An elevator company bookkeeper tracks the money in and out at a business that lives on maintenance contracts for elevators, escalators and lifts. They post contract bills and the payments that come in, pay parts vendors, and reconcile every account each month. Where mechanics are union, the hourly fund payments go out on time too.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, other building equipment contractors · BLS, May 2025
Serve as the key financial record keeper for our elevator maintenance operations by ensuring accurate processing of invoices, precise account reconciliation, and meticulous management of financial records. Support overall business operations and regulatory compliance through efficient bookkeeping practices and timely reporting.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Process and verify all incoming invoices and payments related to elevator maintenance services.
Reconcile bank statements and accounts on a monthly basis to ensure accuracy.
Maintain detailed financial records and documentation for auditing purposes.
Collaborate with vendors and internal departments to resolve billing discrepancies.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and process daily invoices and receipts with a high degree of accuracy.
Update and maintain the general ledger and financial transaction logs.
Perform routine reconciliations of accounts related to service contracts and maintenance projects.
Communicate with vendors and team members regarding outstanding payments and financial follow-ups.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Invoice processing accuracy: Maintain a 99% error-free record.
Account reconciliation timeliness: Complete 100% of monthly reconciliations within the first 5 days.
Financial record maintenance: Achieve 100% compliance during quarterly audits.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or a related field.
Minimum of 3 years of bookkeeping or accounting experience.
Proficient in accounting software and Microsoft Office Suite.
Strong attention to detail and excellent numerical accuracy.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience working within the home services or elevator maintenance industry.
Familiarity with industry-specific financial processes and vendor management.
Experience in a fast-paced operational environment.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to sit for extended periods while working at a computer.
Occasional light lifting of materials and documents up to 15 lbs.
Standard office environment with occasional visits to operational sites as needed.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Minimal travel required for occasional site visits.
Occasional on-call duties during peak operational periods.
Flexible work environment with opportunities for remote work when applicable.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary Range: $45,000 – $55,000 per year, dependent on experience.
Performance bonuses based on timely financial reporting and accuracy.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans available.
401(k) retirement plan with company matching.
Opportunities for professional development and continuing education.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-oriented company committed to excellence in the home services industry.
Our culture fosters a collaborative environment with a focus on continuous learning and improvement.
We value integrity, transparency, and a strong work ethic as we support our team in reaching both personal and professional goals.
Join us to be part of a team that treats every member as essential and strives for outstanding customer satisfaction.
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
Revenue arrives on a calendar, from contracts that bill the same buildings month after month. Labor outweighs every other cost, and in a union shop every hour of it carries fund payments.
One payment can cover many buildings
A management company may pay for every building it runs with one transfer and a remittance list that runs for pages. Lines can come up short for a disputed visit, a late price change or a canceled building. The bookkeeper applies each line to its building and invoice, and sends short pays to the office manager to sort out. Unapplied cash shouldn't sit past the month's close.
The building decides the sales tax
In some states, tax on elevator work turns on how the building is used. Kansas's guide for contractors, for example, taxes repair and maintenance labor in an existing commercial building but not at a residence. Apartments count as homes, but at apartment complexes, dorms and nursing homes, labor that can't be tied to one part is split by floor space. Commercial maintenance contracts are taxed, and residential ones aren't. The rate is the one where the work is done, so give each building its own tax code. Source: Example state: Kansas Department of Revenue, Pub. KS-1525 (contractors and repairmen).
Union hours carry fund payments
In a union shop, each hour a mechanic, helper or apprentice works adds to what you owe the industry's national funds. The IUEC's 2022 to 2027 agreement with the biggest makers, Otis and KONE among them, sets an hourly rate for each fund: health, pension, annuity, education and work preservation. Each rate is due to rise on January 1. Withheld dues go to the union on the funds' schedule, currently the 15th of the month after. Shops on another agreement load their own rates before January payroll. Source: IUEC and NEBA: National agreement, July 9, 2022 to July 8, 2027.
Your parts vendor may also bid against you
An independent shop may buy parts for a maker's equipment from that maker's parts arm. That same maker may want the building's contract. Bills can carry freight and rush charges, and returned boards or wrong parts turn into credits that are easy to lose. The bookkeeper matches each bill to the job and car it went into. They keep a list of open credits until each one shows up on a statement.
How much elevator company bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for elevator company bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for other building equipment contractors earned a median of $26.41 an hour ($54,920 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $50,670 median for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in all industries. About 2,110 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for other building equipment contractors.
Paid a salary, with template bonuses for timely reports and accuracy. Next to BLS figures for bookkeepers at these contractors, the range starts near the lower quarter and ends near the median. Someone who has handled union fund reports will likely want the top of it.
Other building equipment contractors
$54,920$54,920 median Middle half $45,870–$63,890 10th–90th $39,520–$74,420
All industries
$50,670$50,670 median Middle half $43,520–$61,470 10th–90th $36,000–$74,550
$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
Other building equipment contractors
$39,520
$45,870
$54,920
$63,890
$74,420
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS doesn’t publish pay for elevator contractors on their own. These figures cover other building equipment contractors, 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
Has applied lump payments from property managers across many buildings
Ties out payroll liability and union fund accounts at every month end
Has kept union fund, certified payroll or similar hourly reports
Sets and checks sales tax codes building by building
Matches each parts bill to the car and job it went into
Teach these on the job
Your contract types, billing cycles and price change dates
Elevator part names on vendor bills
When each fund report and dues remittance is due under your agreement
How contract invoices reach the books from your service software
Which buildings are tax exempt, and where each certificate is filed
The books usually sit in an accounting system that pulls contract invoices out of the scheduling and contract software, where every car and billing cycle lives, plus a payroll system that can run weekly union pay and fund reports. In interviews, hand candidates a property manager's remittance list that comes up short and ask how they'd apply it.
Elevator company 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 · Resolving callback billing disputes
A building disputes [six] after-hours callback charges, saying their contract covers callbacks. What do you do?
A strong answer: Pulls the contract and the tickets, checks what is covered and when, explains with documents, involves the account manager, and issues a credit if the bill was wrong.
Behavioral · Finding errors others missed
Tell me about a time you found an error in the books that others had missed. How did you find it?
A strong answer: Describes a specific check or pattern that caught it and the fix that prevented a repeat.
The CFO and bookkeeper can settle on targets once a few month-end closes and fund reports give a baseline.
Invoice processing accuracy
Audit a sample of posted vendor bills and customer payments monthly. A parts bill charged to the wrong car or job, or a property manager's payment applied to the wrong building, counts as an error.
Account reconciliation timeliness
Use a month-end list with a line for each account: bank, card, payroll liabilities and each union fund. Record the business day each one tied out, who signed it, and why any of them lagged.
Payment processing efficiency
Track both readings: vendor bills and fund payments made after their due date, and customer invoices past due. Show each against everything that fell due that month.
Financial record maintenance
Before each quarterly review, confirm every recurring invoice has a signed contract behind it, every exempt building has a certificate on file, and fund reports match payroll hours.
Career path
Billing clerkApplies building payments and learns how each contract bills.
BookkeeperOwns reconciliations, vendor bills, tax codes and fund reports.
Senior accountant or controllerTakes over the close and the audit files, one step below the CFO.
What audits does an elevator company bookkeeper get ready for?
The template expects clean quarterly audits, and the books get checked from several sides. Your outside accountant reviews them. A state may audit sales tax, and your workers' comp insurer audits payroll. In a union shop, the makers' IUEC agreement also lets the union's international office ask for a service office's records of hours, overtime, and pension and health payments; check whether yours does. File the backup for each by month so you can hand it over the same day.
How much does an elevator company bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for other building equipment contractors earned a median of $26.41 an hour ($54,920 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $45,870 and $63,890 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How does an elevator company bookkeeper close out a canceled contract?
Find the last day the contract covers and make sure billing stops there. If the building paid ahead, work out the credit or refund the contract allows and get it approved before it goes out. Confirm the office has ended the recurring invoice, and keep any balance due on the aging report until it's paid.
Should an elevator company bookkeeper run union payroll?
Many do, often with a payroll service behind them. The makers' IUEC agreement requires weekly pay. Each stub shows hours, wages, tax withheld, health and pension deductions, vacation pay and annuity amounts, most of them for the week and as a running total. If your payroll system can't print those fields, fix that before the first union payroll. Ask candidates to read a sample stub and spot what's missing.
Which physical tasks does an elevator company bookkeeper do?
Mostly desk time, seated for posting, reconciliations and the close. Once in a while the bookkeeper carries records or paper stock, up to the template's fifteen pounds, and drops by a branch or job site. Write that into the ad, naming whoever handles accommodation requests.
