ELI5
A bookkeeper is the “assistant” of an accountant. The accountant oversees all work done by a bookkeeper and has the responsibility to fix any errors made.
Key Takeaways
- The responsibilities of a bookkeeper and an accountant differs from company to company
- But generally, a bookkeeper handles all typical bookkeeping, data entry and accounts receivables and accounts payables collections
- An accountant generally takes care of less routine tasks such as inventory management
- An accountant will have to use journal entries for out of the ordinary transactions and reviews all the work done by the bookkeeper
What are the responsibilities of an accountant and a bookkeeper?
This varies depending on the company and industry.
Bookkeeper
- Data entry
- Payroll
- Accounts receivables and accounts payables collections
Accountant
- In charge of less routine tasks (e.g. inventory management)
- Preparation of end-of-month and end-of-year journal entries
- Preparation of financial statements
- Journal entries
- Review all work done by the bookkeeper
- May have to do tasks usually done by a bookkeeper
So what exactly is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?
A bookkeeper and accountant both record all of a company’s transactions. But an accountant usually handles more “complex” transactions that require journal entries.
An accountant should be able to do everything a bookkeeper does and has the responsibility to manage and check all of a bookkeeper’s work. An accountant typically earns more than a bookkeeper because an accountant takes on more senior responsibilities and accountability within the company.