A commercial inspection bookkeeper records the money moving through the firm: lender and owner invoices, lab and subconsultant bills, inspector travel and the monthly bank reconciliations. The bookkeeper also chases late payments on delivered reports and tracks site visits that are done but not yet billed.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, engineering and inspection firms · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for managing financial transactions and maintaining accurate financial records in the home inspection industry. Supports the operational team by ensuring timely processing, reconciliation of accounts, and effective management of payables and receivables. Contributes to informed financial decision-making and overall business efficiency.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Process and record daily financial transactions accurately.
Manage accounts payable and receivable with precision.
Reconcile bank statements and company financial accounts on a monthly basis.
Prepare and deliver periodic financial reports for management review.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and update ledger entries to ensure financial accuracy.
Verify invoices, receipts, and financial documents from home inspection services.
Communicate with vendors and clients regarding financial discrepancies.
Follow up on overdue receivables to maintain optimal cash flow.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Timely bank reconciliation: 100% completion on a monthly basis.
Financial entry accuracy: Maintain a minimum accuracy rate of 98%.
Invoice processing efficiency: Process 95% of invoices within 24 hours.
Receivables collection: Ensure 95% of invoices are collected within 30 days.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
Minimum of 2 years’ bookkeeping or financial accounting experience.
Proficiency in accounting software and Microsoft Excel.
Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the home services or home inspection industry.
Familiarity with QuickBooks or similar accounting platforms.
Previous experience handling both accounts payable and receivable.
Exposure to regulatory compliance and small business financial operations.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work at a computer for extended periods.
Occasional lifting of up to 15 lbs for document handling.
Work conducted in a standard office environment with adequate lighting and seating.
Minimal physical exertion required during routine tasks.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Office-based role with occasional overtime during month-end closings.
Minimal travel requirements; primarily on-site.
Professional, structured office environment that supports collaborative work.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate ranging from $20 to $25 per hour.
Eligibility for performance-based bonuses.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401(k) retirement plan with company match, paid time off, and other fringe benefits.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We value transparency, collaboration, and continuous improvement in our workplace.
Our culture embraces diversity and fosters both personal and professional growth.
Dedicated to exceptional customer service and community engagement.
We empower our employees to level up their skills and contribute to the overall success of our company.
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 makes bookkeeping different at a commercial inspection firm
The books follow projects, not service calls. Each project has a client, a report date, travel and outside costs, and payment that often lands weeks after the site visit.
Work done but not yet billed
At many inspection firms, the fee is billed when the report goes out, not on the day the inspector walks the building. So at month-end, a project can carry travel, lab and subconsultant costs with no invoice yet. Keep a list of open projects by stage, so the CFO can see work that's done but unbilled, and invoice each report the day it's delivered.
Outside costs belong to a project
Asbestos lab fees, roof or drone subconsultants, and the database reports a Phase I needs are often paid by the firm first. Code each one to its project the day the bill arrives. If the engagement agreement lets the firm bill them through, put them on the client's invoice. If not, they come out of that project's margin, and the CFO needs to see them there.
Some states tax the fee itself
A project in a new state can bring a tax on the fee, not just on payroll. New Mexico, for example, applies its gross receipts tax to receipts from performing services in New Mexico. Rules vary by state, so flag every project in a state the firm hasn't worked in before, and let the CFO or tax adviser decide what to register for and collect. Source: New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department: Gross receipts overview.
Travel rates reset in October
Inspectors on overnight trips turn in hotel, meal and mileage costs. If your travel policy uses GSA per diem rates, they differ by city and change each year. GSA usually announces the next federal fiscal year's rates in mid-August, and they become the default on October 1. Update your rate table then, and check each expense report against the rate for the city where the inspector stayed. Source: U.S. General Services Administration: Per diem rates.
Grant-paid Phase I work
Some clients pay for a Phase I with a brownfields site assessment grant awarded under CERCLA. EPA's all appropriate inquiries rule covers site assessments paid for with those grants, so the scope follows the same rule as a buyer's Phase I, plus any extra items in the grant terms. Tag these projects in the ledger, so their invoices, payments and any questions from the client's grant manager are easy to pull. Source: eCFR: 40 CFR 312.1, all appropriate inquiries purpose and applicability.
How much commercial inspection bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for commercial inspection bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for architecture, engineering, and inspection firms earned a median of $28.54 an hour ($59,360 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 16,160 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for engineering and inspection firms.
Usually hourly, with a performance bonus. Bookkeepers at engineering and inspection firms earn more at the BLS midpoint than this template offers at its top. Check local pay before you post.
Engineering and inspection firms
$59,360$59,360 median Middle half $49,180–$68,970 10th–90th $39,850–$81,130
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
Engineering and inspection firms
$39,850
$49,180
$59,360
$68,970
$81,130
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS doesn’t publish pay for property inspection firms on their own. These figures cover architectural, engineering and related services, 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
Hands-on bookkeeping across both payables and receivables
Monthly bank and card reconciliations closed on time
Firm, polite collection calls and emails to business clients
Careful coding of every cost to the right project
Comfort in QuickBooks or a similar ledger, and in Excel
Teach these on the job
How a property condition report differs from a Phase I
Each lender's invoice requirements
Your travel policy and per diem table
Project stages and status codes in your project system
Which labs and subconsultants the firm uses
Firms this size often run the ledger in QuickBooks Online or Sage Intacct. Projects live in an inspection or project tool that feeds billing. List both in the posting, plus the expense app inspectors use for road receipts.
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 · Collections
A large lender client is well past due on several invoices. What do you do?
A strong answer: Checks that the invoices were correct and delivered, contacts the client's payables team politely, follows up on a schedule, escalates under the payment terms, and keeps the CFO informed.
Behavioral · Accuracy
Tell me about a time a reconciliation wouldn't balance. How did you track down the difference?
A strong answer: Worked back from the last balanced point, checked timing items, duplicates and transposed numbers, found the cause, and added a check to prevent it.
Treat the template's targets as placeholders. Watch your own close dates, fixes and collection times for a quarter. Then set the numbers with the CFO.
Timely bank reconciliation
Note the day each bank and card account ties out to its statement. List anything still open at close.
Financial entry accuracy
Count entries the CFO or outside accountant has to fix in a month, such as a wrong project code or account, against all entries posted.
Invoice processing efficiency
Track the time from a report's delivery, or a vendor bill's arrival, to the invoice or bill being entered, using dates from your project and accounting systems.
Receivables collection
Run an aging report each week split by client type, so slow lender, owner and grant-funded accounts each show up, and note who was contacted and when.
Career path
Office adminEnters invoice requests and learns each client's paperwork.
BookkeeperKeeps project costs, collections and month-end reconciliations in order.
ControllerCloses the books, sets project accounting rules and works with the outside auditor.
What does the 15-pound line in the bookkeeper template cover?
The template lists occasional lifting of up to 15 pounds for document handling. At an inspection firm, that's carrying a box of archived project files, a carton of printer paper or the day's mail. Nearly all the work happens at a desk. Put those tasks in the posting, with a note that reasonable accommodation is available on request.
How much does a commercial inspection bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for architecture, engineering, and inspection firms earned a median of $28.54 an hour ($59,360 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $49,180 and $68,970 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
What should a bookkeeper do when a client disputes an invoice over a finding?
Pass the complaint to the Inspection Manager the same day and pause collection calls on that invoice while it's reviewed. The bookkeeper doesn't discuss the finding or promise a credit. Note the dispute in the aging report so the CFO sees why the invoice is late, and restart collection once the manager or reviewer has answered the client.
What background suits a bookkeeper at an inspection firm?
Project-based billing matters more than knowing buildings. People from engineering, architecture, title, appraisal or law offices already track work by job, bill on delivery and chase business clients. In the interview, ask how they kept costs tied to the right project and how they handled a business client that paid slowly.
Should the bookkeeper run payroll too?
A common split is for the HR Manager to enter pay changes and new hires in the payroll system, while the bookkeeper posts payroll to the ledger and reconciles the payroll account. That way no single person can add someone to payroll and also record the payment. With staff in several states, payroll tax filings often sit with a payroll provider, overseen by the CFO.
What should the bookkeeper send the CFO each week?
A short cash report: the bank balance, receivables by age with notes on the biggest late accounts, bills coming due soon, and projects delivered but not yet invoiced. Add any project in a new state and any disputed invoice. At month-end, the close package adds the reconciliations and the list of open projects by stage.
