A commercial roofing bookkeeper records the bills, payments and pay applications for reroofs and repairs on warehouses, schools and retail buildings. They reconcile bank and credit card accounts, match membrane, insulation and sheet metal invoices to each job, and follow up with general contractors on late payments and retainage.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Responsible for maintaining accurate financial records for our commercial roofing division, ensuring data integrity, timely reconciliations, and proper invoice management to support business operations. Plays a key role in the financial health of the company by streamlining accounting processes and providing insightful financial information to management.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Maintain accurate and organized financial records for all commercial roofing projects.
Reconcile bank and credit accounts on a regular basis.
Manage and process invoices, ensuring accuracy and timely payments.
Collaborate with project managers and vendors to resolve discrepancies.
Prepare financial reports and summaries as required by management.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Verify incoming invoices and match them to purchase orders and receipts.
Perform daily account reconciliations to ensure consistency and accuracy of financial data.
Monitor cash flow and track expenses related to commercial roofing projects.
Communicate with suppliers and clients regarding payment issues and inquiries.
Update and maintain financial databases and software systems.
Financial Reporting Cycle Time: Reports generated within 5 business days.
Vendor Payment Error Rate: Less than 2% discrepancies.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Minimum of an Associate degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
At least 2 years of bookkeeping or accounting experience.
Proficiency in accounting software like QuickBooks and Microsoft Excel.
Strong attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.
Effective communication and problem-solving abilities.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the commercial roofing or construction industry.
Familiarity with industry-specific financial practices and regulatory compliance.
Background in managing accounts for project-based environments.
Experience working in fast-paced, high-growth companies.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to sit for long periods at a computer workstation.
Occasional lifting of files or materials up to 15 lbs.
Work environment is typical office setting with a standard climate.
Occasional visits to on-site project locations for financial reviews.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Full-time position with a standard 40-hour work week.
Office-based role with occasional off-site meetings.
Limited travel required for on-site financial reviews of projects.
Occasional overtime during peak financial reporting periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $45,000 - $55,000 USD per year, based on experience.
Performance-based bonus opportunities.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance.
401(k) retirement plan with company match.
Paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we foster a culture of growth, innovation, and teamwork.
We value transparency, accountability, and continuous learning, inspiring each team member to excel.
Our friendly work environment promotes collaboration and career development, ensuring every employee feels valued and empowered to contribute.
We are dedicated to delivering excellent service and quality workmanship in the commercial roofing 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
What changes for a bookkeeper at a commercial roofing company
Money arrives from general contractors, school districts and property owners in monthly pay applications, and a share of every check stays with the payer until the end. The tax rules and holdbacks depend on the state and on who the customer is.
New Mexico taxes each job where the roof is
New Mexico's gross receipts tax is reported on what the company bills, and the state's filing instructions say construction services are reported at the location of the construction site. A reroof in one town and a repair in another can land on different lines of the same return. Give every job its site's location code when the job is set up, before the first invoice. Source: New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department: gross receipts filing instructions (TRD-41413).
Ask the GC for the certificate at signing
When the company works under a general contractor in New Mexico, its receipts for that construction service may be deducted if the GC delivers a nontaxable transaction certificate (NTTC) or other allowed evidence. The same goes for a supplier selling membrane to the roofer. File each certificate with the job. Without it, the deduction has nothing behind it if the state audits. Source: New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department: deductions under sections 7-9-51 and 7-9-52 (TRD-41413 instructions).
North Dakota public owners stop holding back at halfway
On a North Dakota public improvement, such as a school district or city reroof bid direct, the owner holds back a tenth of each pay estimate until the project is half complete. After that, nothing more is held unless unsatisfactory progress or performance is documented. Once the work is nearly finished, the owner may release most of what it held, and the rest is paid as the architect or engineer approves. Track retainage on its own line so you bill for it on time. Source: North Dakota Century Code 48-01.2-13: payments on public improvement contracts.
Pay applications run on the GC's calendar
Most general contractors want one pay application a month, by a set cutoff date, built on the line-item breakdown approved before work began: tear-off, insulation, membrane, flashings, sheet metal and the warranty fee as separate lines. A late submission usually waits for the next month's cycle. Keep a calendar of every GC's cutoff and check how much of the roof is done with the project manager before you submit.
Lien waivers travel with every check
Each pay application usually goes out with a conditional lien waiver. After the funds land, the GC wants an unconditional waiver for that amount. Many GCs also want waivers from your roofing distributor before they release payment. Keep a log by job showing which waivers went out, which came back, and which supplier still needs to sign.
How much commercial roofing bookkeepers make
The closest BLS group for commercial roofing bookkeepers is bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for roofing contractors earned a median of $26.59 an hour ($55,300 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 3,320 of the 1,373,680 bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks in that survey work for roofing contractors.
Pay is a salary or hourly rate plus the template's bonus. BLS figures for bookkeepers at roofing contractors put this range in their lower half, so someone with construction billing experience may ask for more.
Roofing contractors
$55,300$55,300 median Middle half $45,200–$62,510 10th–90th $34,690–$75,840
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
Roofing contractors
$34,690
$45,200
$55,300
$62,510
$75,840
All industries
$36,000
$43,520
$50,670
$61,470
$74,550
BLS reports residential and commercial roofing contractors 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
At least two years keeping full books, bank and card reconciliations included
Codes every supplier bill to one job and one cost code
QuickBooks or a construction accounting system, plus Excel
Reads a subcontract's payment terms and retainage clause
Polite, persistent follow-up with GCs about late payments
Teach these on the job
Your schedule of values layout and pay application forms
New Mexico location codes and NTTC filing
Which lien waiver form goes out at each stage
Roof system names and parts on distributor invoices
Your service ticket and time-and-material billing steps
Commercial roofers usually keep the books in QuickBooks or a construction system such as Foundation, Sage 100 Contractor or Viewpoint Vista. Many general contractors collect pay applications and waivers through portals like Procore or Textura, so list the portals you bill through in the ad.
Commercial roofing 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 · Invoices over the purchase order
A supplier invoice for a large membrane order comes in higher than the purchase order. What do you do?
A strong answer: Holds it, compares the PO, quote and delivery tickets, asks the project manager about approved changes and gets a credit or written approval before paying.
Behavioral · Tying job cost to the books
Tell me about a time a commercial job's cost report and the general ledger didn't agree. How did you track down the difference?
A strong answer: Compared job cost detail to the ledger line by line, found the cause, such as a miscoded invoice, unposted retainage or payroll burden, fixed it and added a monthly tie-out.
Don't copy the template's goals as is. Review your last few months of supplier bills, closes and statements, then set goals this bookkeeper can check each week.
Invoice Processing Accuracy Rate
Each month, pick a handful of supplier bills already in the system and check the job, cost code, quantity and price against the purchase order and the delivery ticket. Count every bill with an error.
Account Reconciliation Timeliness
Note when each bank, card and loan account was last balanced and approved, and hold that against the CFO's close calendar.
Financial Reporting Cycle Time
Count business days from month end until job cost and cash reports reach management, and note which step held them up.
Vendor Payment Error Rate
Track payments that went out wrong, such as duplicates, wrong amounts, wrong vendors or bills paid before material arrived. Supplier statements and credit memos reveal most of them.
Career path
Billing clerk at a roofing supply houseLearns product names, pricing and how contractor accounts are billed.
BookkeeperKeeps the ledger, pay applications and reconciliations current for every job.
Project accountantOwns job cost reports and billing for the largest contracts.
ControllerRuns the close, audits and the accounting staff.
Why does a general contractor sometimes send less than the billed amount?
Usually it's retainage, a missing document, or a disagreement about how much work is done. GCs often wait on paperwork: your lien waiver, a current insurance certificate or your supplier's waiver. Sometimes their superintendent thinks less roof is done than you billed. The bookkeeper should log the reason for every short payment, tell the project manager right away, and fix the paperwork in time for the next cycle.
How much does a commercial roofing bookkeeper make?
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks who work for roofing contractors earned a median of $26.59 an hour ($55,300 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $45,200 and $62,510 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
What roofing words will a new bookkeeper hear in the first month?
A square is 100 square feet of roof, and many supplier bills and crew reports use it. TPO, PVC and EPDM are single-ply membranes; mod bit and built-up are multi-layer systems. Tapered insulation creates slope to drains. Coping and edge metal are sheet metal parts. An NDL warranty is the maker's no-dollar-limit warranty. Knowing these helps the bookkeeper catch a bill coded to the wrong job.
How should a commercial roofing bookkeeper bill a service call?
Bill from a signed ticket that shows the building, the date, labor hours, materials used and what the tech found. Attach photos if the customer asked for them. Keep service jobs in their own job type in the ledger so small repairs don't vanish inside a big reroof. Send the invoice within a few days, while the building contact still remembers the visit.
What does the template's line about site visits and lifting files mean for a bookkeeper?
The job is mostly desk work. Now and then the bookkeeper may carry a box of job files of up to 15 pounds, or ride along with a project manager to a site. There they may check that materials billed as stored are on site, count pallets against a pay application, or meet a GC's accountant. Put those trips in the ad so applicants see what they involve.
