A gutter cleaning bookkeeper records each day's cleanings, repairs and guard installs, matches crew work orders to invoices, and closes out the bank and card statements each month. In spring and fall, the job is keeping up with a flood of small invoices from crews who finish while the homeowner is out.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for processing financial entries, reconciling accounts, and managing invoices to ensure accurate and timely financial records within our niche gutter cleaning services.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Process daily financial transactions and maintain accurate general ledger entries.
Reconcile bank statements and company accounts on a monthly basis.
Generate, monitor, and manage invoices for service calls and projects.
Assist with financial reporting and support budgeting efforts to ensure compliance with company standards.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Record financial transactions using the company’s accounting software accurately.
Verify and process vendor invoices, ensuring proper approvals and timely payments.
Maintain organized financial records and assist with month-end and year-end closing procedures.
Communicate with service teams to address any discrepancies and verify completed work orders.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Financial Entry Accuracy: Maintain accuracy levels of >98% with recorded transactions.
Invoice Processing Time: Ensure 95% of invoices are processed within 48 hours.
Account Reconciliation Timeliness: Complete monthly reconciliations by the 5th business day.
Audit Compliance: Achieve a 100% pass rate on internal and external financial audits.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
Minimum of 2 years experience in bookkeeping or general accounting roles.
Proficient in accounting software such as QuickBooks; advanced Excel skills preferred.
Excellent attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and the ability to meet strict deadlines.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in the home services or gutter cleaning industry.
Experience working with small business financial systems and operations.
Familiarity with regulatory compliance and industry-specific financial standards.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in a standard office environment with prolonged periods of sitting.
Minimal physical exertion required, with periodic walking within the office or facility.
Occasionally lift files or documents up to 10 lbs.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typically office-based work hours from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
Occasional extended hours during month-end closing or audit periods may be required.
Limited travel may be expected for team meetings or training sessions.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $40,000 - $50,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
Performance-based bonus opportunities available.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance.
401(k) plan with company match.
Paid time off and other fringe benefits available.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a collaborative, growth-oriented environment where innovation and excellence are celebrated.
We are committed to enhancing the lives of our employees by providing continuous professional development and a supportive work culture.
Our focus on customer satisfaction and service quality creates a rewarding atmosphere for anyone seeking to advance their career in the home services industry.
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
The ledger looks like any small service company's until the seasons hit. Spring and fall bring a wave of small tickets, plan payments and crew overtime, and winter brings layoffs and final checks.
Plan payments are earned one visit at a time
Many repeat customers pay up front for a spring and a fall cleaning. Book that money as work you still owe, then move each visit's share to revenue when the crew closes it in the field service app. If a customer moves away after the first visit, the refund comes out of that balance, not this month's sales. Ask your CPA which method to use on the tax return.
Fall overtime gets its own W-2 code
Leaf season brings the longest weeks of the year. Starting with tax year 2026, the IRS requires employers to report qualified overtime compensation on Form W-2 in box 12 with code TT. That amount is the premium above the regular rate that federal overtime law requires, not the whole overtime wage. Set up the payroll item early so the year-end forms pull it cleanly. Source: IRS: Fact Sheet FS-2026-13, questions and answers on the qualified overtime compensation deduction.
Illinois winter layoffs owe unused vacation
When crews are laid off after the last fall route, Illinois law requires final pay no later than the next regularly scheduled payday. If your policy gives paid vacation, earned but unused vacation goes in that final check at the final rate of pay, and no policy may make it disappear at separation. Build the payout into the December payroll calendar. Source: Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, 820 ILCS 115/5 (final compensation and earned vacation).
Idaho final checks come within days
In Idaho, a laid-off or departing worker must be paid all wages due by the next regular payday or within 10 days, whichever comes first, not counting weekends and holidays. If the worker asks in writing for earlier payment, it's due within 48 hours, again skipping weekends and holidays. Keep a way to cut an off-cycle check when the season ends. Source: Idaho Code 45-606: payment of wages upon separation from employment.
Work orders close the loop on every ticket
Homeowners are usually out when the crew comes, so invoices go by email or text. Before it does, match the work order to the booking: stories, feet of gutter, downspouts flushed and any repair the customer approved. A missing photo or an add-on nobody approved is where most billing disputes start, so send those back to the crew lead before billing.
How much gutter cleaning bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for gutter cleaning bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $22.50 an hour ($46,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $50,670 median for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in all industries. About 17,470 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for building services companies.
Most gutter cleaning companies pay this role hourly or as a modest salary, with the template's bonus tied to on-time closes and clean audits.
Building services companies
$46,790$46,790 median Middle half $40,700–$56,960 10th–90th $32,590–$67,710
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
Building services companies
$32,590
$40,700
$46,790
$56,960
$67,710
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS doesn’t publish pay for gutter cleaning companies on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, 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
Accurate entry through weeks of many small tickets
Bank and card reconciliation with no loose ends at month-end
QuickBooks skills and a feel for how job apps feed the ledger
Payroll basics: overtime, final pay and leave balances
Polite, persistent follow-up with crews about missing work order details
Teach these on the job
Your price book: stories, gutter length, guards and repairs
How plan customers are billed and credited
The field service app's invoice and photo screens
Your state's final pay and vacation payout rules
The month-end package the CFO wants
The books usually live in QuickBooks Online or a comparable ledger, synced to the field service app that writes each invoice, with a processor holding plan customers' cards and a payroll service with job codes. Excel or Google Sheets holds plan balances and the cash forecast for the slow winter months.
Gutter cleaning 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 · Handling refunds and chargebacks
A customer's card dispute says the technician only cleaned the front gutters. What do you do?
A strong answer: Pulls the job record, photos of every side and time stamps, checks with the technician, has the office offer a return visit if a section was missed, and answers the processor by the deadline with evidence.
Behavioral · Reconciling prepaid work
Tell me about a month-end when prepaid plans or customer deposits didn't match the visits or work delivered. How did you find the problem?
A strong answer: Matched each prepayment to visits done and owed, found the specific cause, such as a canceled plan never refunded or a visit never marked done, fixed it and added a monthly check.
Treat the template's targets as starting points. Watch a full year, from the spring rush through the winter slowdown, then set targets from your own volume and close calendar.
Financial Entry Accuracy
Monthly, choose random entries and trace each one to its source document, such as the deposit, the vendor bill or the closed work order. Count how many needed a correcting entry.
Invoice Processing Time
Measure the time from a crew closing a job in the app to the invoice reaching the customer, and from a vendor bill arriving to its approval. Review both weekly in spring and fall.
Account Reconciliation Timeliness
Note when every account, from the bank to the card processor, is reconciled and signed off after month-end, against the business day the CFO set.
Audit Compliance
Count findings from internal reviews, payroll tax notices and any outside review by the CPA. Record what fixed each one and whether it came back the next year.
The template says the bookkeeper lifts files and walks the facility. What does that involve?
Desk work with a few small errands: carrying a box of signed work orders or bank files from the shop office, walking out to the yard to collect fuel receipts from a crew lead, or moving year-end records to storage. Nothing in the role puts the bookkeeper on a ladder or in a truck. If someone can't do one of these tasks the usual way, talk about other ways to get it done.
How much does a gutter cleaning bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $22.50 an hour ($46,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $40,700 and $56,960 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
What should the bookkeeper send when a homeowner disputes a card charge?
Card processors give a short window to respond, so act the day the notice lands. Send the accepted estimate, the work order, the crew's photos with time stamps and any texts where the customer approved a repair. A cleaning done while nobody was home wins or loses on that file, which is one reason the bookkeeper should flag any job closed without photos.
Who runs payroll for seasonal gutter crews?
Most often the bookkeeper, using a payroll service. The work peaks twice: new hire setup and overtime in spring and fall, then layoffs, final checks and leave balances as the season ends. Split the duties so operations confirms crew hours and the CFO approves each run and any change to pay rates or direct deposit details.
Why are December and January the hardest months for a gutter cleaning bookkeeper?
The last fall routes, renewal payments for next year's plans, layoff checks and year-end forms all land together. Close November early so December has room. In January, the bookkeeper also confirms the W-2s carry the new overtime code and that renewal money taken in December sits as owed work until the spring visits happen.
