Senior Bookkeeper (Remote)

Overview

This role is for a Senior Bookkeeper to support Australian small business clients through day-to-day bookkeeping, structured month-end reconciliations, client-file cleanups, and the preparation of audit-ready supporting workpapers for onshore review.

Client communication, final review, and sign-off are handled by the onshore Australian team, allowing this position to focus on working deeply in the numbers, investigating complex ledgers, and building clean and reliable accounts.

Responsibilities

Day-to-Day Bookkeeping

• Perform bank and credit card reconciliations, daily transaction coding, accounts payable (AP), and accounts receivable (AR).
• Process payroll end-to-end, including Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting and superannuation compliance.
• Investigate unreconciled items, transaction discrepancies, and lingering exceptions to keep ledgers clean and current.

Month-End Processing & Reporting

• Reconcile clearing accounts and resolve hanging balances.
• Reconcile payroll, superannuation, GST, and PAYG withholding (PAYGW) accounts against statutory records.
• Reconcile commercial loans, hire purchases, and chattel mortgages against lender statements and amortization schedules.
• Prepare month-end accruals, prepayments, and supporting schedules.
• Assemble complete, audit-ready, well-documented workpaper files for onshore accountant review.

Client File Cleanups & Diagnostic Remediation

• Take ownership of messy, historical, or neglected Xero files and bring them up to date.
• Trace opening-balance discrepancies, perform catch-up reconciliations, identify missing fixed assets, and uncover unrecorded financing arrangements.
• Restructure and standardize the chart of accounts, including reclassifying miscoded transactions.
• Design, build, and optimize automated bank rules and live feeds to prevent recurring issues.
• Evaluate historical accounting treatments and correct legacy errors.

BAS, IAS & Junior-Accountant Support

• Prepare Business Activity Statements (BAS) and Instalment Activity Statements (IAS) calculations using fully reconciled workpapers for senior review.
• Reconcile Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Integrated Client Accounts (ICA) and resolve variances.
• Assemble End-of-Financial-Year (EOFY) workpapers covering: cash, debtors, creditors, fixed asset registers, payroll, GST, and debt facilities.
• Progressively adopt the integrated bookkeeping-to-tax workflow and take on higher-level accounting preparation as expertise grows.

Requirements

• Australian Practice Experience: Approximately 2–4 years of direct, hands-on experience supporting Australian small businesses or working within an Australian bookkeeping/accounting practice.
• Xero Fluency: Advanced operational proficiency in Xero, including navigating unmanaged files, setting up rules, and performing historical reconciliations.
• Australian Compliance Knowledge: Solid working command of Australian bookkeeping and tax mechanics, including GST treatment, BAS/IAS preparation, PAYG withholding, STP, and superannuation guarantee obligations.
• Problem-Solving & Forensic Mindset: Ability to trace imbalances to their source and propose practical corrections.
• Autonomous Execution: Strong self-direction and time management; able to prioritize deliverables across multiple client files without constant supervision.
• Communication & Professionalism: Excellent written English and high attention to detail when compiling notes, queries, and documentation for onshore accountants.

Preferred Qualifications

• Practical experience with tools such as Xero Workpapers, Xero Practice Manager (XPM), FYI Docs, Hubdoc, or Dext.
• Direct exposure to ATO portal navigation and ATO statement reconciliations.
• Familiarity with entity structures (Companies, Trusts, Partnerships), including division 7A loan awareness, trust distributions, and asset finance schedules.
• Formal tertiary qualification in Accountancy, Philippine CPA licensure, or active Xero Advisor/Payroll certifications.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: Php 75,000 to Php 85,000
• Working hours: Aligned with AU Business Hours
• Work type: Independent Contractor

Location

• Not specified