Document the rules
We record the chart of accounts, coding conventions, approval limits, and the exact close checklist.
Virtual staffing role
Bookkeeping VA
Clean books, without a full-time hire.
Your bookkeeping VA keeps your accounts reconciled, your invoices sent, and your records ready for your accountant at any time.
- Best for
- Owners who are behind on receipts, invoices, or expense coding
- Typical start
- Part-time, 10 to 20 hours per week
- You retain
- Approvals, policy, and professional judgment
Why this role exists.
Bookkeeping support is not a substitute for your accountant. It is the disciplined administrative layer that keeps receipts, invoices, and records complete enough for a reviewer to do their job without chasing missing paper.
A bookkeeping virtual assistant works inside your accounting system and documented chart of accounts, prepares records for review, and routes judgment calls to your finance owner.
What usually breaks first
- Receipts arrive in three places and never reach the ledger
- Invoices are sent late or not at all
- Expense categories are inconsistent month to month
- Month-end becomes a scramble to reconstruct what happened
- The accountant spends paid time chasing missing documentation
Who it fits
This role makes sense when the queue has a shape.
- Owners who are behind on receipts, invoices, or expense coding
- Small businesses with a bookkeeper or accountant but no administrative backup
- Teams whose month-end close depends on one overloaded person
- Businesses preparing clean records for a lender, buyer, or tax professional
Scope of work
What your Bookkeeping VA owns.
- Transaction categorisation and reconciliation
- Invoice creation and accounts receivable
- Expense tracking and receipt filing
- Bank feed monitoring
- Monthly financial summary preparation
- Payroll data entry support
- Contractor payment coordination
- Liaison with your accountant at tax time
Beyond the daily task list
- Transaction entry against the approved chart of accounts
- Receipt collection, naming, and matching
- Invoice preparation from approved source documents
- Accounts payable and receivable status tracking
- Statement and document completeness checks
- Expense coding within written rules
- Month-end preparation packs for the reviewer
Written before launch
Responsibilities, access, output standards, and escalation rules are agreed in the role brief.
The working exchange
What goes in, what comes back.
A dependable role needs clear inputs. When source material, access, and approval rules are in place, the assistant can work without repeatedly interrupting the team.
Inputs you provide
- Access to the accounting system at the approved level
- The chart of accounts and coding rules
- Invoice templates, rates, and approval workflow
- A defined receipt and document storage structure
- Named reviewer for reconciliations and payments
Deliverables you can expect
- Transactions entered and coded with supporting documents attached
- Invoices prepared and sent from approved source data
- A missing-document list before month end
- A close pack organized for the accountant or finance lead
- A weekly status note on payables, receivables, and exceptions
A realistic workflow
How the first weeks actually run.
Stabilize the inflow
Receipts and invoices get a single collection path and a consistent file name.
Prepare, do not approve
The assistant enters and organizes. Your reviewer approves payments, reconciliations, and adjustments.
Close with fewer surprises
The close pack is assembled before the deadline, with missing items flagged early.
Quality controls
How the work is checked.
Quality is not a promise in a brochure. It is a set of review points that either happen or do not.
- Every entry has a supporting document or a documented exception
- Coding is sampled against the written rules
- Duplicate invoices and receipts are checked before entry
- The missing-document list is produced before month end, not after
- Access is limited to preparation, with payment approval kept separate
Where the role stops
Administrative ownership, not professional authority.
The assistant prepares records for review. It does not sign off on reconciliations, move funds, file taxes, provide accounting advice, or override the finance owner’s approval.
- No payment authorization or bank credential control
- No tax filing or formal accounting opinion
- No adjustment without reviewer approval
- No sharing of financial records outside approved systems
Common starting points
Two realistic ways this begins.
A service business behind on receipts
The assistant sets a single receipt inbox, matches documents to transactions, codes within the rules, and gives the accountant a clean close pack.
An agency with late invoicing
The assistant prepares invoices from approved timesheets and contracts, tracks payment status, and flags overdue accounts for the owner.
Before you decide
Questions about this role.
If your situation needs a blend of roles, describe the whole week. We will help shape the brief.
Talk through the roleIs this a replacement for an accountant?
No. The role prepares and organizes records. Your accountant or finance lead retains review, reconciliation, tax, and advisory responsibility.
Can the assistant process payments?
Payment approval should remain with an authorized person. The assistant can prepare the payment run and documentation for approval.
Which accounting systems are supported?
The role brief lists the system in use. Experience with your specific platform is part of candidate matching.
How do you handle sensitive financial data?
Access is limited, approved, and documented. Files stay in your systems, and the assistant follows your data-handling rules.