Bookkeeper & Operations Specialist

Penbrothers

7d•Remote

About The Position

Penbrothers is seeking a Bookkeeper & Operations Specialist to support a US-based education group. This role will be the primary bookkeeping resource, with additional responsibilities in payroll preparation, accounts receivable, student accounts, HR administration, and daily operations. The ideal candidate is highly organized, can manage multiple priorities, and is comfortable working independently. Proficiency in QuickBooks is essential, and there will be opportunities to take on greater ownership of financial operations as more accounting activities are brought in-house.

Requirements

3–5+ years of hands-on bookkeeping experience or equivalent relevant experience.
Strong and practical experience using QuickBooks; QuickBooks Online experience is highly preferred.
Ability to independently manage core bookkeeping activities with minimal supervision.
Strong Excel skills, including VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, and other intermediate-to-advanced functions.
Experience with accounts receivable, invoicing, payment processing, reconciliations, and financial records.
Strong attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.
Highly organized and able to manage multiple priorities across different business functions.
Strong written and verbal English communication skills.
Comfortable communicating professionally with parents, employees, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
Able to work independently while maintaining close collaboration with the Operations Manager/Controller.
Comfortable working across multiple systems, companies, and processes.

Nice To Haves

Experience preparing payroll data or supporting payroll processing is preferred.
Familiarity with AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar platforms is a plus.
Education or school-industry experience is not required; strong bookkeeping experience is the priority.

Responsibilities

Manage day-to-day bookkeeping activities across the organization's businesses.
Maintain accurate and organized financial records in QuickBooks.
Record revenues, expenses, transactions, and other accounting activities.
Support month-end activities, reconciliations, journal entries, and financial record maintenance.
Help transition additional bookkeeping activities from the external accounting firm to the internal team.
Identify discrepancies, resolve accounting issues, and maintain accurate records.
Manage invoicing and collection activities for private school and tutoring services.
Monitor outstanding balances and follow up on declined, missed, or overdue payments.
Process payment arrangements and account adjustments within established guidelines.
Maintain accurate student financial records and payment information.
Communicate professionally with parents and guardians regarding payments, balances, and account concerns.
Coordinate payment schedules and resolve account-related questions.
Prepare payroll information for salaried and hourly employees.
Review and consolidate employee hours and applicable pay rates.
Export timekeeping data from the company's CRM and organize and validate the information in Excel.
Prepare finalized payroll data for submission into the company's third-party payroll system.
Maintain accurate payroll records and supporting documentation.
Provide day-to-day operational and administrative support to the Controller/Operations Manager.
Assist with HR-related administrative tasks and employee records.
Maintain spreadsheets, reports, documentation, and other operational records.
Support processes across private school, tutoring, online education, and consulting operations.
Coordinate information across multiple companies and business functions.
Assist with special projects and process improvements as needed.
Identify opportunities to improve bookkeeping, administrative, and operational workflows.
Support the team's continued adoption of cloud-based tools and AI-enabled processes.
Use tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, or similar AI platforms to improve efficiency, documentation, and workflow automation.
Adapt quickly as processes and systems evolve.