A property preservation bookkeeper bills banks and mortgage servicers for each finished work order, pays crews and suppliers, and reconciles the accounts each month. Every invoice has to match the order, the photos and the receipts, because the client has to prove each cost before it gets paid back.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for processing financial transactions, reconciling accounts, and handling payables/receivables for our property preservation services. Ensures financial integrity and compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements. Plays a critical role in maintaining accurate financial records and supporting operational efficiency. Contributes to overall company success by streamlining financial processes and providing timely, precise reports.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Process and record daily financial transactions accurately and in a timely manner.
Reconcile accounts monthly and investigate discrepancies to ensure proper balance.
Manage accounts payable and receivable functions, including vendor payments and customer invoicing.
Prepare financial reports and assist with month-end and year-end closing processes.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Verify and document incoming invoices and expense reports.
Update and maintain the ledger with all financial transactions.
Liaise with vendors and clients to resolve billing discrepancies and queries.
Monitor cash flow and assist in budget tracking by providing regular financial updates.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Transaction accuracy rate: >99%.
Month-end reconciliation completion within 5 business days.
Reduction in outstanding receivables: <3% per month.
Timeliness of vendor payments: 100% on-time.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field or equivalent experience.
3+ years of bookkeeping experience in a financial or property management setting.
Proficient with accounting software and MS Office Suite, particularly Excel.
Excellent attention to detail, organizational skills, and ability to multitask under deadlines.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in property preservation, real estate, or facility management industries.
Familiarity with industry-specific financial regulations and compliance standards.
Previous exposure to high-volume transaction processing environments.
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within a team-driven atmosphere.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in a standard office environment with moderate computer use.
Occasional lifting of files or office supplies up to 10 pounds.
Extended periods of sitting and minimal physical exertion during routine operations.
Manage occasional visits to operational sites if needed.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard office hours with a Monday through Friday schedule.
Occasional extended hours during month-end or peak financial periods.
Minimal travel required, primarily local visits if operational needs arise.
Primarily remote work opportunities with access to office facilities as required.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $45,000 - $55,000 USD per year, commensurate with experience.
Eligibility for performance bonuses based on timely reconciliation and accuracy targets.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, and Vision coverage.
Additional benefits include 401(k) plan, paid time off, and opportunities for professional development.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster a collaborative, innovative environment where every team member is valued and empowered to contribute to our growth.
Our culture emphasizes open communication, continuous learning, and a commitment to excellence.
We support career progression and offer regular training and development resources.
Join us to be part of a dynamic team dedicated to customer satisfaction and industry-leading property preservation services.
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
Most bookkeepers bill the customer who used the service. Here the client is a bank or servicer that passes the cost on to an investor or to HUD, so each invoice has to hold up in someone else's review.
The servicer's claim runs on a clock
When an FHA house is conveyed to HUD, the servicer must submit Part B of its claim (form HUD-27011) within 45 days after the deed goes for recording or 15 days after HUD's title approval date, whichever is later. A preservation bill that reaches the servicer after that may be hard for it to recover. Bill each order soon after the work, not in a month-end batch, and learn each client's billing cutoff. Source: HUD: FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, last revised August 12, 2026 (property preservation and Appendix 7.0).
Pass-through costs need the receipt
Some clients have you pay costs for them and bill them back at cost, such as a city's vacant property registration fee or a utility bill at an empty house. HUD's handbook lists both as their own line items and has servicers keep the paid invoice or receipt for every cost they claim. Attach the receipt to the invoice line, and post these costs to a clearing account so they never show up as revenue. Source: HUD: FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, last revised August 12, 2026 (property preservation and Appendix 7.0).
One order, one invoice
Clients pay by work order, not by month. Each invoice carries the order number, the property or loan ID and lines that match what the client approved, with the before and after photos already in the client's portal. A line that doesn't match the order can send the invoice back. Keep a daily list of orders marked complete but not yet billed, and clear it every day.
Paid by the cut, still owed overtime
Many preservation techs are paid by the order or by the cut. Under federal rules, a worker paid by the piece still earns overtime. The week's piece pay and other pay, spread across every hour worked, sets the regular rate. Then each overtime hour, past 40 in the week, earns another half of that rate. Payroll needs every tech's hours, not only the order count. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 778.111, pieceworker overtime.
How much property preservation services bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for property preservation services 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.
Paid a salary in most shops. Bonuses in the template reward on-time reconciliations and clean entries.
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 property preservation 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
Full-cycle bookkeeping: payables, receivables and bank reconciliations
Matching invoices to work orders, photos and receipts line by line
Excel skills such as lookups and pivot tables for order-level reports
Patient collection calls and emails to large clients that pay slowly
Clean payroll inputs for hourly and piece-rate crews
Teach these on the job
Each client's billing portal and invoice rules
HUD and investor terms such as conveyance, allowable and over-allowable
Your work order system and how an order moves from open to billed
Coding pass-through and reimbursable costs
Reading a crew's photo set to confirm the work billed
The ledger is often QuickBooks Online or something like it, next to Excel and the work order system. Much of the billing, though, happens inside the clients' vendor portals, so find out which portals a candidate has used to invoice.
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 · Chargeback disputes
A client takes a chargeback on a three-month-old invoice, saying photos were missing. What do you do?
A strong answer: Pulls the work order file, checks what was uploaded, disputes with evidence inside the client's window or accepts it and tells operations why, and tracks chargebacks by reason.
Behavioral · Vendor tax records
Tell me about a time you set up or cleaned up tax records for many independent vendors, such as W-9 and 1099 forms.
A strong answer: Collected a W-9 form before the first payment, checked names and tax IDs, tracked payments by vendor through the year, filed 1099 forms on time, and fixed vendor records that didn't match.
Those template targets are only examples. Pull a quarter of your own billing and payment history, then set numbers the bookkeeper can reach.
Transaction accuracy rate
Count entries corrected after posting, such as the wrong client, order number or cost code, against all entries posted. Each month, check a sample of invoices against the order and receipts.
Month-end reconciliation completion within 5 business days
Record when each bank, card and clearing account is reconciled and when the closed books reach the CFO. Note any account still open and the reason.
Reduction in outstanding receivables
Run an aging report by client each week. Track what is past the client's payment terms and how many invoices sit rejected or waiting on a portal fix.
Timeliness of vendor payments
Compare each crew, subcontractor and supplier payment date with the agreed terms. Count late payments and note the cause, such as a missing bill or an unapproved charge.
Career path
Billing or payables clerkEnters crew bills and uploads invoices to client portals.
BookkeeperRuns payables, receivables, payroll inputs and the month-end close.
ControllerOwns the close, the audit file and cash reports for the CFO.
What should a preservation bookkeeper check before an invoice goes out?
Check that the address and order number match the client's order, that every line was approved, and that the photos for each line are uploaded. Look for receipts behind any pass-through cost. Then check the property's history so the same lock change or debris haul isn't billed twice on two orders. Catching these before sending is faster than fixing a rejection.
How much does a property preservation services 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.
Does a preservation bookkeeper need to know HUD rules?
Not the whole handbook. They need the words that show up on orders and rejections, such as conveyance, first-time vacant, allowable and over-allowable, and they need to know which investor stands behind each loan. Keep a one-page glossary, with a real rejection for each term, to train new billing staff.
How does a preservation bookkeeper match client payments to orders?
Large clients often pay many orders in one deposit and post the remittance detail in their portal. Download it, apply each amount to its invoice by order number, and flag any line paid short or held back. Send that short-paid list to the CFO each week, while the orders are still fresh enough to dispute.
Will a preservation bookkeeper ever leave the desk?
Rarely. The lifting line covers moving a box of files or a case of paper. A site visit is a short trip now and then, for example to look at a job a client disputes or count materials. Put the expected frequency in the ad, and if a candidate wants to handle a task differently, discuss it.
