Senior Real Estate Bookkeeper — Trust & Retainer Expert

Rothenbury Group; Vaughan; On-site; CAD 65,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

The Rothenbury Group in Vaughan, Ontario, is seeking a Senior Bookkeeper to support a Canadian real estate brokerage, a property management company, and related businesses. This senior role requires hands-on trust, retainer, and full-cycle bookkeeping across multiple entities.

You will maintain brokerage trust and operating records, perform reconciliations, manage client retainers and reserves, and ensure accurate financial statements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or diploma in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum five years of full-cycle Canadian bookkeeping or accounting experience.
• Direct Canadian real estate brokerage accounting experience.
• Hands-on experience maintaining and reconciling brokerage trust accounts.
• Experience with brokerage deposits, completed deals, commissions, and trust disbursements.
• Experience managing client retainers, reserve funds, or other money held on behalf of clients.
• Experience tracking client funds from receipt through authorized use, reconciliation, and refund.
• GST/HST, payroll, intercompany, month-end, and year-end experience.
• Strong Excel or Google Sheets skills.
• Advanced QuickBooks Online proficiency.
• Ability to work independently from the Vaughan office.

Responsibilities

• Maintain brokerage trust and operating-account records.
• Complete monthly brokerage trust reconciliations.
• Reconcile trust bank balances to accounting and individual deal records.
• Track deposits, disbursements, transfers, reversals, and adjustments.
• Reconcile completed deals, commissions, salesperson payments, co-operating brokerage amounts, and trust-to-operating transfers.
• Investigate unidentified funds, unmatched deposits, posting errors, and unsupported balances.
• Maintain complete reconciliation files and audit trails.
• Escalate unresolved or material trust differences.
• Maintain separate balances by client, owner, property, or agreement.
• Track funds received, expenses applied, additional funding, refunds, and balances remaining.
• Confirm deductions are authorized and supported.
• Reconcile client-level records to bank and general-ledger balances.
• Identify retainers requiring replenishment or return.
• Calculate and process approved refunds of unused funds.
• Investigate negative, unidentified, unsupported, or unreconciled balances.
• Maintain documentation supporting every use or release of client funds.
• Maintain accounting records across multiple companies and legal entities.
• Complete bank, credit-card, general-ledger, and balance-sheet reconciliations.
• Prepare accruals, prepaids, depreciation, recurring entries, and approved journal entries.
• Reconcile intercompany, accounts payable, and accounts receivable balances.
• Apply and reconcile appropriate GST/HST treatment.
• Record payroll expenses, deductions, remittances, and liabilities.
• Support month-end and year-end close.
• Prepare internal financial statements and supporting schedules.
• Investigate unusual balances, incorrect coding, duplicate entries, and unsupported transactions.
• Maintain organized documentation and year-end working papers.

Skills

Advanced QuickBooks Online proficiency

Excel or Google Sheets

Written and verbal communication

Independent work ability

Education

Bachelor’s degree or diploma in Accounting/Finance/Business Administration

Tools

QuickBooks Online

Excel

Job description

The Rothenbury Group in Vaughan, Ontario, is seeking a Senior Bookkeeper to support a Canadian real estate brokerage, a property management company, and related businesses. This senior role requires hands-on trust, retainer, and full-cycle bookkeeping across multiple entities.

You will maintain brokerage trust and operating records, perform reconciliations, manage client retainers and reserves, and ensure accurate financial statements.