Have you performed bookkeeping for small businesses? If so, walk me through your experience.
The interviewer wants you to walk them through your experience working within or consulting as a bookkeeper for a small business. If you have this experience, share how many employees were on staff, the industry of the company, and how you supported their bookkeeping or accounting needs. If you have experience in both small and large work environments, mention any key differences you recognize between small businesses and larger organizations.
"I started my career with a small organization, where I was required to perform basic bookkeeping tasks. I was responsible for keeping employee hours and retaining documents for transactions. When I moved to a bigger organization, the bookkeeping tasks were handled by my coworker; however, I continued to keep track of employee- transactions in my department."
"Near the beginning of my career, I worked as an independent bookkeeper for a smaller, privately-owned dental clinic. I maintained ledgers, recorded transactions, and produced a variety of financial reports for the primary accountant. This experience helped me to gain a solid understanding of the foundations of accounting and payroll while teaching me a great deal about the importance of organization and attention to detail."
Yes, earlier in my career I served as a Bookkeeper at XX company. I set up new vendors in the system and made sure they each completed a W9. Then I matched the invoices with purchase orders and recorded every payment in their Quickbooks accounting system. This information was fed into the general ledger where all revenue and expenses were maintained to create a total financial picture or the orgnaization.
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Anonymous Answer
In a previous role, I did a small amount of bookkeeping/payroll tasks in which I would track and edit employees' time punches, and verify overtime against the schedule. I was also responsible for the entry and maintenance of new and existing employees and submit payroll at the end of every week. Keeping track of employee meal expenses was also something I did daily.
Stephanie's Feedback
You clearly have experience in this area, so I suggest updating your response to remove the part about "small amount." There's no need to minimize your skills in this area!
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