Virtual Bookkeeping Assistant: What They Do and How to Hire One

Books that are “three months behind” hide problems and make tax time painful. A virtual bookkeeping assistant keeps them current week by week, for a fraction of in-house cost.

What a bookkeeping VA handles

• Categorizing bank and credit card transactions
• Monthly bank and card reconciliations
• Creating and sending invoices
• Following up on overdue receivables
• Entering and scheduling bills
• Collecting and matching receipts
• Preparing payroll inputs for your payroll provider
• Preparing a month-end package for your CPA

See the bookkeeping VA role.

What stays with your CPA

A bookkeeping VA isn’t a CPA. Keep these with a licensed professional:

• Tax returns and tax planning
• Financial statement review and adjustments
• Advice on entity structure or major financial decisions
• Year-end closing entries (unless your CPA directs otherwise)

The ideal setup: your VA does the weekly work, and your CPA reviews monthly or quarterly.

A weekly bookkeeping rhythm

• Monday: categorize the previous week’s transactions
• Wednesday: send new invoices and follow up on overdue ones
• Friday: enter bills and schedule payments for your approval
• Month-end: reconcile all accounts and prepare the CPA package

Secure access

• Give your VA their own user login in QuickBooks Online or Xero with appropriate permissions, never your login
• Use view-only bank feeds when possible
• Never let a VA approve or send payments without your sign-off
• Use a password manager and two-factor authentication
• See VA security best practices

Skills to test

• Categorize 25 sample transactions and flag uncertain ones
• Reconcile a sample statement
• Explain the difference between cash and accrual in plain English
• Draft a polite but firm collections email

What it costs

Bookkeeping VAs earn more than general admin VAs because of the skill involved, but are typically far cheaper than a local bookkeeper. Most small businesses need 10–25 hours/week. Model it in the calculator.

Getting started

Start your match and tell us your accounting software; we’ll test candidates on it.