Bookkeeper Salary

Bookkeeping is one of the several accounting careers that can be considered to be a kick start to several higher accounting jobs. In 2010, as per the latest reports, the salary range for these professionals has been averaged between US$37,000 to US$43,000. Certainly, the salary depends on several factors, some of these factors will be discussed in this article.

Average Salary Range
Some of the factors on which the salary depends, include the level of duties that bookkeepers are expected to perform, employer type, benefits the employee is getting, work experience and job location. Generally, the better education and work experience one has, higher are the salaries. For instance, a candidate having a high school diploma certificate with negligible work experience may have to work at lower wages in the initial years. Similarly, a candidate with higher degree, for example, a bachelor's accounting degree will have high chances of getting better salaries. In case, you've got very high qualifications in bookkeeping field, then you should not apply for small companies, unless, you are ready to compromise. This is because they may be unable to pay as per your expectations. Hence, with high qualifications, apply in bigger firms and associates who can pay you at par with your skills, knowledge and certifications. It's a trend that smaller firms prefer to recruit bookkeepers with low experience and hence lower salaries (to be in their budget), while big firms recruit quality and highly experienced bookkeepers.

Based on Work Experience
Work experience is a major component for salary negotiation in any profession. If you've decent experience, you can confidently talk to your employer and you can be free in expressing your needs. Here is the salary break up depending on work experience (as per median hourly rate).

• Less than a year: US$10.00 to US$14.00
• Between 1 to 4 years: US$10.50 to US$15.50
• Between 5 to 9 years: US$12.50 to US$18.00
• Between 10 to 20 years: US$14.00 to US$20.00

Based on Employer Type
Employer size is another parameter that decides the salary. Bookkeepers who're employed in large corporations and accounts departments earn decent salaries. Hence, depending on employer size, salaries vary. Mentioned below are several employer type and their salaries (median hourly range).

• Private firms: US$12.00 to US$18.00
• A mid range company: US$11.50 to US$18.00
• Non governmental organization: US$12.50 to US$17.50
• School districts: US$11.50 to US$16.46
• Government (Federal): US$10.00 to US$12.00
• Franchise: US$9.00 to US$14.50
• College/University: US$12.00 to 17.47

Based on State/Work Location
Every city has a specific standard of living. Cities where cost of living is higher, generally pay higher to their employees so that they can manage to live in that area with comfort. In US, every state has its own economic factors. The salary varies as mentioned further depending on states.

• California: US$12.90 to US$20.44
• Texas: US$10.40 to US$15.50
• Florida: US$11.90 to US$16.10
• New York: US$12.00 to US$19.00
• Illinois: US$12.00 to US$17.40
• Washington: US$12.90 to US$18.30

As we can see, the salary is dependent on several factors hence, you've got to consider all factors before applying for this profession. Career opportunities in the field of bookkeeping has shot up in the recent years and hence there are bright chances of you succeeding. Gaining good knowledge and learning finer dimensions of this profession in the initial years of work is essential to command better salary in the later years of job. Most important factor to increase salary is to constantly upgrade your skills, so that you've got something new to present before your prospective employer.