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Job Title: Bookkeeper
Type of Company: HVAC commercial service and installation
Education: BS, Suffolk University
Previous Experience: I started as a clerk while I was still in high school and just loved accounting and understood it. While in college, I worked in accounting at a real estate auction company but got a lot of exposure to other aspects of accounting.
Job Tasks: I run the whole office for an eight-man service crew. I do all the accounting for accounts payable and account receivable and monthly bank reconciliation, resolving problems as they arise. I enter work orders for invoicing customers and receive payments when they come in. Also send out monthly invoices. When a customer does not pay I seek appropriate action to get payment. I also enter bills to be paid and make sure the vendor is billing us correctly. I make sure subcontractors are W-9 and I send out a 1099s to them once a year. I call in payroll once a week and make sure that if a service tech works overtime, the time is accounted for when billing the customer. I work with the accountant during tax time to make sure he receives all the reports he needs and i make journal entries that so he can find what needs to be adjusted.
We have an annual insurance audit and I need to be there for the auditors to get them all the information they need: certificates of insurance and payroll information and that kind of stuff. I also deal with insurance issue: it could be auto, workers comp or liability. Basically I do everything to make an office run smoothly, I am the only office person.
Best and Worst Parts of the Job: I like reconciling something when it does not add up. I enjoy looking for the discrepancy. Usually this happens when a bank statement does not match my records and I need to find the problem. Or when a large customer does not agree with a statement we send them, I need to spend the time to see if they are missing an invoice or if they sent a pavement that I did not receive.
But I dislike filing.
Job Tips: Accounting is simple but accuracy is a must. Employers want to see that you are precise and articulate and that you follow up on issues that arise. Courses are a must to keep up-to-date, especially on tax issues. Also there are so many aspects of accounting, before you pick an area of expertise I suggest that you know all areas to understand how the process works. Accounting is like a circle, one area will affect the other.
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