- US median pay$50,670 a year[2]All industries, BLS May 2025
- One-time fee$2,500–3,000[1]On the start day, only if you hire
- Free replacementWithin 180 days[1]One per placement, fee paid, role, hours and pay unchanged, no refund
What the week looks like at a real estate agency
An agency's week runs on listings and deadlines. New leads arrive from portals and open houses and go cold within hours if nobody replies. Agents spend their days at showings, so the paperwork piles up for the evening: listing descriptions, disclosure packets, offer deadlines, inspection dates, closing checklists. Monday often means reviewing new leads, and weekend open houses create the next round of follow-up.
What a bookkeeper does for real estate agencies
- Record commission income per closing and calculate agent splits from your plan
- Reconcile operating and card accounts and sort marketing expenses by agent
- Send agents monthly statements of their desk fees and splits
- Prepare year-end contractor reports for your accountant
A bookkeeper records transactions, reconciles bank and card accounts, chases invoices, prepares bills for payment and closes the month. A bookkeeper does not sign tax returns or give tax advice: that stays with your accountant, who should agree the setup and review the close.
Tools real estate agencies commonly use
- Follow Up Boss
- kvCORE
- Dotloop
- DocuSign
- Canva
- Mailchimp
- Google Workspace
- QuickBooks
- Calendly
Common in this kind of business, not a checklist: name your own stack in the brief.
How to test a candidate for a real estate agency
Give three made-up closings with different commission plans and a cap. Ask them to calculate splits and post the entries. Then introduce a referral fee and see if they adjust without errors and ask the right question.
What to keep in-house or check first
Showing property, negotiating and advising on price or contracts usually require a licence, so keep them with your agents and check your state or country's rules on what unlicensed assistants may do. Keep trust or escrow accounts with the broker. Give access to the CRM and the transaction folder by role, not shared logins, and keep client bank details out of reach.
General caution, not legal advice: check the rules that apply to you with a qualified adviser.
Available now
No published bookkeeper profile on Stafka today. Send the brief, we reply within one business day with a yes or a no.
Choose a country: shared hours
Bookkeeping has deadlines rather than shifts. A weekly rhythm and a fixed month-end date matter more than shared hours, apart from a short regular call with whoever approves payments.
Against a 9–17 client day in winter[3][4][5][6]; for New York, on a 9–18 local day or a 13–22 shift. Check your own office.
What it costs
We do not publish a pay band for bookkeepers yet: where a profile lists a monthly rate, that is what the person asks for. The BLS figure of $50,670 a year is for Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks[2] across all industries: we have no separate figure for this niche. Paying through Deel adds $49 a month[7]; Wise and Payoneer also work.
See also: bookkeeper pay in the US, by state · pricing and replacement terms.
How hiring through Stafka works
- Send the brief or post the job free. Name your accounting software, your country's tax setup, monthly transaction volume, and the accountant who reviews the books.
- Within 5 business days of a confirmed brief you get 3 matching profiles, or a plain no. Most apply through our Telegram bot with a written and a voice English task; each profile shows the English level (B1–C2); Silkstaff checks English on a live call before any client interview.
- You interview, choose and contract the person directly through Deel, Wise or Payoneer. Candidates never pay.
Questions
Should the bookkeeper handle the escrow or trust account?
Most brokers keep that with themselves or their accountant, as trust money has its own rules and a regulator who audits it. A bookkeeper can reconcile from read-only access if your rules allow it.
Can a remote assistant see our clients' transaction files?
Usually yes, with limits: give them a role in the CRM and transaction system rather than a shared login, keep bank details and identity documents out of reach where you can, and check the rules of your brokerage and local regulator. This is general information, not legal advice.
Where can a real estate agency hire an affordable bookkeeper?
The usual routes are a freelance marketplace, an agency with a monthly margin, or a direct hire in a lower-cost country. On Stafka it is a direct hire: you pay the person the monthly pay you agree with them, plus $2,500–3,000[1] once if you hire, with no monthly margin.
General information for small employers, not legal or tax advice: check contracts, tax and data rules for your country with a qualified adviser. Tool names belong to their owners; we are not affiliated with them. Spotted a mistake? Write to hello@silkstaff.com.