Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
Business, Management and AdministrationO*NET 43-3031.00United States
Compute, classify, and record numerical data to keep financial records complete. Perform any combination of routine calculating, posting, and verifying duties to obtain primary financial data for use in maintaining accounting records.
- Median annual earnings
- $50,533
- Projected change
- −0.8%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 1.53M jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
47.2% of the workforce
Growing to 1.52M by 2035
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The work
What bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.
- Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes.
- Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations.
- Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.
- Receive, record, and bank cash, checks, and vouchers.
- Code documents according to company procedures.
- Perform financial calculations, such as amounts due, interest charges, balances, discounts, equity, and principal.
- Reconcile or note and report discrepancies found in records.
- Perform general office duties, such as filing, answering telephones, and handling routine correspondence.
- Access computerized financial information to answer general questions as well as those related to specific accounts.
- Debit, credit, and total accounts on computer spreadsheets and databases, using specialized accounting software.
- Classify, record, and summarize numerical and financial data to compile and keep financial records, using journals and ledgers or computers.
- Match order forms with invoices, and record the necessary information.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $34,829
- 25th percentile
- $42,665
- 50th percentile
- $50,533
- 75th percentile
- $62,793
- 90th percentile
- $79,820
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $50,533 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
−0.8%projected to decline
20251,534,111 jobs
2035 projected1,521,578 jobs
12,533 fewer positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 47.2%
- Certificate
- 20.8%
- Bachelor's degree
- 12.2%
- Associate degree
- 8.5%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 6.5%
- Some college
- 4.7%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Accounts Payable Specialists18,915 postings
- 02Bookkeepers14,646 postings
- 03Accounts Receivable Specialists10,635 postings
- 04Accounting Clerks9,760 postings
- 05Accounts Payable Clerks8,133 postings
- 06Accounting Specialists6,836 postings
- 07Accounting Assistants5,791 postings
- 08Accounts Receivable Clerks3,844 postings
- 09Full Charge Bookkeepers3,198 postings
- 10Accounts Payable Coordinators2,142 postings
- 11Accounting Technicians1,663 postings
- 12Accounts Receivable Coordinators1,263 postings
- 13Bookkeepers/Administrative Assistants1,188 postings
- 14Accounts Payable Associates1,184 postings
- 15Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable Specialists1,154 postings
- 16Commercial Insurance Account Managers1,145 postings
- 17Accounts Receivable Representatives954 postings
- 18Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable Clerks884 postings
- 19Account Clerks749 postings
- 20Commercial Lines Associates692 postings
Top employers
- 01Robert Half19,771 postings
- 02Insurance Office Of America2,559 postings
- 03Creative Financial Staffing2,520 postings
- 04Lee Hecht Harrison2,391 postings
- 05Aston Carter1,952 postings
- 06AppleOne1,093 postings
- 07CFS1,087 postings
- 08Vaco1,050 postings
- 09Ledgent983 postings
- 10Randstad921 postings
- 11Beacon Hill Staffing Group828 postings
- 12Staff Financial Group625 postings
- 13Express Employment Professionals532 postings
- 14Intermountain Health516 postings
- 15Addison Group474 postings
- 16PrideStaff373 postings
- 17Ascendo Resources356 postings
- 18Spherion Staffing338 postings
- 19Cardinal Health337 postings
- 20Tyson Foods331 postings
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