Bookkeeper
Bookkeepers keep financial records up to date and help prepare accounts.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
In your day-to-day duties you could:
- deal with sales invoices, income, receipts and payments
- prepare statements to show income and payments
- complete VAT returns
- check that accounts are accurate
- prepare wages and manage claims for expenses
- help to prepare annual accounts
- use computerised accounting systems
- handle commercially sensitive and valuable information
Working environment
You could work in an office.
Career path and progression
With experience and training, you could become an accounting technician and take on more complex work.
You may decide to take a degree and qualify as an accountant.
You could also become self-employed and set up your own business.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others
- administration skills
- customer service skills
- the ability to use your initiative
- to be flexible and open to change
- maths knowledge
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- applying directly
You could take a recognised accounts or bookkeeping qualification while looking for work. These are widely available. They include:
- Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping
- Level 2 Certificate in Accounting
- Level 2 Certificate in Manual and Computerised Bookkeeping
Entry requirements
You may need:
- 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
More Information
You could do an accounts and finance assistant intermediate apprenticeship.
This typically takes around 12 months to complete.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More Information
You could start as an admin assistant with a company, for example on a part-time or temporary contract in an accounts department. You could then take a relevant qualification to become a bookkeeper.
If you want to apply for jobs directly, you may find some employers ask for up to 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including maths and English. An A level in business studies, maths, economics or equivalent qualifications could also be useful.
Further information
You can find out more about training in bookkeeping through the:
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This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.