Bookkeeper Resume Sample [+Bookkeeping Job Description]

Meet Jim. He runs a successful company that's making money faster than he can count it. He wants you to count it for him.

The trouble? His laptop is crammed with 300+ bookkeeper resumes. He doesn't know who you are or whether you can tell a bad debt from a balance sheet. If your bookkeeping resume is generic and uninteresting, Jim's eyes will slide off it like Scrooge McDuck off of a giant pile of coins. Let's not let it happen.

This guide will show you:

• A bookkeeper resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a bookkeeper resume that gets a lot more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a bookkeeping resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for a bookkeeper to get any job you want.

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See more resume examples for jobs in accounting, bookkeeping, and finance:

• Accountant Resume
• Senior Accountant Resume
• Accounts Receivable Resume
• Accounts Payable Resume
• Accounting Manager Resume
• Accounting Assistant Resume
• Entry-Level Accounting Resume
• Accounting Intern Resume
• Accounting Clerk Resume
• Tax Intern Resume
• Banking Resume
• Internal Auditor Resume
• Bank Teller Resume
• Business Resume
• Business Analyst Resume
• Collector Resume
• Consultant Resume
• Investment Banking Resume
• Financial Analyst Resume
• Data Analyst Resume
• Data Entry Resume
• Office Administrator Resume
• Payroll Resume
• Personal Banker Resume
• Tax Accountant Resume
• Tax Preparer Resume Sample
• Medical Billing Resume
• Insurance Sales Agent Resume
• Loan Processor Resume
• Resume Examples for Every Career

1

What's the Best Format for a Bookkeeper Resume?

Here's a nightmare worse than bankruptcy proceedings:

You crammed all your best achievements into a great bookkeeper's resume. You sent it off to that dream job with the on-site gym and flexible hours.

Then you sat and waited while your phone refused to ring.

What went wrong?

It wasn't your experience or skills.

You picked a bad bookkeeping resume format. It hid your shining qualities like diamonds in a lump of ore.

You need to grab that manager's attention like a $100 bill left on the sidewalk.

Use a trusted layout like the reverse-chronological format. It puts your best assets up front.

Use clear fonts, big headings, and white space for contrast.

Finally, save it as a PDF. Bookkeeper resume PDFs preserve their formatting between machines. MS word format resumes can devalue in transit.

Pro Tip: Most modern PDFs are electronically readable, but some job offers still prohibit them. Check if the offer rejects bookkeeping resume PDFs.

You can make sure your resume will hook every recruiter and get you that interview. How? Get our free checklist and learn what makes a job-winning resume: 46 Things You Need To Do Before You Send Your Resume

Want to audit our format suggestion for bookkeeper's resumes? See this guide: "3 Resume Formats: How to Choose the Best One [Examples]"

Remember Jim? The guy with the successful widget company?

He hates bookkeeper resumes.

That's good news for you.

Wait. What?

The more those other resumes annoy Jim, the less attention he will pay them.

That means your resume will hook him like a 10-figure bottom line. How?

With a well-written resume objective or resume summary.

A resume summary shows a snapshot of your experience. It's for bookkeepers with spreadsheets-full.

A resume objective is for those who have none. It sells based on energy and passion.

Check out these two bookkeeper resume samples to see what I mean.

Bookkeeper Resume Samples – Resume Summaries

That's not exactly the 1929 stock market crash. But stacked up against the others, it'll blend in like one bean in a million.

You need to stand out like the Hope Diamond. That's easy with a few eye-catching details.

Pow. Money, right? The details catch the eye. Jim the hiring manager just let out a sigh of gratitude. His long search is finally over.

Don't have that kind of experience, you say? You're writing an entry-level bookkeeper resume, you say?

Fear not. See if you can reconcile our next two bookkeeping resume samples.

How to Write a Resume Objective for an Entry-Level Bookkeeper

Even with no experience, your bookkeeping assistant resume doesn't have to look like an empty credits column.

First, avoid the generic, cooked-cabbage-style resume objective.

Not awful, but our intrepid hiring manager won't choose it from 300+ bookkeeping resumes.

He wants details, and proof.

Not exactly ready to do A/R for the Koch Brothers, but miles better than a total noob.

But wait. Didn't we just say a resume objective is for entry-level bookkeepers? You know, people with no experience at all?

It's true that entry-level means no work experience. But look again. That bookkeeper hasn't held a bookkeeping job yet.

Want to see her secret? It's in the next section on resume experience.

Pro Tip: Make your professional bookkeeper resume objective or resume summary short and tantalizing. The hiring manager should think, "Wow, I've got to read more."

Need deeper instruction? Check out the great bookkeeper resume template at the top of this post. Also, see our guides: How To Write A Resume Summary: 21 Best Examples You Will See AND +20 Resume Objective Examples - Use Them on Your Resume (Tips)

Picture two doors.

If you step through the first, you'll get a bookkeeping resume that shows all your work experience. It'll wow the hiring manager, but he'll never read it, because it's too long.

Take the other, and your bookkeeper resume will be short and engaging, but it won't show your experience. Either way you won't get the job.

What can you do?

Take door #3.

That's where your resume is short, fun to read, and lists only the experience the manager wants.

Here's how:

First, read the bookkeeping job description carefully. Highlight the qualities they mention.

Next, think about past jobs. Did you demonstrate those qualities? List the proof in your resume bullet points.

Let's try it with two full charge bookkeeper resume job description samples:

Bookkeeper Job Description for a Resume Examples

The job offer wants a full charge bookkeeper who can handle error detection, communication with upper management, and Quickbooks implementation.

Bullseye. This is no bean counter. This applicant could reconcile the national debt.

Now let's strip out the details to get a more typical bookkeeping resume job description.

Oh-oh. How did Kevin from The Office slip his resume into the pile?

Next, what if your experience ledger still hasn't been inked?

How to Write a Bookkeeper Resume with no Experience

Nobody wants to hire a bookkeeper with no experience.

The good news? That's not you, and I can prove it.

First, look in your non-bookkeeping jobs for relevant experience.

Next, spend a day or three volunteering or taking temp work.

Then build a resume like this:

Pow. Hired. This candidate could be doing Mark Zuckerberg's books in a few years. But all it took was a couple days of side work and a hard look at her past.

It's worth thousands more than the next of our entry-level bookkeeper resume samples.

Eww, right? You wouldn't let that guy count Monopoly money. But all that bookkeeper resume lacks is a little head-scratching to make it shine.

Pro Tip: Experience is key on a resume for a bookkeeper. If you don't have it, take some accounting classes in person or online. Even free online tutorials can help.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

Want to give your bookkeeping resume experience section a high opening balance? See this guide: "How to Put Achievements on a Resume - Complete Guide (+30 Examples)"

If you've got experience, education doesn't matter.

That's true, but you're doing it wrong.

Your education is another chance to show your worth. If you discount it, it's like having a gold brick, then just using it as a paperweight.

Of course you'll add:

• School Name and Location.
• Years in School.
• Degree.

But the real payoff is in the bullet points.

Read the job offer. See what they're looking for. Then brainstorm achievements that fit.

Two Bookkeeper Resume Examples

Let's say the job offer wants attention to detail and solid math skills.

Which of these bookkeeping resume samples works best?

Why bother, right? The hiring manager just shrugged.

But try this:

You can take that one to the bank.

The real beauty is, anyone can do it. It just takes a little thought.

Of course, additional accounting education helps. Any of the following look great on an entry-level or full charge bookkeeper resume:

• Bachelor's Degree
• Associate's Degree
• Certification from the NACPB or AIPB
• Accounting 1 and 2
• Online classes in Accounting at AccountingCoach.com
• Online Quickbooks Classes
• Other Online Accounting or Software Tutorials

Even a high school student can take accounting 1 and 2 at a local vocational school or online.

Then, as you gain experience, consider working toward your Bachelor's or Master's. Once you do, you're just a few steps from an accountant resume.

Pro Tip: Should you add GPA to a resume for bookkeeping? If it's above 3.7, it shows dedication, so list it. If not, cut your losses.

To make your bookkeeping resume education section shimmer like Fort Knox, see our guide: "How to Put Your Education on a Resume [Tips & Examples]"

Back to Jim, our hiring manager.

He just printed your bookkeeper resume so he could mash it into a ball.

Why?

He'd read 200 resumes with skills lists as long as Bill Gates' tax return, and he snapped.

Don't make that mistake.

The hiring manager doesn't want to see every skill in the book. He just wants the few in the job offer, plus a couple more.

These good bookkeeper resume samples make the point:

Bookkeeper Resume Sample Skills and Experience Section

The job description calls for skills in payroll, error detection, and MS Excel.

You'll list those, plus communication and A/P.

Then you'll build your experience and education sections like this:

Wow. Your stock just went up. You could crunch numbers for Goldfinger.

It's so much better than this cheap dollar store fluff:

List of Skills to Put on a Bookkeeper Resume

Need a bookkeeper skills list to start with? Use this one.

Add to it from job offers online, and from your own experience.

Bookkeeper Resume Skills

With the plan above, you could get work doing payroll for Jeff Bezos.

Pro Tip: Don't make an exact list of the skills in the job description. That's cooking the books. Add a couple items the manager didn't mention.

Want to mark up your skills section? Follow the sample bookkeeper resume template up top. Also, see this guide: "+30 Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume (Proven Tips)"

Do you need a certification to be a bookkeeper?

No.

Is experience more important?

Absolutely.

Do certifications look good on a bookkeeping resume anyway?

Yes. If you show them right.

List an AIPB or NACPB certification after your name. Then put it in a special certifications section just under your summary.

Certifications

• AIPB Certified Bookkeeper
• NACPB Licensed Bookkeeper
• Quickbooks Online Pro Advisor Certification

Of course you don't need both an AIPB cert and an NACPB license on a resume for bookkeepers. We showed them both for effect. 

Pro Tip: A bookkeeper resume with Quickbooks experience instantly raises your value. That's because 29 million U.S. businesses use Quickbooks.

Need more tips to boost the value of your bookkeeping resume? See our guide: “What To Put On A Resume To Make It Perfect [Tips & Examples]”

Congratulations! You're in the top 50 resumes on the manager's desk.

The problem? They're all pretty much the same.

How do you stand out like Smaug's pile of gold?

With "other" sections in your bookkeeper resume.

List awards, publications, accolades, testimonials, test results, conferences, or anything else that sells your strengths.

Even hobbies can show passion.

Bookkeeper Resume Examples – "Other" Sections

Yipe. Who's that, Louis from Ghostbusters?

Your "other" sections should show bookkeeping is more than just an 8-5.

Pro Tip: If you're an entry-level bookkeeper, consider starting at a smaller company. You can get to full charge a lot faster that way.

Need more help to build great "other" sections for a good bookkeeper resume? See our guide: "+20 Best Examples of Hobbies & Interests To Put on a Resume (5 Tips)"

"Nobody reads bookkeeper cover letters."

Of course they don't.

What they read is bookkeeper "how I can help you" letters.

Use the manager's name to get attention.

Mention a fact about the company you like, if you can find one online.

But here's the magic:

Show how your bookkeeping skills can help. Prove you understand the company's goal for the job. Then list a detail or two from your past that shows how you can nail it.

That's it. End with a call to action like, "I'd love to talk more with you about your needs."

Pro Tip: Follow up on your perfect bookkeeper resume and cover letter within a week. A nudge at the right time can give you a second chance at getting hired.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Want more dollars-and-cents-level advice for how to write a bookkeeping cover letter? See our guide: "How To Write A Cover Letter [Complete Guide With Examples]"

Is your bookkeeper resume contact info overdrawn?

Of course you'll add:

• Full Name
• Updated Phone Number
• Professional Email Address

Like this:

Alice Nistor, [email protected] - 843-860-3894

"Professional" means nobody will hire [email protected] to handle the finances.

The real trick? Add your LinkedIn profile. If your competition has one and you don't, the manager might consider you spare change.

Pro Tip: Don't let that political rant from last November sink your hopes of getting hired. Use our guide to cleaning up your online presence here.

Want a great guide to help in your bookkeeper resume quest? See this article: How to Make a Resume: A Step-by-Step Guide (+30 Examples)"

Even with great bookkeeper resume templates to follow, writing your own can leave you in the red. Follow these tips to get back in black:

• Read the job description. Highlight the bookkeeper qualities you see there. Then prove you own them in your bullet points.
• Put a bookkeeper resume objective or summary just below your contact info.
• Don't just list your bookkeeper skills. Salt them throughout your experience and education sections.
• Add "other" sections to your bookkeeping resume that prove you fit the job like a custom-tailored A/R spreadsheet.

Do you have questions on how to write a great resume for a bookkeeper? Not sure how to describe your skills or achievements? Give us a shout in the comments! We love to help!