A fence company bookkeeper pays the distributors and sub crews behind each fence and checks every bill against the footage, gates and posts the job used. They refund canceled sales on the federal clock, post rock and core-drill costs to the right jobs, and tie out the bank and card statements every month.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, other specialty trade contractors · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $35,430, middle half $43,850 to $63,470, 90th percentile $75,700. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Chief Financial Officer
Department
Finance and Administration
Schedule
Weekdays 9 to 5, longer at month-end · Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with longer days at month-end and in peak invoice weeks, and on call near deadlines
Responsible for managing and maintaining the financial records of the fence installation division, ensuring accuracy in processing invoices, managing payments, and reconciling accounts to support operational efficiency and sustained growth.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Process invoices from vendors and subcontractors with precision and timeliness.
Manage payments and disbursements ensuring all transactions are recorded accurately.
Reconcile bank statements and financial records to maintain data integrity.
Collaborate with project managers and suppliers to resolve discrepancies and improve procedures.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and verify daily financial transactions, ensuring all invoices are accurately recorded.
Update accounting software with current receipts, expenses, and payment details.
Coordinate with project managers to reconcile expenses related to ongoing fence installations.
Maintain organized digital and physical filing systems for all financial documentation.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Invoice processing time: 48 hours or less per invoice.
Payment accuracy rate: Achieve 99% accuracy in all processed transactions.
Reconciliation completion: 100% monthly reconciliations completed without significant discrepancies.
Financial record accuracy: Maintain a discrepancy rate of less than 1% on all reconciliations.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
Minimum 2 years of experience in bookkeeping or accounting roles.
Strong proficiency in accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks) and MS Office Suite.
Excellent attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and the ability to meet deadlines.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience within the home services or construction industry, with a focus on financial processes.
Familiarity with the fence installation sector and its unique financial considerations.
Prior experience working for small to medium-sized businesses.
Previous experience in roles requiring routine invoice processing and account reconciliation.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in a standard office environment with typical office furniture.
Occasional lifting of up to 15 lbs for filing and document management.
Prolonged periods of sitting and regular computer use.
Adequate visual acuity to review detailed financial documents and statements.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard office hours: Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM.
Occasional extended hours during month-end closing or peak invoice periods.
Minimal travel required; primarily an office-based role.
On-call duties may be necessary during critical deadlines.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate: $20 - $30 per hour, depending on experience.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance packages provided.
401(k) retirement savings plan with company contributions.
Additional performance-based bonuses available.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-oriented organization dedicated to excellence in fence installation and customer service.
Our collaborative work environment promotes continuous learning and personal career advancement.
We value integrity, diversity, and a commitment to innovation, ensuring every team member feels empowered.
Our focus is on supporting our staff to excel in a dynamic industry while contributing to community 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
Fence is sold by the foot and built in a day or two, so money moves fast: a deposit at the kitchen table, a distributor bill by Friday, a sub crew's footage count the week after. The bookkeeper makes each one match the contract.
A canceled sale has a refund clock
The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule generally covers a fence sold in the customer's home when the price is 25 dollars or higher. The buyer gets three business days after the sale to cancel, ending at midnight, and Saturdays count as business days. Once a valid notice arrives, the company has 10 business days to refund every payment. The bookkeeper logs each cancellation date, pays the refund on time, and asks sales to hold special-order colors until the window closes. Source: eCFR: 16 CFR Part 429, the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule.
Sub crew bills come in feet and gates
If overflow installs go to sub crews that bill by the foot, their invoices list footage by fence type, plus gates, tear-out and extras. Check each line against the signed layout and the crew lead's job sheet, not only the total. A run billed at 220 feet on a 180-foot contract, or a double drive gate counted as two gates, waits until the operations manager confirms what went in.
Rock holes should pay for themselves
When a crew hits rock, or cores through an old patio to set a post, the job picks up costs the estimate didn't plan: a rock bit or core drill rental, extra concrete and extra crew hours. The bookkeeper posts each one to that job the week it lands. Put those costs next to the rock charge the contract billed, and the general manager can see whether the charge covers the work.
One comp policy, two kinds of payroll
Ask your workers' comp agent which class each job falls in and how the policy's payroll audit works. Then record pay the way the policy reads all year: installers in their class, estimators and CSRs in theirs. Ask the agent before splitting anyone's pay between classes, such as a yard worker who covers the phones on rainy days. Clean records turn the audit into a short meeting instead of a surprise bill.
How much fence company bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for fence company bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for other specialty trade contractors earned a median of $25.77 an hour ($53,610 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 12,430 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for other specialty trade contractors.
The template gives an hourly range and adds performance bonuses. BLS's median wage for bookkeeping clerks at specialty contractors such as fence companies lands near the middle of that range. Base the bonus on the template's accuracy measures more than on speed, since a fast payment on a wrong footage count costs more than it saves.
Other specialty trade contractors
$53,610$53,610 median Middle half $43,850–$63,470 10th–90th $35,430–$75,700
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$90k
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 specialty trade contractors
$35,430
$43,850
$53,610
$63,470
$75,700
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS doesn’t publish pay for fence contractors on their own. These figures cover other specialty trade 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 paid supplier bills by matching them to delivery tickets and job sheets
Reads a fence contract well enough to spot a gate or extra a bill got wrong
Tracks cancellation dates and refund deadlines to the day
Holds a sub payment when the footage doesn't match, and says why in writing
Closes every bank and card reconciliation with no unexplained items
Teach these on the job
Fence parts on a distributor bill, from line posts to latch kits
Your sub crews' price sheets by fence type
How your agent classes each job on the comp policy
Your job and cost code setup in the accounting software
Which costs your contract passes on when crews hit rock
The bookkeeper works in the accounting system, the distributors' online statements, the bank and card feeds, and the job sheets crews send from the field with footage, gate and rock counts. Ask finalists how they would settle a sub's bill when the job sheet and the contract disagree on footage.
Fence 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 · Material billing errors
A supplier billed for [40] vinyl panels, but the receiving record shows [36]. What do you do?
A strong answer: Holds that amount, checks with the warehouse and the supplier, and pays only for what was received.
Behavioral · Reconciliation
Tell me about a reconciliation error you found, such as a supplier statement or card account that didn't match. How did you track it down?
A strong answer: Compared records line by line, found the specific cause such as a missing credit or duplicate charge, corrected it and changed a habit.
Measure three months as they are before you set targets with the CFO, and include at least one spring month, when deposits, refunds and distributor bills all peak.
Invoice processing time
Hours from a distributor or sub bill arriving to its entry, checked and coded to a job, taken from the system's date stamps. Report held bills on their own line with the reason, such as a gate count that didn't match.
Payment accuracy rate
Monthly, sample the payments and refunds and check payee, amount and job against the bill, the contract or the cancellation notice. Count duplicates, wrong jobs and refunds sent to the wrong account as misses.
Reconciliation completion
The share of bank, card and distributor accounts tied out on time at month-end. An account holding an unexplained deposit, such as a homeowner payment with no contract attached, isn't finished.
Financial record accuracy
Differences found while reconciling, divided by items reconciled. Log each one by cause, such as a deposit credited to another job or a distributor credit never applied, and fix the step that caused it.
What fence terms should a new bookkeeper learn first?
The words on distributor bills and job sheets: line posts, end, corner and gate posts, rails, pickets or panels, caps, and hinge and latch kits, all priced against linear feet. Chain-link adds fabric, top rail, tension bars and bands. A bookkeeper who knows an end post from a line post will spot a bill charging for six corners on a straight backyard run.
How much does a fence company bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for other specialty trade contractors earned a median of $25.77 an hour ($53,610 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $43,850 and $63,470 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Who decides on a refund after the three days pass?
The signed contract and the general manager. Once the federal window closes, the contract's terms set what happens, such as keeping the cost of special-order material or a distributor's restocking fee. Some states add cancellation rules of their own, so have a lawyer review the contract form. The bookkeeper supplies the deposit, the material cost and any fees, then posts what the GM approves.
What reading does the template's vision line cover?
The line stays as the template wrote it. Here it means reading small print on distributor bills, faint copies of delivery tickets and phone photos of a crew's job sheet, with footage written by hand. List those tasks under the line, and offer tools such as screen magnifier software to anyone who asks for an accommodation.
When is a fence bookkeeper busiest?
From late winter through early summer, when homeowners sign for spring installs. Deposits, distributor bills, cancellations and sub crew invoices all climb at once, and month-end closes take longer. In cold markets a smaller wave comes in fall, before the ground freezes. Save software changes and training for the quiet weeks, and warn candidates about the template's longer month-end days.
