Senior Bookkeeper

OPTIMAL Unlimited; Metro Manila; On-site; PHP 446,000 - 949,000; Full time

Job summary

OPTIMAL Unlimited in the Philippines seeks a Senior Bookkeeper to manage end-to-end bookkeeping for multiple clients using QuickBooks Online and other systems. You will review financials, perform data migrations, and guide junior staff while ensuring GAAP compliance and accurate owner distributions.

Responsibilities cover month-end close, payroll-related tasks, client communications, and process improvements. Strong analytical skills and independence are essential for success.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of U.S. bookkeeping or accounting experience (multi-client preferred).
• Strong proficiency in QuickBooks Online, MS Excel, Google Sheets, and other accounting software.
• Experience with property management systems (e.g., AppFolio, Buildium).
• Experience with clean-up projects and data migration across accounting systems is a plus.
• Strong understanding of GAAP and full-cycle bookkeeping.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and meet deadlines.
• Excellent analytical skills to identify errors, discrepancies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills.
• High attention to detail and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end bookkeeping for multiple clients using QuickBooks Online and other platforms.
• Record and reconcile bank, credit card, loan, and merchant accounts.
• Maintain general ledgers and chart of accounts.
• Handle AP/AR processes, vendor bills, client invoicing, and collections monitoring.
• Perform quality reviews of financial statements before fee calculations or owner distributions.
• Validate month-end balances, schedules, and reconciliations for accuracy and compliance.
• Identify discrepancies, errors, or unusual transactions before final approval.
• Ensure journal entries, reports, and statements are audit-ready.
• Lead or assist in accounting clean-up projects and data migrations.
• Support data migration between systems and verify imported data.
• Calculate monthly management fees and process owner distributions.
• Reconcile trust/operating accounts before owner statements.
• Prepare owner statements showing income, expenses, and ending balances.
• Verify calculations and allocations.
• Execute full month-end close and variance analysis.
• Generate P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow statements on schedule.
• Reconcile payroll reports, prepare 1099s, and maintain vendor compliance.
• Maintain audit-ready payroll/compliance documentation.
• Interact with clients as primary accounting contact and provide insights.
• Assist onboarding for new clients and ensure accurate setup.
• Guide junior staff and mentor on workflows and SOPs.
• Knowledge of inventory, job costing, cash flow forecasting, or consolidations.

Skills

US bookkeeping

Analytical skills

Attention to detail

Communication

Independent worker

Deadline-driven

Tools

QuickBooks Online

MS Excel

Google Sheets

AppFolio

Buildium

Job description

Senior Bookkeeper – Job Description

Overview

The Senior Bookkeeper is responsible for full-cycle accounting across multiple clients, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with U.S. accounting standards. This role handles specialized functions such as management fee calculations, owner distributions, and property-management-specific workflows, while operating with minimal supervision.

The Senior Bookkeeper also performs quality review of financial statements before processing any fees or distributions, leads clean-up and data migration efforts, and provides guidance to junior staff. Strong analytical and technical skills are essential to identify discrepancies, improve processes, and provide actionable insights.

Key Responsibilities

1. Full-Cycle Bookkeeping

• Manage end-to-end bookkeeping using QuickBooks Online and other accounting platforms.
• Record and reconcile bank, credit card, loan, and merchant accounts.
• Maintain accurate general ledgers and chart of accounts.
• Handle AP/AR processes, vendor bills, client invoicing, and collections monitoring.

2. Quality Review

• Perform a comprehensive quality review of financial statements before any management fee calculations or owner distributions.
• Validate month-end balances, supporting schedules, and reconciliations for accuracy and compliance.
• Identify discrepancies, errors, or unusual transactions using analytical skills before final approval.
• Ensure all journal entries, reports, and statements are correct, supported, and audit-ready.

3. Clean-Up & Data Migration

• Lead or assist in accounting system clean-up projects, including correcting errors, standardizing charts of accounts, and reconciling historical transactions.
• Support data migration between accounting systems (e.g., spreadsheets, QBO, propertymanagement systems), ensuring accuracy and completeness.
• Validate imported data and reconcile discrepancies during migration or clean-up processes.

4. Management Fees & Owner Distribution

• Calculate monthly management fees accurately based on contracts or property activity, after quality review is complete.
• Record management fee journal entries and ensure alignment with property management agreements.
• Process owner distributions, considering bank balances, reserve requirements, and outstanding payables.
• Reconcile trust/operating accounts before generating owner statements.
• Prepare and review owner statements showing income, expenses, fees, and ending balances.
• Use analytical skills to verify calculations, spot anomalies, and ensure proper allocations.

5. Month-End Close & Financial Reporting

• Execute full month-end close, including journal entries, accruals, amortizations, and cleanup.
• Perform variance analysis and resolve discrepancies across accounts using analytical insights.
• Generate accurate financial statements (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow) on schedule.

6. Payroll & Compliance

• Knowledge in US Payroll
• Reconcile payroll reports and post journal entries.
• Manage W-9 collection, 1099 preparation, and vendor compliance.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation for all payroll and compliance processes.

7. Client Communication & Relationship Management

• Act as primary accounting contact for assigned clients.
• Communicate clearly regarding financials, processes, and requests.
• Coordinate onboarding for new clients, ensuring accurate setup and migration.
• Provide actionable insights and recommendations based on an analytical review of financials.

8. Process Improvement & Mentorship

• Review and guide the work of junior bookkeepers.
• Recommend improvements to workflows, SOPs, and automation opportunities.
• Assist with training and upskilling accounting team members.

9. Industry-Specific Proficiency

• Experience in property management, e-commerce, and professional services.
• Execute industry-specific reconciliations and reporting, such as tenant ledgers, COGS, inventory, and management fee tracking.
• Apply analytical thinking to resolve complex account issues and optimize reporting processes.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of U.S. bookkeeping or accounting experience (multi-client preferred).
• Strong proficiency in QuickBooks Online, MS Excel, Google Sheets, and other accounting software.
• Experience with property management systems (e.g., AppFolio, Buildium).
• Experience with clean-up projects and data migration across accounting systems is a plus.
• Strong understanding of GAAP and full-cycle bookkeeping.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and meet deadlines.
• Excellent analytical skills to identify errors, discrepancies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills.
• High attention to detail and organizational skills.

Preferred Skills

• Familiarity with SOP creation, month-end checklists, and workflow optimization.
• Experience preparing for CPA audits or internal reviews.
• Knowledge of inventory, job costing, cash flow forecasting, or consolidations.
• Ability to mentor and support junior accounting staff.