Senior Bookkeeper - Part Time / Freelance

Job Title: Senior Bookkeeper

Location: Aston Rowe Estate Agents, Acton, West London

Salary: £30-£35 per hour depending on experience

Job Type: Contract / Freelance, Part Time

For somebody working alongside the business, we expect the role to take approximately 35 hours per month initially, reducing to around 20-28 hours per month once the processes and systems are familiar. We are looking for somebody interested in a stable, long-term relationship with Aston Rowe and who can commit to the required month-end timetable.

About the role:

You will be responsible for the regular bookkeeping and month-end accounting for Aston Rowe, including:

Posting supplier invoices and purchase bills into Xero
Maintaining supporting documentation and filing records
Reconciling our bank and control accounts
Extracting lettings and property-management income from landlord period statements
Identifying Aston Rowe's own fees versus supplier work
Calculating commission earned on supplier work
Preparing monthly wage journals using payroll information supplied by our accountants
Posting accruals and prepayments
Preparing monthly VAT liability journals
Preparing and submitting quarterly VAT returns through Xero following director review
Preparing the monthly aged-payables report for the directors
Maintaining Xero tracking across Manager and Department categories
Producing our monthly management accounts through FathomHQ
Preparing meaningful written commentary explaining monthly financial performance
Maintaining accurate books ready for our external accountants at year endThe underlying role covers purchase invoices, bank reconciliation, lettings and property-management income, wages journals, accruals/prepayments, aged payables, VAT and management reporting.

Working pattern

Once familiar with the business, the workload is approximately:

Up to one hour each week for invoice processing and bank reconciliation
Approximately 2-3 days around month end to complete the full month-end process and management accounts
A short quarterly VAT submission processThe month-end work needs to be completed in sequence and within the reporting timetable, so applicants must have genuine availability for the required month-end days rather than fitting the work around other commitments.

Systems

The role currently uses:

Xero | Alto Vebra | FathomHQ | BrightPay | Dropbox | Excel

Previous experience with Alto Vebra or FathomHQ would be helpful but is not essential.

What isn't included in the role

To keep responsibilities clear, the successful candidate will not be responsible for:

Running payroll
Credit control/chasing tenants or landlords
Preparing statutory accounts or corporation tax
Deciding which suppliers should be paid
Raising sales invoices
Reconciling the client account within Alto Vebra
These areas remain with Aston Rowe's internal team, directors or external accountants.
Comprehensive handoverThis is not a role where the incoming bookkeeper will be expected to work everything out from scratch.

There is an established bookkeeping process developed over many years, including:

A detailed step-by-step procedures manual
14 click-by-click guides
15 short procedure videos
An overview video explaining the complete month-end process
Organised supporting documentation
Existing reconciled management accounts
Access to the outgoing bookkeeper for questions during the transition
Screen-sharing support during the initial handover periodAbout you:

You should be confident working independently and taking responsibility for the accuracy of the books.

You will need:

Strong practical experience using Xero
Good understanding of bank reconciliations and control accounts
Experience preparing manual journals
Experience with accruals and prepayments
Good practical knowledge of VAT and Making Tax Digital
Experience using Xero tracking categories or equivalent departmental reporting
Strong Excel skills
Experience preparing monthly management accounts
The ability to analyse financial results and write clear management commentary
Excellent attention to detail and the discipline to follow established accounting processes
The ability to investigate discrepancies rather than simply post transactionsExperience within estate agency, lettings or property management would be a significant advantage, although we will consider a strong general-practice or SME bookkeeper who can demonstrate the necessary technical experience.

The handover specifically identifies lettings/property experience as advantageous because interpreting landlord statements is the area likely to require the most learning initially.

AAT, ICB or other bookkeeping/accountancy qualifications would be advantageous, although we are equally interested in candidates who are qualified by experience.

Additional Information:

Please click on the APPLY button to send your CV and Cover Letter for this role.

Candidates with experience of; Senior Accountant, Accounting Manager, Finance Manager, Financial Controller, Assistant Financial Controller, Accounts Manager, Senior Accounts Assistant, Management Accountant will also be considered for this role
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed