A home builder bookkeeper codes every trade bill, purchase order and fee to the house it belongs to, pays subcontractors and suppliers, and reconciles the bank and loan accounts. At closing, the bookkeeper makes sure each house's costs are complete and every trade is paid before title passes.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Serve as the cornerstone for the organization’s financial integrity by efficiently processing financial entries, managing payables/receivables, and reconciling accounts to support the home building division. Ensure timely and accurate financial data to facilitate strategic decision-making and uphold the company’s reputation for reliability.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Process daily financial entries including invoices, receipts, and journal entries.
Reconcile bank and company accounts to maintain accurate records and identify discrepancies.
Manage vendor payables and customer receivables ensuring timely collections and payments.
Collaborate with the finance team to prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Record routine financial transactions with precision and attention to detail.
Verify and validate billing information and invoice accuracy.
Respond to vendor inquiries and coordinate with internal departments regarding account discrepancies.
Manage and update financial records and backup documentation on a daily basis.
Some deadlines may require extended hours during peak financial periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Annual salary range: $50,000 - $60,000 USD based on experience and qualifications.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses and commission structures.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
Participation in 401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company is dedicated to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where growth, innovation, and excellence are at the forefront. We take pride in our commitment to delivering high-quality home building services while nurturing our employees' professional development. We value collaboration, integrity, and a shared vision for success, striving to ensure that every team member is empowered to make a meaningful impact.
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
What changes when the books belong to a home builder
A builder's books follow houses, not just accounts. Each lot gathers costs for months, then closes in a single day.
Every cost lands on a lot
A house collects bills from framers, roofers, plumbers, the lumber yard and the city before it closes. Each bill gets the lot number and a cost code, such as framing labor or permit fees. In most builders' books, those costs sit as a house in progress until the sale closes. Your CPA picks the method. The bookkeeper keeps the coding clean, so the true cost of each house is known on closing day.
Trade bills are checked against the purchase order
Production builders often send each trade a purchase order for each house, priced from the plan. The bookkeeper pays the purchase order amount, not whatever the invoice says. Extra work, like a second trip to patch damaged drywall, needs its own approved purchase order from the superintendent, naming the reason and the trade at fault. Extras are where house costs drift, so report them by plan and by trade each month.
Final waivers before a house closes
In Missouri, a contractor, worker or supplier has six months after the debt accrues to file a lien on the building. The buyer's title company may ask for proof that the trades are paid. Before closing, collect a final lien waiver from every trade and supplier who billed that lot, and match each one to a paid invoice. A missing waiver can delay the closing or leave a claim on the buyer's new home. Source: Missouri Revised Statutes 429.080: when a mechanic's lien must be filed.
An uninsured trade can become your claim
Missouri's workers' comp law can treat a contractor as the employer of a subcontractor's workers who get hurt on the job. The trade's own liability comes first, but when the trade has no coverage, the claim can come back to the builder. Before the first check, get a current certificate of insurance from every trade, track the end dates, and hold payment when one lapses. Your insurer's year-end audit may also charge premium for money paid to uninsured trades. Source: Missouri Revised Statutes 287.040: liability for contractors' and subcontractors' employees.
How much home builder bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for home builder bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $26.00 an hour ($54,080 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 19,040 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
Most builders pay bookkeepers a salary or an hourly wage, and some add a bonus. The template's figures fall inside the BLS range for residential builders.
Residential builders and remodelers
$54,080$54,080 median Middle half $43,730–$65,190 10th–90th $34,770–$78,220
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$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
Residential builders and remodelers
$34,770
$43,730
$54,080
$65,190
$78,220
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS reports home builders and remodelers together. 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
Clean job cost coding by lot and cost code
Matching invoices to purchase orders without letting extras slide
Bank and loan reconciliations finished on schedule
Firm, polite follow-up with trades about missing paperwork
Careful handling of buyer, payroll and bank records
Teach these on the job
Your cost codes and plan names
Your purchasing or builder software
Lien waiver forms and your title company's closing checklist
Construction loan draw requests for each house
How your superintendents approve extra work
Most builders keep the ledger in QuickBooks or Sage and run purchase orders through purchasing software made for home builders, like MarkSystems or Buildertrend. Name your system and cost code setup in the ad, since experience with lot-based job costing shortens training.
Home builder 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 · Matching invoices to purchase orders
The framing trade bills more than the purchase order on three houses in the same community. What do you do?
A strong answer: Holds the overage, pays only what the PO covers if policy allows, asks the superintendent or purchasing for a variance PO with a reason, and tracks variances by trade and community.
Behavioral · Accuracy under volume
Tell me about a time you had to enter a big batch of trade and supplier invoices accurately before a payment run.
A strong answer: Batched by vendor or community, matched each to its PO and lot, set aside exceptions instead of guessing, and finished before the payment run.
Think of the template's targets as loose guides. Write your own once the bookkeeper's error log, closing calendar and payment history cover a full quarter.
Financial transaction processing accuracy
Sample entries each month and check the lot, cost code and amount against the source document. Count corrections found later, at closing or at audit, as misses too.
Account reconciliation completion
Note when each bank, card and construction loan account gets reconciled after month-end, and list any unexplained items carried into the next month.
Invoice processing turnaround
Log the date each trade or supplier invoice arrives and the date it is matched to a purchase order and entered. Track invoices held for missing approvals on their own.
Vendor payment timeliness
Compare each payment date with the due date in the trade's terms. Sort late payments by cause, such as a missing waiver, a missing approval or cash timing.
Career path
Escrow assistant at a title companyLearns closings, settlement statements and payoff letters.
BookkeeperKeeps house costs, trade payments and closings in order.
Assistant controllerRuns the month-end close and reviews house cost reports.
Who approves trade bills before the bookkeeper sends a check?
The superintendent who runs the house confirms the work is done, and whoever handles purchasing approves any extra purchase orders. The bookkeeper shouldn't be the one deciding whether a wall was framed right. Set a weekly cutoff so approvals arrive before the check run, and give trades one inbox for invoices so nothing sits on a truck seat.
How much does a home builder bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $26.00 an hour ($54,080 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $43,730 and $65,190 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How many homes can one bookkeeper keep up with?
It depends more on purchase orders than on homes. A builder that sends one purchase order per trade per house, with few extras, can run far more homes per bookkeeper than one that pays loose invoices. Watch two signs: a growing pile of unmatched invoices and reconciliations that finish later each month. When both show up in your busiest closing months, add an accounts payable clerk.
Does a home builder bookkeeper need construction experience?
It helps, but it isn't the only route. People from title companies, lumber yards and other contractors' offices already know draws, lien waivers or purchase orders. Test what matters: hand the candidate three trade invoices, a purchase order list and a missing waiver, and ask which bills they would release, which they would hold, and what they would ask.
Does a home builder bookkeeper ever lift things or visit sites?
The template's lifting line points to small jobs: hauling closed house files to storage, moving binders of lien waivers, or unloading a case of printer paper. The work is almost all at a desk, and trips to a job site are rare. Describe those tasks plainly in your ad so candidates know what to expect.
