Bookkeepers “keep the books”, also referred to as “general accounting work”. They may make entries into the various different records, or supervise clerks who make the entries. They may also do some summarizing, analysis, and possibly participate with managers in interpreting the resulting accounting information.

A bookkeeper will have various duties, depending on the size of the business. In a small business, a person may perform general office clerk functions, accounting clerk functions, and bookkeeping functions. They may have other duties, also. In a larger firm, the bookkeeper will have more focused duties. Often one bookkeeper will do bookkeeping for more than one business, similar to a public accountant.

As practiced at Above -N- Beyond, bookkeeping means receipt of raw data from the client in the form of bills, invoices, receipts, bank records, etc; and converting that data into an orderly format so it can be used for various purposes.

For small or medium size businesses, the definitions of “Accounting” and “Bookkeeping” can blend somewhat in day to day practice.