How to hire a remote bookkeeper

Bookkeeper or accountant?

A bookkeeper records and organises: categorising transactions, reconciling bank and card accounts, entering bills and invoices, chasing receipts, preparing payroll data and closing the month so that reports are reliable.

An accountant interprets and advises: tax returns, tax planning, year-end accounts, financial statements that others rely on, and advice on structure. In many countries some of this work requires a licence.

Many small companies need both: a bookkeeper every month, and an accountant who reviews the books and handles tax. A remote bookkeeper does not replace your accountant; they make the accountant's work faster and cheaper. This guide is general information, not tax or accounting advice.

Write the scope as a monthly routine

• Weekly: categorise new transactions, match receipts, enter bills, send invoices.
• Monthly: reconcile every bank and card account, review accounts receivable and payable, run the month-end close, send a short report.
• On demand: prepare documents for the accountant, answer questions about transactions, clean up past periods.

Estimate the hours from your transaction volume and the state of the books. A clean company with a few hundred transactions a month may need part-time help; a messy backlog may need a full-time clean-up first.

Skills and software to check

• Your accounting software: QuickBooks Online and Xero are widely used by small companies; ask for real experience, not just a course.
• Reconciliation: the core skill. Ask how they find a difference that will not go away.
• Your country's practice: experience with clients in the US or your European country, and with the way your accountant wants the books.
• Receipt and bill tools connected to your software, and spreadsheets for clean-ups.
• Written English good enough to ask clear questions and write the monthly report.

Our bookkeeper interview questions include a short reconciliation exercise that tests the most important skill directly.

Access and controls

Bookkeeping needs access to sensitive data, so set controls from day one:

• Give the bookkeeper their own user in the accounting software, with the role they need; never share your login.
• Use read-only bank feeds or view-only bank access. Payments stay with you or need your approval.
• Keep a separation between the person who records and the person who pays.
• Ask your accountant to review the books at least every quarter.
• Turn on two-factor authentication everywhere and keep a list of who has access to what.

Pay and contract

For orientation, the US median for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks is $50,670^[1] a year, about $4,222^[1] a month, before benefits. Remote bookkeepers abroad usually work as independent contractors paid monthly, by the hour or by a fixed package; compare offers on hours and scope, not only on rate. The bookkeeper cost page has the US figures by state.

Silkstaff's open vacancies today are for assistants and customer support. For bookkeeping roles, send us the brief and we tell you within one business day whether we can help. You can also post the job on Stafka for free and screen applicants yourself; pricing shows when a fee applies.

Hiring steps

1. Write the scope, software, hours and pay range into a short job description.
2. Screen CVs for real experience with your software and with small-company books.
3. Interview on video with the questions in our interview guide.
4. Give a short paid test: reconcile a fictional month with a few planted errors.
5. Check references, ideally with an accountant or a former client; our reference check guide has the questions.
6. Start with a clearly defined first month and a review, as in our trial period guide.

The first month with a new bookkeeper

Start with a close of the most recent month rather than a backlog. It shows quickly how the bookkeeper works, and it gives your accountant a concrete result to review.

• Week one: access, a call with your accountant, the chart of accounts and how you want things categorised.
• Weeks two and three: the bookkeeper reconciles every account for the month and lists open questions.
• Week four: the month-end report, reviewed together with the accountant.
• After that: a monthly calendar with fixed dates for the close and the report.

Agree early on how questions reach you. One weekly list of open items is easier for both sides than a message for every unclear transaction.