What does a bookkeeper do?

Traditional bookkeeping has been around since around 2600 B.C., which is as long as there have been businesses. The job of a bookkeeper is to keep track of all the money that comes into and leaves a business. Bookkeepers record each day's events in a way that makes them easy to read and understand. Accountants can do their jobs because of the records they keep.

Here are some common things to do when keeping books:

Keeping track of money deals

Credits and debits are posted.

Putting together bills

dealing with paychecks

Keeping ledgers, accounts, and companies in order and in balance

One of a bookkeeper's main jobs is to keep up with the general ledger, which is a list of all the money that comes in from sales and expenses. Ledgers can be as simple as a piece of paper or as complicated as software like QuickBooks and Xero. They are used to keep track of entries, debits, and payments. [To learn more about these tools, read our reviews of QuickBooks and Xero.]

Every sale and buy that your business makes must be written down in the ledger, and some things may need proof. On the IRS website, you can find out more about which transactions need supporting papers.

To become an accountant, you don't have to go to school, but you do have to know about money and accounting terms and try to be accurate. Usually, a bookkeeper's job is supervised by an accountant or the business owner. A bookkeeper is not an accountant, and they shouldn't be thought of as such.