A bookkeeping virtual assistant is a dedicated remote professional who handles transaction categorization, bank and credit-card reconciliation, accounts payable and receivable, invoicing, expense and receipt management, monthly close prep, financial-report assembly, and payroll data entry for small businesses, accounting firms, and bookkeepers. Pricing runs $12 to $18 per hour all-in for nearshore (native English, US time zone). A bookkeeping VA does the bookkeeping support and data work under your direction or your CPA's direction. It does not provide tax or CPA advice and does not sign off on filings.
What a Bookkeeping VA Handles
Bookkeeping is recurring, detail-dense, and easy to let slide when an owner or a firm is busy. Transactions pile up uncategorized, reconciliations fall behind, vendor bills miss their terms, and the monthly close turns into a scramble. A dedicated bookkeeping VA absorbs that recurring workload so the books stay current and the people who own professional judgment stay focused on review and advisory work.
The exact scope is configured to your workflow, but a typical CFG bookkeeping VA owns the following workstreams:
Transaction Categorization and Coding
Daily or weekly categorization of bank and credit-card activity against your chart of accounts, applying your coding rules consistently and flagging anything ambiguous for review rather than guessing. Clean categorization is what keeps every downstream report and reconciliation reliable.
Bank and Credit-Card Reconciliation
Matching transactions to statements, clearing the reconciliation, and identifying discrepancies, duplicates, and missing entries. The VA reconciles each account on your cadence (monthly at minimum, weekly for higher-volume files) and surfaces unresolved items for your sign-off.
Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable
On the payable side, entering and coding vendor bills, running approval workflows in Bill.com, scheduling payments to terms, and keeping the AP aging clean. On the receivable side, issuing invoices, applying payments, and running a follow-up cadence on overdue receivables so cash collection does not stall.
Invoicing, Expense Tracking, and Receipt Management
Creating and sending invoices, tracking expenses against budget or job codes, and capturing and filing receipts through Dext, Hubdoc, or Expensify so every transaction has supporting documentation attached before close.
Monthly Close Prep and Financial-Report Assembly
Working a documented close checklist: confirming reconciliations are complete, clearing suspense and uncategorized items, tying out balances, and assembling the profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash-flow reports for your review. The VA prepares the close; the licensed reviewer approves it.
Payroll Data Entry
Entering hours, earnings, and supporting data into Gusto or your payroll platform for the owner or accountant to review and run. The VA handles the data entry and reconciliation of payroll into the books, not the compliance decisions.
What a CFG bookkeeping VA does not do. The VA performs bookkeeping support and data work under your direction or your CPA's direction. The VA does not provide tax advice, does not provide CPA-level accounting advice, does not file returns, and does not sign off on financial statements. Professional judgment, final review, and any tax or compliance sign-off stay with the licensed CPA or accountant who owns the engagement.
Bookkeeping Tools CFG VAs Work In
A bookkeeping VA is only useful if it works inside the systems you already run. CFG VAs are recruited with prior bookkeeping or finance back-office experience where possible and trained on your specific setup during onboarding. Common tools across the practice include:
- QuickBooks Online and Xero. General ledger, categorization, reconciliation, and reporting for the majority of small-business and firm files.
- Bill.com. Accounts payable entry, approval routing, and scheduled vendor payments.
- Gusto. Payroll data entry and reconciliation of payroll into the books.
- Dext and Hubdoc. Receipt and document capture, so every transaction carries supporting documentation into close.
- Expensify. Employee expense management and reimbursement workflows.
- Wave. Lighter-weight accounting for very small businesses and solo operators.
For broader cost framing, see our call center outsourcing cost guide. For how VA programs are structured across niches, see the virtual assistants hub and the small business virtual assistant page.
How Delegation and Oversight Work
Bookkeeping is a function where control matters as much as throughput. CFG runs bookkeeping VA work on a documented scope and a defined review loop so you keep professional judgment while the VA handles the volume.
Scope the Workstreams
You decide which workstreams the VA owns (for example, daily categorization, weekly reconciliation, AP entry, invoicing) and which stay with you or your CPA (for example, adjusting journal entries, final close review, and any tax or compliance sign-off). The boundary is written down so nothing is ambiguous.
Provision Scoped Access
The VA works inside your accounting platform with role-based access limited to the assigned scope. Bookkeeping VAs are not given authority to initiate or approve payments outside the workflow you define, and any payment release stays gated behind your approval.
Define the Checklist and the Handoff
A reconciliation or close checklist defines exactly what the VA completes before handoff: reconciliations cleared, uncategorized items resolved or flagged, documentation attached, reports assembled. Exceptions and questions are flagged rather than guessed, so professional judgment stays with the owner of the engagement.
Review and QA
Work is reviewed weekly through a shared view of files in flight, reconciliations completed, and open exceptions. CFG samples output against a calibrated rubric and runs weekly check-ins to align priorities. Underperformers are coached or replaced rather than left running.
Onboarding and Matching
CFG matches a bookkeeping VA to your file based on tool experience, file complexity, and reviewer cadence, then ramps on a structured timeline.
Recruiting and Matching
Sourcing prioritizes VAs with prior bookkeeping, AP/AR, or finance back-office experience. A live conversational assessment screens for accuracy mindset, attention to detail, and clear written communication for exception flagging. Background checks and home office verification close the loop before training.
Training and Ramp
Standard ramp from contract signing to live work is 2 to 3 weeks. Week one is scope and access provisioning: define the VA's workstreams, document your chart of accounts and categorization rules, and provision role-based access to your accounting platform, bill-pay tool, and document capture. Week two is product training on your stack and your close checklist, plus shadow work on a sample period with reviewer feedback. Week three typically opens with live ramped-up work under reconciliation review. Single-owner businesses and multi-client firms ramp on the same timeline.
Confidentiality
Every bookkeeping VA signs a confidentiality and data-handling agreement before access to your financial systems. VAs work from verified home offices on company-managed devices. CFG follows industry-standard practices around password storage, two-factor authentication, and encrypted file transfer.
Bookkeeping VA Pricing
Nearshore bookkeeping VAs run between $12 and $18 per hour all-inclusive. That is a single all-in band: it covers wages, employer taxes, supervision, helpdesk seat, QA, and standard reporting. There is no per-tier or per-tool surcharge. Compared to US-based bookkeeping staff or contract bookkeepers at $25 to $45 per hour fully loaded, that is a 40 to 60 percent reduction.
| Role | CFG Nearshore | US Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeping VA (categorization, reconciliation) | $12-18/hr | $25-35/hr |
| AP / AR specialist VA | $12-18/hr | $24-34/hr |
| Monthly close prep VA | $12-18/hr | $30-45/hr |
| Multi-client firm support VA | $12-18/hr | $28-42/hr |
All rates include wages, employer taxes, supervision, helpdesk seat, QA, and standard reporting. Small businesses typically start with a part-time VA at 15 to 20 hours per week to keep monthly books current. Accounting firms and bookkeeping practices scale to dedicated full-time VAs supporting multiple client files under a single reviewer. See full terms on our pricing page, or scope a seat with the build your VA tool.
Related VA Services
CFG runs dedicated VA programs across several niches. If your need spans more than bookkeeping, these pages cover adjacent scopes:
Virtual assistants hub
The full CFG virtual assistant practice: how dedicated nearshore VAs are recruited, trained, and managed across every niche at $12 to $18/hr all-in.
Small business virtual assistant
General admin, inbox, scheduling, and operations support for owner-operators and small teams who need more than just the books handled.
Real estate virtual assistant
Transaction coordination, MLS data entry, and lead follow-up for agents and teams, with the same nearshore model and pricing.
Build your VA
Scope the exact bookkeeping workstreams you want covered, pick part-time or full-time, and get a written quote within one business day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a bookkeeping virtual assistant actually handle day to day?
A CFG bookkeeping VA handles the recurring data and reconciliation work that pulls owners, accountants, and bookkeepers off higher-value advisory time. That includes transaction categorization, bank and credit-card reconciliation, accounts payable and accounts receivable, invoicing and payment follow-up, expense tracking, receipt capture and management, monthly close prep, financial-report assembly, and payroll data entry. The VA works inside your stack (QuickBooks Online, Xero, Bill.com, Gusto, Dext, Hubdoc, Expensify, or Wave) so the books stay current without you changing tools. The VA performs bookkeeping support and data work under your direction or your CPA's direction. The VA does not provide tax or CPA advice and does not sign off on filings.
Does a bookkeeping VA provide tax or accounting advice?
No. A CFG bookkeeping VA provides bookkeeping support and data entry under the client's direction or the client's CPA's direction. The VA categorizes transactions, reconciles accounts, manages AP and AR, prepares the books for close, and assembles reports for review. The VA does not provide tax advice, does not provide CPA-level accounting advice, does not file returns, and does not sign off on financial statements. Final review, professional judgment, and any tax or compliance sign-off stay with the licensed CPA or accountant who owns the engagement. The VA works to the boundary of bookkeeping support, not through it.
Which bookkeeping tools do CFG VAs work in?
CFG bookkeeping VAs work inside the tools small businesses, accounting firms, and bookkeepers already run: QuickBooks Online and Xero for general ledger and reconciliation, Bill.com for accounts payable and approval workflows, Gusto for payroll data entry, Dext and Hubdoc for receipt and document capture, Expensify for expense management, and Wave for lighter-weight setups. VAs are recruited with prior bookkeeping or finance back-office experience where possible and trained on your specific chart of accounts, categorization rules, and close checklist during onboarding so output matches your standard.
What does a bookkeeping VA cost?
Nearshore bookkeeping VAs run between $12 and $18 per hour all-inclusive. That single all-in band covers wages, employer taxes, supervision, helpdesk seat, QA, and standard reporting. Compared to US-based bookkeeping staff or contract bookkeepers at $25 to $45 per hour fully loaded, that is a 40 to 60 percent reduction. Small businesses typically start with a part-time VA at 15 to 20 hours per week to keep monthly books current. Accounting firms and bookkeeping practices scale to dedicated full-time VAs supporting multiple client files under a single reviewer.
How does delegation and oversight work with a bookkeeping VA?
Delegation runs on a documented scope and a defined review loop. You decide which workstreams the VA owns (for example, daily categorization and weekly reconciliation) and which stay with you or your CPA (for example, final close review and adjusting journal entries). The VA works the assigned tasks inside your accounting platform with role-based access limited to that scope. A reconciliation or close checklist defines what the VA completes before handoff. You or your reviewer approve the work before anything is finalized. Exceptions, uncategorized transactions, and questions are flagged rather than guessed, so professional judgment stays with the owner of the engagement.
How fast can a bookkeeping VA ramp?
Standard ramp from contract signing to live work is 2 to 3 weeks for a bookkeeping VA. Week one is scope and access provisioning: define which workstreams the VA owns, document your chart of accounts and categorization rules, and provision role-based access to your accounting platform, bill-pay tool, and document capture. Week two is product training on your specific stack and your close checklist, plus shadow work on a sample period with reviewer feedback. Week three typically opens with live ramped-up work under reconciliation review. Single-owner businesses and multi-client firms ramp on the same timeline.
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20 minutes, no slides, just questions about your books, your stack, and your close cadence. We will tell you on the call whether a dedicated nearshore bookkeeping VA fits your business or firm.
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Dedicated native-English nearshore VAs at $12-18/hr all-in. QuickBooks, Xero, and Bill.com. Part-time pilots from 15 hours per week. Request a custom proposal and we respond within one business day.
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