How to write a resume for accounting and bookkeeping jobs

Be precise about your role in each process. "Prepared" a reconciliation, "reviewed" one and "owned" the month-end close are different levels, and an experienced reader will ask. Use the verb that matches what you actually did.

What people hiring in accounting and bookkeeping usually look for

In general terms. Every employer is different, so read each posting closely.

• The accounting functions you handled: accounts payable, receivable, payroll, reconciliations, month-end close, reporting or tax support.
• Software: accounting systems, spreadsheets and payroll tools, named as [accounting software] until you fill in the real names.
• Scope: company type and size, number of entities or accounts, transaction volume, if you know it.
• Accuracy and controls: reconciliations, approvals, audit support and how you caught and fixed errors.
• Deadlines met: month-end, quarter-end and year-end tasks and filings you supported.
• Credentials or coursework you hold, such as a degree, certificate or professional credential, with the year.

How to structure a accounting resume

• Core skills by function. AP, AR, payroll, reconciliations, close and reporting, plus software. This is what most readers scan for.
• Experience by cycle. Open each job with the company type and your part of the cycle, then the processes you ran.
• Software in its own line. Accounting systems and spreadsheet skills, specifically (for example the functions you use).
• Credentials. Degree, certificate or professional credential with the year; "in progress" if not finished.

Three layouts cover most situations, each in one column with standard headings:

• Accounting Professional: Clerks, specialists and staff accountants with in-house experience. Order: Summary, Core Skills, Accounting Experience, Education and Credentials.
• Bookkeeper and Client Work: Bookkeepers serving several businesses or clients. Order: Summary, Client Work (Bookkeepers), Accounting Experience, Core Skills, Education and Credentials.
• New Graduate: Accounting graduates and career changers whose education and skills lead. Order: Summary, Education and Credentials, Core Skills, Accounting Experience.

Example bullet structures

These are structures, not real results. Replace every [placeholder] with your own facts, and leave out any number you can't back up.

• Processed [number] vendor invoices per [week or month] in [accounting software], coding to the right accounts and matching to [purchase orders or receipts].
• Reconciled [number] bank and credit card accounts each month and investigated differences until they tied.
• Prepared [journal entries, accruals or schedules] for the month-end close of a [company type] with [number] entities.
• Managed receivables for [number] customers, sending statements and following up on balances over [number] days.
• Processed [weekly or biweekly] payroll for [number] employees in [payroll software] and reconciled payroll accounts.

Action verbs for this field

Summary structures

• [Role] with [number] years of [AP, AR, payroll or full-cycle] experience for [company type]. Skilled in [accounting software] and [spreadsheet skills]; known for accurate, on-time closes.
• Full-cycle bookkeeper for [number] [small businesses or clients] in [industries], from transaction entry through monthly financial statements.

More structures by situation (career change, returning after a layoff, new graduate) are on our resume summary examples page.

Common mistakes

• Using "managed" or "owned" for a process you prepared or assisted with.
• Listing software without saying what you did in it.
• Leaving out the size or type of the business, which tells the reader the complexity you handled.
• Any typo or mismatched date. Proofread line by line.
• Including confidential client names or financial figures from past employers.

Do it yourself, or have it done

Questions

Other resume guides: warehouse and logistics, hospitality and food service, government and federal, and the career services page. Got laid off? See what to do after being laid off.

General information, not career, legal or employment advice. We are not career counselors, and nothing here promises interviews, offers or a particular result.