Become an Accounting Clerk

Accounting careers are an excellent choice for people who love working with numbers and figures. Most business owners do not have the time to devote to dealing with their own accounting tasks, so they look to accounting clerks and other accounting professionals to do it for them. People depend upon accountants and tax experts to help them file essential forms, income taxes, and much more.

About Accounting Clerks

Accounting clerks are responsible for a wide range of tasks that business owners need. The position calls for diverse skills in several areas of business including dealing with books of the company, handling purchase orders and vouchers, and performing general data entry jobs. Before you accept the job as an accounting clerk, you should familiarize yourself with what a particular business considers to be the responsibilities of an accounting clerk so that you will know what you are getting into.

Accounting clerks are often key personnel who are responsible for handling payroll including accounts payable and accounts receivable.

The general qualifications of an accounting clerk are listed below:

• Ability to handle ledgers with few or no errors

• Strong math skills with meticulous precision

• Desire to help others meet their financial goals

• Good customer service knowledge

While accounting clerks do not have to be experts in customer service, they should be prepared to handle any financial questions that B2B partners might have about a company's economic status, being careful to be discreet when necessary to keep proprietary or management issues private.

All of these skills are important when working as an accounting clerk.

Possible Job Titles, Duties, and Day in the Life

The daily duties of the accounting clerk vary according to need. Below are some of the typical job titles that you may find yourself involved with in this profession.

1. Bookkeeper

As a bookkeeper, you are responsible for keeping the ledgers of a business or individual organized and in proper order. You should be aware of both the incoming and outgoing revenue of the business or a person's income as well as the profit that a person is making in his or her business. Neatness and orderliness are imperative if you are to keep the books in order, so organizational skills are paramount.

2. Auditor

Some businesses have their own internal auditor. Other auditors come from outside the system such as IRS or government auditors. State auditors are the most common as business owners are required to follow every letter of the law regarding their accounting practices. They must pay their debts on time to avoid penalties and keep up with the mandated state laws that affect the business. Spending must be taken into account, and an auditor or auditing clerk has to be familiar with the financial aspects of a business.

3. Accountant

The primary person that a business owner depends on to keep up with their finances, bills, and income is their accountant. People pay their accountant well and expect near perfection when it comes to keeping up with their finances. Keep in mind that an accounting clerk is not an accountant in the truest sense of the word. They may have an accounting or business degree. But they may serve in some of the capacity of an accountant, especially if the business does not have an on-staff accountant.

4. Advisor/Consultant

If you serve in the capacity of an advisor or financial consultant, you may offer advice based on what you know of finance and accounting that can be helpful to a client. However, it is important to remember that you are not a tax attorney or public accountant. Be careful to stick to the more practical issues regarding a business owner's finances and to refer them to attorneys or full accountants for more detailed issues in these areas.

Typical Functions of this Career

The day-to-day activities of an accounting clerk will vary, but the main responsibilities will involve a "lighter" type of accounting and bookkeeping work. Basic math skills and a sense or order are all that is needed to perform a job in this capacity. Many businesses prefer not to pay a full-time accountant who can run them up to $124,000 per year (bls.com), so they pay an accounting clerk instead who is willing to perform some of the same tasks as an accountant but whose educational background and skill set is not as vast as the accountant or tax specialist.

That being said, it would be in the best interest of anyone seeking work in this profession to up their skills in all areas, especially in the field of tax preparation. In fact, it is a good idea to simultaneously seek certification as a tax preparer if you want to increase your skills and get an edge on your competition.

People seek accountants and the help of accounting clerks at various times in both their personal and business lives, so the more you can offer your clients, the more money you can make. For example, you could help a business owner set up their bookkeeping system and keep up with their ledger for them while also preparing their taxes. You can bill them one invoice for the bookkeeping and maintenance jobs and charge them separately for the tax preparation. Tax preparation is a more complicated task, so you should bill them for this according to the amount of time and research it takes you to complete it.

Help to the Accounting Department

Another possible job that you could find yourself doing in your role as an accounting clerk is that of helping the accounting department. While accounting clerks do not serve as the primary accountant in most cases, they can be of great help to the other accountants and help them remember things they may forget to keep the finances of a business going smoothly.

Many larger firms or businesses choose to use an accounting clerk at the front office to handle things like payroll, invoices, and incoming receipts or purchases, then pass the more difficult, tax-preparation type jobs to the CPAs (certified public accountants). This is the best scenario if a business can afford to hire both. Check with your local businesses as you are proceeding with your training to see which companies have this type of business model.

Smaller businesses may opt only to hire an accounting clerk and not have a full-time accountant. Others may outsource their accounting work to one accountant instead. It's wise to check around to see which business or institution offers the best opportunity for you to work in this profession.

Education and Degree Options

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that you are not required to receive a degree in accounting, business, or any other related field to work as an accounting clerk. However, some college is needed to learn the basic math and business skills that you will likely encounter on the job.

BLS also states that "some college" is needed, but a college degree is not required to seek employment as an accounting clerk. However, the more education and skills you can master along the way, the more you can offer your clients once you get ready to set up shop. That said, you may consider an associate’s in accounting or even a bachelor of accounting to improve your job prospects.

The primary job of an accounting clerk is to log all of the incoming and outgoing invoices and payments that a company makes. They may also be required to dispute a charge made to the business if it appears they were overbilled. Taking care of the business owner's best interests and keeping their books in order is the first order of the day for an accounting clerk. They are also the first line of defense when it comes to audits and other issues that might threaten the finances of a business. While they are not attorneys or accountants, the accounting clerk is a "watchdog" of the funds of a business that guard it against potential loss. This is an outstanding job, and many business owners are willing to pay nicely for this service.

Average Salary for Accounting Clerks

If you are looking for the salary information for accounting clerks, the median annual salary was listed as $37,516-$42,085 as of January 30 of this year (2018). This varies, however, based on the particular job you are doing, who you are working for, and other factors. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.com) listed the median salary at $39,240 per year.

If you aspire to pursue a career as an accounting clerk, we've designed an accessible guide that you can use to follow that will help you reach your goals. Remember that this is not the only path to success as an accounting clerk, but it is one of the simplest ways to reach your goals.

Certification, Credentials, and Licensure

To obtain the credentials to become an accounting clerk, follow these steps to achieve this status:

1. Have a high school diploma or equivalent from an accredited public or private school.

2. Attend college and take some basic math and business or accounting courses. (An associate’s degree may help you be more competitive.)

3. Consider getting an accounting certificate or degree to present yourself as an accounting professional.

4. Apply for an internship or ask to shadow an accounting clerk in a reputable firm or business to learn the ropes and "best practices."

5. Apply for a job and update your resume to show any accounting-related positions or courses you have taken to increase your chances of success.

When it concerns identifying career actions for accounting clerks, you need to make certain that you select an approved program that is made to help trainees boost their career-knowledge and increase their expertise in the occupation. As a career-knowledge is thought about a crucial ingredient in identifying occupation success, selecting the ideal college or college for your audit program will certainly help you establish your finest action for going after the profession of your desires.

There are many hours offered every week for those who are not going to take that much pause. If you have the self-control to devote the time to stay up to date with university programs while you are functioning, it might be just the correct time to begin your trip right into the accounting profession.

It will certainly take resolution and also devotion to attain your profession objectives. To help you establish realistic goals for your education, start by researching the variety of hours you can fairly commit to courses weekly. Then, determine how many hours you are able to spend on the task weekly.

After you have figured out what you will have the ability to do every week, get some suggestions from others who have actually graduated from various colleges. Ask what they did to plan for their degree and what they did to move right into the occupation that ideal matched them. The same puts on accounting clerks, so you need to use the experience of others to lead you with the process.

As soon as you have a listing of the possible occupations that interest you, seek on the internet classes or added training programs that can assist you get approved for a far better placement in your chosen field. The even more detailed your career prep work, the more likely you will be to be worked with.

Do not feel that your focus ought to only be on your accounting clerk job; also check into jobs that need entry-level workers or unique training in the fields of monitoring, sales, and procedures. You may be stunned to find out that the department manager you applied to last year is still awaiting a brand-new accountant, as the opportunities for improvement are incredibly restricted.

A significant factor in figuring out the instructions you must take is how affordable the task will be. There are numerous accountancy settings readily available annually, so there will be a lot of competition for every offered placement. For this reason, your income requirements require to be based upon the present salary demands in the market.

Ensure that you are making an application for jobs that have openings that are not finishing in the year ahead. If there are openings readily available, the competitors for those openings might be very fierce, specifically in areas where extra entry-level placements are closed up as regularly.

If you prepare to deal with an individual job, ensure that you ask for a wage that will certainly give you the chance to move up rapidly. You need to decline less than the minimum wage required for that certain placement.

As soon as you understand what the expected income is needed, discuss your company's requirements for organizing. Obviously, if you are functioning as an accounting clerk, you will not have the ability to schedule your very own hrs, but a lot of companies have open scheduling policies, which is perfect for accounting professionals.

All of these variables should be taken into account when you are trying to determine which occupation actions for accounting clerks will certainly work best for you. It takes time and also initiative to prepare for the career, so you will certainly not reach the end of your university degree without looking for a better-paying task.

With an excellent college program, on the internet coursework, and also a strong foundation in accountancy ideas, you can seek the best work available in the audit area. Your grades will certainly show your effort and also devotion, and you will certainly have the ability to move forward in your occupation quickly once you have found an over again place to work.

Start Your New Career Path

Many business owners will pay top dollar for anyone who is good at handling "the books" for them. Why? They don't want to do it. It is time-consuming and can be a headache, especially at tax time. Business owners want to get the best tax break they can, save money on purchases, and keep up with the daily income and expenses that are required to keep the business solvent at all times.

Accountants do the heavy lifting when it comes to the harder jobs of business with their finances. They may file taxes, dispute claims, or refer things to the legal department when needed. The accounting clerk is an expert, too but they do not have the educational background that a CPA does, making the job more simplistic.

For the person seeking a good job that does not require the time and investment of the CPA, the accounting clerk career is a good one. If you are good at math, love crunching numbers and helping stay on top of a business's income and outgo, this might be the career for you.

Attending a business or technical school to get the basics of accounting may be all that is needed to prepare yourself for this rewarding and interesting career path. There are also a growing number of online accounting programs, so you can earn a degree or certification from your home. Unlike CPAs, you will not usually be required to update your credentials.

This is one of those jobs that many business owners do not want to do and will often hire out for these tasks. As an accounting clerk, you can make your mark in the accounting field without spending years in traditional education settings.