Bookkeeper Resume Bullet Points
16 examples, each shown weak and strong
A strong bookkeeping bullet names the software, the volume of transactions or accounts, and the deadline you closed to. Owners and CPA firms read for whether you ran the full cycle, so say what you reconciled, filed and handed over clean.
How to use these
- Every [X%], [N] and [$X] is a blank for your own figure. Fill it from your records, or a careful estimate you could explain in an interview. If you have no number, describe the result in words.
- Only use a bullet for work you actually did. Change the details until it describes your job, not this page.
- The ticks are three plain checks done in code: it opens with an action verb, it has a number, and it says what changed. Strong bullets pass all three; weak ones miss at least one.
Reconciliation and close
Reviewers look for how many accounts you reconciled, how fast you closed, and whether the CPA had to adjust your work.
Weak
Responsible for bank reconciliations.
- ✗ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Reconciled [N] bank and credit card accounts in QuickBooks Online by the 5th each month and reduced stale uncleared items from [N] to none.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Completed the month-end close.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✓ Result
Strong
Shortened the monthly close from [N] to [N] business days by setting up bank rules and recurring journal entries, so the owner had statements by the 10th.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Prepared financial statements for the owner.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Produced a monthly P&L, balance sheet and cash flow report for a [$X] revenue business, and cut the CPA's year-end adjusting entries from [N] to [N].
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Maintained the general ledger.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Rebuilt a cluttered chart of accounts from [N] to [N] accounts in Xero, mapping old history so that job cost reports matched the tax return categories.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Payables and receivables
Show the invoice volume, the approval and payment tools, and what happened to aging or late fees.
Weak
Processed vendor invoices and payments.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Processed [N] vendor bills a month through Bill.com with two-step approval, eliminating [$X] a year in late fees and duplicate payments.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Managed accounts receivable and collections.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Lowered receivables older than [N] days by [X%] in [N] months through weekly aging reviews, statement runs and follow-up calls.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Entered customer invoices into QuickBooks.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Set up recurring invoices and online payments in QuickBooks Online for [N] service customers, cutting average days to collect from [N] to [N].
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Helped with employee expense tracking.
- ✗ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Moved [N] employees from paper receipts to Expensify synced with QuickBooks, reducing uncoded card charges at month end by [X%].
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Payroll and tax filings
Owners want the payroll system, the headcount, the states, and a filing record with no penalties.
Weak
Ran payroll for employees.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Ran biweekly payroll in Gusto for [N] employees in [N] states and resolved [N] open state tax notices left over from the prior provider.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Filed sales tax returns.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Filed monthly sales tax returns in [N] jurisdictions and corrected a wrong rate in the point-of-sale system, avoiding [$X] in underpayment penalties.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Responsible for contractor tax forms at year end.
- ✗ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Collected W-9s from [N] contractors during the year, so that all [N] 1099-NEC forms went out by the January deadline without a scramble.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Worked with the outside CPA on taxes.
- ✗ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Delivered tax-ready books and a [N]-item year-end package to the CPA, reducing outside accounting fees by [$X] compared with the prior year.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Cleanup and controls
A cleanup story with the backlog size and a control you added is the closest thing bookkeeping has to a reference on the page.
Weak
Cleaned up the books for a new client.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Caught up [N] months of backlogged books for a restaurant client in QuickBooks Online within [N] weeks, recovering [$X] in unclaimed vendor credits.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Found and fixed errors in the accounts.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Traced a [$X] unreconciled balance to duplicated processor deposits and fixed the bank feed rule, eliminating the error from the next [N] closes.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Responsible for petty cash and internal controls.
- ✗ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Added a separation-of-duties check between bill entry and payment approval for [N] vendors, closing a gap the CPA had flagged in [N] prior reviews.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Weak
Kept the books organized for multiple clients.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✗ Number
- ✗ Result
Strong
Managed monthly books for [N] small business clients in QuickBooks Online and Xero, growing the practice from [N] to [N] clients through CPA referrals.
- ✓ Action verb
- ✓ Number
- ✓ Result
Action verbs for bookkeeper resumes
- Reconciled
- Closed
- Posted
- Processed
- Filed
- Collected
- Reviewed
- Corrected
- Coded
- Tracked
- Prepared
- Balanced
More in the full list of resume action verbs.
Next steps
Rewrite your own bullet →
The Bullet Surgeon gives one of your lines three rewrites, free.
A complete bookkeeper resume →
A graded example, with notes on why each line works.
What bookkeeper reviewers check first →
Common mistakes and specific fixes for this role.
Would they interview you? →
Paste a bookkeeper posting and five readers vote on your resume.