Bookkeeper/Payroll Specialist

The role
Year-round, you'll handle after-the-fact, full-charge bookkeeping and payroll for your own portfolio of small business clients, taking each client from source documents to reconciled books and finished financial statements. Our clients include construction companies, gas stations and convenience stores, restaurants, and nonprofits, so no two days look the same. If you have income tax experience, you'll also have the opportunity to prepare returns during tax season. As you learn our clients and systems, there's room to take on more responsibility, including reviewing other staff's work.

What you'll do

• Enter client transactions from bank statements, credit card statements, and source documents
• Reconcile bank, credit card, and loan accounts each month
• Review the general ledger for miscoded or missing entries and correct them
• Prepare monthly and quarterly financial statements and make sure they're accurate before they go to the client
• Process payroll for client businesses, including direct deposit, payroll tax deposits, and quarterly and annual filings
• Prepare individual income tax returns during tax season, for candidates with tax experience or interest in learning
• Answer client questions and request missing information

What we're looking for

• At least 2 years of hands-on bookkeeping and/or payroll experience
• A solid understanding of debits and credits and how the balance sheet and P&L tie together
• Comfort in Excel and with learning new software
• Attention to detail, and the habit of asking "does this number make sense?"
• The ability to manage several clients' deadlines at once
• Good communication with clients and coworkers
• Someone looking for a long-term position

A plus

• Income tax preparation experience
• Experience with AccountingCS or QuickBooks; experience with Lacerte, UltraTax CS, SmartVault, or Financial Cents
• Experience at an accounting or bookkeeping firm working across multiple clients
• Familiarity with Michigan and/or Indiana payroll taxes
• Accounting coursework or degree preferred; relevant experience will be considered in lieu of a degree

Schedule

• Off-season: Monday 8–1, Tuesday through Thursday 8–4, Friday 8–3
• Tax season (late January to about April 15): Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 8–5; Tuesday and Thursday 8–6; Saturday 9–1 (Saturdays negotiable)
• Hours may vary around filing deadlines. Overtime is paid.
• Vacation is not available January 1 through April 15 except with approval.

What we offer

• $22–$24/hour, based on experience
• $500/month bonus to help supplement health insurance (full-time employees)
• Paid 30-minute lunch
• SIMPLE IRA
• Paid time off and paid holidays
• Training on our software and processes, and a team that will invest in you

Important: This is a local, in-office employee position. We are not seeking offshore bookkeeping services, outsourced accounting companies, staffing agencies, or remote contractors.

Balanced Accounting Tax Services is a small, established accounting firm in Niles, Michigan, serving individuals and businesses throughout southwest Michigan and northern Indiana. We provide tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services, and our team includes two Enrolled Agents. We're not a big corporate firm, and we don't want to be. We treat our clients like friends and neighbors because most of them are, and we take pride in building relationships that last for years.