is done. Cleanup work is worth a bullet of its own, because many small businesses hire a bookkeeper after the books have drifted, and a number of reclassed entries shows you can fix that.

Software and credentials that get matched

Most small-business postings ask for QuickBooks Online by name, and many add Xero, Gusto, ADP, Bill.com or an industry system such as a dealership or construction platform. List the versions you actually used. The two recognized bookkeeping credentials are the Certified Bookkeeper (CB) from the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers and the Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) from the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers; Intuit's ProAdvisor certification is also widely requested. Name filings you handle, such as 941s, 1099s and state sales or gross receipts tax.

Common mistakes on bookkeeper resumes

Listing "data entry" or "handled reconciliations" with no volume is the most frequent problem, since it reads the same for a two-week temp and a full-charge bookkeeper. Another is claiming an accuracy rate like 99.9% that nobody tracks; a clean year-end handoff to the CPA or a close date that held for 12 months is more believable. Also leave off general accounting theory. The reader wants to know which software you run and which deadlines you own.

Bookkeeper resume FAQ

Quick answers before you start writing.

What should a bookkeeper resume include?

A strong bookkeeper resume opens with a concise professional summary, then work experience written as quantified, results-first bullets, followed by education, a skills section, and any certifications. The example above shows each section in order.

What skills should a bookkeeper resume highlight?

Lead with the skills the job posting asks for. For a bookkeeper, recruiters and ATS filters commonly look for Full-cycle AP and AR, Bank and credit card reconciliations, Accruals and prepaids, Job costing, Payroll and certified payroll, and 1099 and sales tax filings. Group them so they are easy to scan.

Is this bookkeeper resume template ATS-friendly?

Yes. It uses a single-column structure, standard section headings, real text (no text trapped in images), and no tables or graphics that confuse applicant-tracking systems, so it parses cleanly while still looking polished.

How long should a bookkeeper resume be?

One page is ideal for most bookkeepers. Use two pages only if you have ten or more years of directly relevant experience, then tune the text size and margins so it stays clean.

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