Bookkeeper

Bookkeeper handles the 23 real tasks here to illustrate core responsibilities and expected outcomes. Each entry points to tools, typical timing and common variations. Each one shows where we found it, and comes with an AI prompt you can copy and use straight away.

23evidenced tasks
23ready prompts
8tools of the trade
13-2011.00O*NET-SOC code
1,449,500hold this job (US, BLS 2025)
$83,680median pay/yr (US)
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What it pays

Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.

In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
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The work, task by task

These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.

Analysing4

Identify discrepancies and risks

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Find and list any reconciliation mismatches, unusual vendor credits, redundant payments, and accounts with…
Find and list any reconciliation mismatches, unusual vendor credits, redundant payments, and accounts with negative balances in the March ledger, explain the likely cause and quantify potential cash risk for the finance manager by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workIntuit QuickBooksMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia

Audit financial data

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Perform an audit of payroll, accounts payable and cash receipts for Q2: trace ten vendor payments to source…
Perform an audit of payroll, accounts payable and cash receipts for Q2: trace ten vendor payments to source documents, confirm bank deposits match receipts, test four payroll records for correct tax withholdings, and list any control failures for the controller by Monday.
The tools that do the workIntuit QuickBooksMicrosoft ExcelESCOWikipedia

Develop budgets and financial forecasts

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Build a three-year budget and quarterly forecast from last year's financials and current revenue drivers,…
Build a three-year budget and quarterly forecast from last year's financials and current revenue drivers, model two downside scenarios, and deliver the budget workbook and variance assumptions to the finance manager before next board packet.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelGoogle SheetsESCOjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia

Examine financial records for accuracy

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Audit the month-end ledgers and supporting invoices for discrepancies, reconcile supplier statements to our…
Audit the month-end ledgers and supporting invoices for discrepancies, reconcile supplier statements to our payables and receivables, document any errors with source evidence, and prepare an exceptions report for the accountant's review.
The tools that do the workIntuit QuickBooksMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
Keeping the record2

Review financial documents for errors

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Review the January–March supplier invoices, bank statements and payroll register for arithmetic errors,…
Review the January–March supplier invoices, bank statements and payroll register for arithmetic errors, duplicate invoices, and coding mistakes, flag each error with recommended correcting entry and estimated impact for Sarah in accounts payable by Friday noon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelIntuit QuickBooksjob descriptionsWikipedia

Create audit reports

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Prepare an audit report summarising control exceptions, sample testing results, adjustments made, and…
Prepare an audit report summarising control exceptions, sample testing results, adjustments made, and unresolved items from the year‑end close, include schedules that support the income statement and balance sheet for the external auditor by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelAdobe Acrobatjob descriptionsO*NET
The daily work17

Conduct transaction testing

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Test a random sample of August and September sales and cash receipt entries against invoices, deposit slips…
Test a random sample of August and September sales and cash receipt entries against invoices, deposit slips and bank statements, note any mismatches and post proposed adjusting entries with backup for review by Sarah by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workIntuit QuickBooksjob descriptions

Identify areas of operational risk

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Review the last six months of accounts payable, payroll and bank reconciliations to list processes with…
Review the last six months of accounts payable, payroll and bank reconciliations to list processes with recurring delays, missing approvals or single-person controls and rank the top three operational risks for discussion with the controller on Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions

Check for irregularities resulting from error or fraud

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Scan vendor payments, expense reimbursements and journal entries for duplicate amounts, altered payees or…
Scan vendor payments, expense reimbursements and journal entries for duplicate amounts, altered payees or off-cycle dates, flag transactions with no supporting invoice or approval and prepare a report of suspected error or fraud for the finance director by Tuesday.
The tools that do the workIntuit QuickBooksMicrosoft ExcelESCO

Resolve insolvency cases

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Gather the latest creditor statements, aging report and cashflow forecast, propose a short-term payment plan…
Gather the latest creditor statements, aging report and cashflow forecast, propose a short-term payment plan and asset realization steps to present to the insolvency committee by Thursday so we can avoid immediate legal action.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelESCO

Prepare tax returns

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Assemble year-to-date income, deductible expenses, payroll summaries and depreciation schedules, complete the…
Assemble year-to-date income, deductible expenses, payroll summaries and depreciation schedules, complete the client’s personal and business tax return worksheets and deliver the draft tax returns to Maria for review before Monday filing preparations.
The tools that do the workIntuit TurboTaxMicrosoft ExcelESCO

Report to management regarding the finances of establishment.

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Prepare a concise management finance report summarising last quarter’s cash position, profit and loss…
Prepare a concise management finance report summarising last quarter’s cash position, profit and loss variances against budget, three material balance sheet risks, and two recommended actions, then share it with Dana in operations and Miguel the CFO by Tuesday morning.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelGoogle DocsO*NET

Prepare adjusting journal entries.

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Post the month-end adjusting journal entries for accruals, prepaid amortisation and inventory write‑downs,…
Post the month-end adjusting journal entries for accruals, prepaid amortisation and inventory write‑downs, include supporting calculations and source invoices, then notify Priya in accounting to review and post before close on Friday.
The tools that do the workIntuit QuickBooksMicrosoft ExcelO*NET

Examine whether the organization's objectives are reflected in its management activities, and whether employees understand the objectives.

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Assess whether our stated objectives — increase gross margin by 3% and reduce DSO by 10 days — are visible in…
Assess whether our stated objectives — increase gross margin by 3% and reduce DSO by 10 days — are visible in department KPIs and staff objectives, interview two sales managers and three AR clerks, and deliver a one‑page gap analysis to Sarah the COO by next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workGoogle SheetsGoogle DocsO*NET

Review taxpayer accounts, and conduct audits on-site, by correspondence, or by summoning taxpayer to office.

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Audit selected taxpayer accounts for the fiscal year, review returns and supporting records on‑site for…
Audit selected taxpayer accounts for the fiscal year, review returns and supporting records on‑site for anomalies in reported income and withheld taxes, document findings with sampled working papers, and issue a draft audit memo to the tax manager within five business days.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelAdobe AcrobatO*NET

Conduct pre-implementation audits to determine if systems and programs under development will work as planned.

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Run a pre‑implementation audit of the new invoicing program: map end‑to‑end invoice flows, test five…
Run a pre‑implementation audit of the new invoicing program: map end‑to‑end invoice flows, test five transaction types for correct GL coding and approval routing, log any control gaps, and present the findings and go/no‑go recommendation to the project board on Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ExcelO*NET

Process invoices for payment.

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Process the outstanding vendor invoices older than 30 days: verify three‑way match to POs and goods receipts,…
Process the outstanding vendor invoices older than 30 days: verify three‑way match to POs and goods receipts, code each to the correct expense or asset account, schedule payments for next run, and send a payment confirmation list to Jan the procurement lead today.
The tools that do the workIntuit QuickBooksMicrosoft ExcelO*NET

Calculate taxes owed and prepare tax returns

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Calculate the company’s federal and state taxes owed for the fiscal year ending June 30 using the general…
Calculate the company’s federal and state taxes owed for the fiscal year ending June 30 using the general ledger and payroll register, prepare the complete tax returns ready for signature, and flag any missing receipts by Thursday for the owner’s review.
The tools that do the workIntuit TurboTaxMicrosoft ExcelO*NETWikipedia

Provide other tax-related advice in reference to current legislation

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Review current tax law changes affecting our small business, summarise actionable points for payroll,…
Review current tax law changes affecting our small business, summarise actionable points for payroll, depreciation, and deductible expenses, and advise whether we should change our estimates or file amended returns; deliver a one-page memo to the owner by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft OfficeESCOO*NET

Prepare financial records

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Assemble and post all outstanding invoices, bank statements, and expense receipts into the ledger for the…
Assemble and post all outstanding invoices, bank statements, and expense receipts into the ledger for the quarter ended June 30, reconcile bank and credit-card balances, then produce trial balance and basic financial statements for the owner to review on Monday.
The tools that do the workIntuit QuickBooksMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NET

Review financial statements

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Review the draft balance sheet and profit and loss for April–June against the supporting journals and bank…
Review the draft balance sheet and profit and loss for April–June against the supporting journals and bank reconciliations, note any material misstatements or classification errors, and return a corrected set with comments to the controller by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelIntuit QuickBooksjob descriptionsO*NET

Verify compliance with regulations

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Verify payroll, sales tax filings, and record retention practices comply with state and federal rules by…
Verify payroll, sales tax filings, and record retention practices comply with state and federal rules by testing five payroll periods and three sales tax returns, document any noncompliance, and send a compliance checklist with remediation steps to the director next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsWikipedia

Evaluate internal processes and policies

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Evaluate month-end closing procedures and expense approval workflows for inefficiencies by mapping current…
Evaluate month-end closing procedures and expense approval workflows for inefficiencies by mapping current steps, timing five recent closes, recommending three practical policy changes to reduce errors, and present the recommendations to Sarah in finance on Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsWikipedia

Says who?

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The logs, files & records this job keeps

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Related careers

Same family of work — each with its own tasks and prompts.

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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses