An appliance repair bookkeeper follows the money from homeowners who settle up with the tech in the kitchen, manufacturers paying for warranty repairs, and home warranty companies. They also move parts costs onto each repair ticket and chase the core refunds distributors owe.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, household goods repair shops · BLS, May 2025
As a Bookkeeper in our organization, you will play a pivotal role in handling all financial transactions, including processing invoices, reconciling accounts, and ensuring the financial integrity of our company. Your work will directly contribute to our ability to provide excellent home appliance repair services to our customers.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Manage all financial transactions including sales revenues, expenses, and payroll.
Manage and reconcile all invoices with clients and suppliers.
Maintain accurate and updated financial records.
Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Recording financial transactions.
Reconciling bank and credit card statements.
Developing an organized system to account for financial transactions.
Collaborating with the operations department to ensure all services are accurately invoiced.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Accuracy of financial reports: 100%.
Invoice processing time: <2 days.
Account reconciliation: Monthly completion rate of 100%.
Compliance with financial regulations: 100% adherence.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
A minimum of an Associate's degree in finance, accounting, or a related field.
At least 2 years of experience in bookkeeping.
Proficiency in using accounting software.
Strong attention to detail and the ability to maintain a high level of accuracy in financial records.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the home services or appliance repair industry.
Proficiency in QuickBooks or similar accounting software.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to sit for long periods of time.
Ability to work in an office environment.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday.
Periodic weekend or evening work may be required during peak business periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $45,000 - $55,000 annually, depending on experience.
Benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance, 401k matching, and paid time off.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we are a team passionate about providing the best appliance repair services. We believe in growth, both of our company and our employees, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement. We are committed to creating a supportive environment where you can flourish and contribute to our shared success.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
Where the money in appliance repair gets hard to follow
One refrigerator repair can create a door payment, a warranty claim, a parts order, a core to send back and a refund to watch for. The bookkeeper makes those pieces meet in the books.
One transfer can settle a batch of claims
Whirlpool, for example, requires its authorized servicers to accept electronic funds transfer for every payment it owes them. When one transfer covers a batch of claims, the bookkeeper works from each partner's remittance report, marking which tickets were paid in full, which were paid short and which were turned down. Short and rejected claims go back to the office to fix. Source: Whirlpool: Authorized independent service contractor application (ServiceMatters).
Core charges are refunds waiting to happen
When a distributor sells a control board or other part on an exchange basis, it may add a core charge and refund it once the old part comes back. The bookkeeper ties each core charge to its ticket, flags any old part a tech never turned in, and checks that the refund shows up on a later statement. A core nobody sends back turns that refund into a cost.
Paid repairs come in pieces
A paid repair often takes two visits. The customer may pay the diagnostic fee on day one, a deposit when the part is ordered, and the balance once it's installed. Each deposit stays parked on its open ticket until the return visit, and gets refunded if the part never comes. Card processors send a Form 1099-K for card sales however few or small they are, and the IRS says it shows the gross amount, before fees or refunds. Tie that total to your sales each year. Source: IRS: Understanding your Form 1099-K.
The closest BLS group for appliance repair bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for household goods repair shops earned a median of $24.05 an hour ($50,030 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $50,670 median for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in all industries. About 1,590 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for household goods repair shops.
Salaried in the template, with insurance, a retirement match and paid time off but no bonus. Whether a salaried bookkeeper is exempt from overtime turns on the job's duties as well as its pay, so settle that before you post.
Household goods repair shops
$50,030$50,030 median Middle half $38,370–$61,940 10th–90th $33,280–$74,590
All industries
$50,670$50,670 median Middle half $43,520–$61,470 10th–90th $36,000–$74,550
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Household goods repair shops
$33,280
$38,370
$50,030
$61,940
$74,590
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS doesn’t publish pay for appliance repair companies on their own. These figures cover personal and household goods repair businesses, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Posts one lump partner payment across many tickets from a remittance report
Keeps each deposit on an ordered part tied to the right open ticket
Checks core charges and refunds line by line on distributor statements
Closes the month with every bank, card processor and partner account tied out
Keeps card data and customer details private
Teach these on the job
Each brand's and warranty company's remittance format
Your distributors' core and return rules
Part names on distributor bills: boards, pumps, igniters, ice makers
How your field software splits a ticket between customer and partner
Your diagnostic fee and parts deposit policy
Expect the ledger, your field service software, parts distributor statements, and the payment reports each brand and warranty company sends. In interviews, ask how they have kept customer deposits held against open jobs, since a parts deposit can sit for weeks while a part is on back order.
Appliance repair bookkeeper interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Disputing short payments
A home warranty company paid [20] claims below the agreed rate. What do you do?
A strong answer: Compares each payment with the rate agreement, disputes with documentation, tracks the outcome and tells the manager.
Behavioral · Catching invoicing errors
Tell me about a time you caught an invoice error someone else made, like billing a customer for a part the warranty should have covered.
A strong answer: Fixed it, told the person respectfully and helped prevent a repeat.
The template's targets leave no room for error. Track how close you come each month, and wait for a quarter's results before tying them to a review.
Accuracy of financial reports
Each month, trace a sample of tickets from the door payment or claim to the ledger. Count any posted to the wrong payer, ticket or month, plus anything your CPA has to correct.
Invoice processing time
Time from a tech closing a ticket to the bill reaching whoever pays it. Report homeowner bills, manufacturer claims and plan invoices as three lines.
Account reconciliation
Mark a bank, card processor, distributor or partner account done only when every difference has a written reason. List any account still open when the close is due.
Compliance with financial regulations
Count late or missed filings, such as sales tax returns, payroll tax deposits and contractor 1099s, plus any state invoice or record rule you missed. Any notice or penalty counts as a miss.
Career path
Billing or claims clerkFiles warranty claims and posts partner payments.
BookkeeperTies door payments, claims and core refunds to the books every month.
ControllerOwns the monthly close and reviews payroll before it runs.
It depends on the warranty company. American Home Shield, for example, has the homeowner pay the service fee when they submit the request, before a pro is contacted. For every other plan you serve, read the contractor terms to see whether your tech collects the fee at the door. Keep a short list by partner, so a tech never charges a fee the homeowner already paid and the office never misses one that was owed.
How much does an appliance repair bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for household goods repair shops earned a median of $24.05 an hour ($50,030 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $38,370 and $61,940 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How should an appliance repair bookkeeper cost parts on the vans?
Treat each van like a small stockroom. When a tech installs a part from the van, its cost moves onto that ticket. When the van is restocked, the cost moves from the shop shelf to the van. A part bought for one customer stays as stock until it's installed, so a month heavy with back-orders doesn't look like a bad month. Your CPA picks the costing method.
When should a rejected warranty claim be written off?
Only after the office has tried to fix it and the partner's window to resubmit has closed. Log the partner's reason on the write-off, such as a missing serial number, a late filing or a failed part that wasn't sent back. A monthly total by reason and by partner shows the owners which mistakes cost the most, and gives the CFO a history to plan from.
Should the bookkeeper also file warranty claims?
At this size, usually not. Claims draw on what the tech wrote and photographed at the house, so the office or a claims clerk files them. The bookkeeper posts what partners pay and reports what is still open. Keeping the two jobs apart also means the person who files a claim isn't the one who writes it off.
