Bookkeeper Resume Sample

Bookkeepers complete a wide range of tasks from basic jobs like data entry to much larger responsibilities like running entire financial departments. So your role as a bookkeeper may vary depending on the size of the company you apply to.

But whether you decide to apply to a small, medium-sized, or large business, these 4 helpful tips will help you write your bookkeeper resume and bookkeeper cover letter so you can maximize your success and secure quality interviews.

1. Include your top bookkeeping resume skills

While potential applicants should have accounting software experience, listing all of the relevant applications you’ve worked with tells employers you’re capable and experienced with the software.

So if you have these relevant hard skills (also known as technical skills) from working as a bookkeeper, add them to your resume skills section.

These are hard skills to mention on your bookkeeper resume:

Additionally, add soft skills to your bookkeeping resume. Soft skills relate to your work ethic, personality, and interactions with colleagues in a workplace environment, so listing these skills on your resume will let employers know you’re a well-rounded candidate.

For instance, bookkeepers need to be highly organized, timely, and detail-oriented when working with financial documents and data, so add your organizational skills and time management skills to your bookkeeper resume.

Here are other essential bookkeeper soft skills:

2. Highlight your bookkeeper skills with hard numbers

Bookkeeping and accounting are numbers-driven jobs, so show your value throughout your work experience resume section by explaining your previous responsibilities and emphasizing your work achievements through quantifiable numbers.

This example illustrates how our applicant uses hard numbers for their bookkeeper resume sample:

Performed 150+ financial calculations such as amounts due, interest charges, balances, discounts, equity, and principal for a multimillion-dollar company

There’s a huge difference between maintaining financial records for a small business with a 5-figure annual revenue and a large 7- or 8-figure corporation, so list the types of businesses you worked for and their annual earnings (if applicable) to catch a hiring manager’s attention.

Additionally, explain how you saved your employers money, either from improving efficiency or by catching and correcting errors.

For instance, our applicant uses exact numbers to show their value, which proves they know how to reduce company spending.

Let’s compare how different a bullet point can look like with and without hard numbers:

Statement with hard numbers

Corrected spreadsheet error regarding May 2021’s monthly spending, which resulted in saving approx. $3,500

Statement without hard numbers

Saved company money by correcting spreadsheet error

Another way to present your value is to mention any training or mentoring you’ve managed. Supervising new employees communicates that you have leadership skills and management skills, and can be trusted as a valuable member within a business.

3. Place impactful action verbs in your bookkeeping resume

Help your resume stand out by including targeted resume action verbs at the beginning of your bullet points that are related to bookkeeping.

Remember to include verbs that apply to the specific position you’re applying to. For example, for management positions, use more leader-oriented words. For an entry-level position, include more teamwork-oriented action verbs.

For instance, training colleagues indicates teamwork skills as well as communication skills.

This applicant in the below bullet point also uses a resume action verb to begin this point, which provides further detail for the employer and makes their resume statement more impactful:

Trained 3 new administrative assistants and 4 junior bookkeepers

Presenting your accomplishments with quantifiable numbers and action verbs helps recruiters, HR departments, and hiring managers to clearly visualize what you can bring to their team as a bookkeeper.

Here’s a list of of other relevant action verbs for your bookkeeper resume:

4. Write a clear resume objective

Hiring managers are highly efficient at scanning resumes they receive, so make sure you introduce your relevant education, certifications, and top hard and soft skills with an effective resume objective.

A resume objective is a 2–4 sentence statement placed underneath your resume header that illustrates what skills you have as a bookkeeper and directly states the specific role you’re applying to.

If you’re familiar with the single-entry bookkeeping method or double-entry method, list them on your bookkeeper resume. Having experience with these skills and adding them to your resume instantly lets employers know whether you’re qualified to be their bookkeeper.

In our bookkeeper resume sample, our applicant mentions knowing both methods in their first sentence:

General Bookkeeper with 5+ years of experience using both single-entry and double-entry systems for medium-sized businesses.

Last, include a brief line about how the skills you possess will benefit the company. A hiring manager is interested in what you can do for the company, so frame your bookkeeper resume to mention how you can benefit the business, and focus less on your personal career goals.

Take a look at the last two sentences of our bookkeeper resume sample’s resume objective:

Aspiring to utilize my strong organizational skills and attention to detail to support the financial department of your company. Possess an Associate degree in Accounting.

Our applicant briefly describes how their skill set can support the financial department and help them be successful — which hiring managers will be happy to see.