YOU ARE:

You are a veteran cloud bookkeeper who has been managing a cloud team in an environment you no longer like.
On top of being an exceptional cloud bookkeeper, you are a very strong leader and get excited about building a culture of collaboration and excellence.
You've considered starting your own bookkeeping firm, but there are too many parts of running a business (sales, contracts etc) you don't want to manage, but in the long run you'd like to act like and be rewarded as an owner, not just an employee.
If you've ever dreamed of running a bookkeeping co-op surrounded by like-minded bookkeepers, this is your chance to build that team.
You are looking for at least 30 hours per week of primarily 9-5 daytime work, with optional/flexible evening/weekend work. You cannot do this as a second add-on job unless you plan to quit that job within a few months.

NOTE - We will only consider candidates who have managed a cloud bookkeeping team at a Canadian bookkeeping or accounting firm for at least a year.

ROLE SUMMARY:

Lead our culture and supervise our rapidly growing bookkeeping operations of 7 part time, remote bookkeepers.
Start as a contractor and become an employee after 6-9 months.
100% virtual. We don't have an office. The owner is in Burlington, ON.
We offer flexibility, autonomy and growth potential. You'll have more breadth of ownership and impact with us than at a larger firm.
We don't do tax so we don't have an insane tax season. Get back to working reasonable hours while still earning well.
Bonus based on a % of the growth margin of the team you manage. As the team grows & performs you'll earn more.
Run by a marketing entrepreneur, not a CPA. Less old school, more flexible & innovative.

Please include your LinkedIn profile link and a short intro video of you introducing yourself on camera when you apply.

ROLE:

There are two parts to the role:

1. Leading and managing the work of a team of 7 part-time bookkeepers (10 hrs/week)
2. Bookkeeping for our clients (flexible from 5 - 30 hrs/week)

The primary part of the role is to lead and manage the work of a team of 7 part-time bookkeepers and make sure they deliver the full scope of work on time and within budget each month. Over time you'll play an increasing leadership role in the fast-growing operations of our firm. You'll be instrumental in shaping our approach to client service, systems, and workflows.

There is a team leadership component with soft skills like vision casting, goal setting, and talent management. You'll need to know each team member and understand their unique talents and areas where they may need support.

There is also a project management component which requires technical skill in reporting and reports development as well as analysis, often in Excel. We track our hours and need to ensure our rolling average hours stay close to our time estimates.

You'll need to stay on top of bookkeepers who fall behind but be seen as their helper, not their enemy.

The team leadership part of this role will be around 40 hours per month.

The team is an experienced and competent team. Our junior/intermediates have 3-5 years experience. Our seniors have 10-12 years and our oversight lead has 15 years experience. They are highly responsible and generally get their work done independently with minimal oversight. The team generally only needs intervention when someone can't work due to illness, vacation or a family issue. We are staffing this role to free up the owners' time and to prepare for future growth.

We use Financial Cents to plan, manage and track our work. It's a fantastic tool and will be the key tool you will use to supervise and manage the team. Other tools would be email, Slack, Google Workspace and the practice management tools inside Dext, Xero and QBO.

We only use Xero and QuickBooks Online for accounting.

The secondary and flexible part of the role is bookkeeping for our clients. How much you do will depend on your capacity. It could be as little as 5 hours per week initially or as much as 30 at busy times but you can control how much work you take on. You will manage your workload and the overall team capacity by hiring and training additional bookkeepers.

You will be doing general bookkeeping, including monthly reconciliations, sales tax management, payables & receivables, payroll, invoicing and bill payment.

You will maintain, monitor and reconcile GL accounts, including but not limited to cash, bank reconciliations, prepaid expenses, accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities and inter-company and point of sale (POS)/system uploads. You will identify issues and errors, investigate discrepancies and develop resolutions. You will also communicate with the CRA regarding information requests, assessments and instalments.

You need to be comfortable learning new web-based software quickly. In addition to the above, we use Dext, HubDoc, Plooto, Wagepoint, Knit, G-Suite, Slack, Harvest and Zoom, but new tools are coming out regularly, and we will always want to help our clients use the latest and best tools.

Our most experienced bookkeepers will assist in onboarding you and familiarize you with our systems and clients.

YOUR FIRST YEAR

For the first few months, you'll do bookkeeping for clients so you can gain experience doing the work within our systems and so that our bookkeepers can confirm your abilities to me.
You'll work closely with me, the outgoing team leader and some of our bookkeepers, learning the role, our clients, our systems and processes.
The outgoing team leader will be available to train you for the first 3 months. They are leaving to focus more on their own business and don't have a hard departure date. You'll find her easy to work with and very supportive.
Once we have confirmed your fit with the team, you'll start directly managing their workflow, supporting them and reporting to me.
We'd look to build the team up from there in line with your capabilities and goals.

JOB FIT CRITERIA

To be considered a good fit for this role, you need to meet the following criteria:

You have experience managing people and teams.
You have experience managing cloud bookkeeping or accounting projects with monthly deadlines.
You are looking for at least 30 hours per week of primarily 9-5 daytime work, with optional/flexible evening/weekend work. You cannot do this as a second add-on job unless you plan to quit that job within a few months.
Your situation allows for your workload to increase over 12 months to close to a full time workload as we add new clients.
You are a qualified, certified bookkeeper with a bookkeeping or accounting certification from a recognized Canadian college or program.
You have a minimum of 8 years of cumulative Canadian cloud bookkeeping experience.
You are legally able to work in Canada and you are physically based in Canada.
You speak, read and write English at a native speaker or fully bilingual level.
You have your own computer, fast internet and a suitable, professional office or quiet room in your home to conduct video conference meetings from during the day.
You want to work as a contractor to start, with the option to become an employee.
You need to be able to update the client's books at least every 2 days and you need to be able to return emails within 2-3 hours on weekdays.
You are certified in Xero or Quickbooks Online. Xero and QBO are the only accounting systems we use. Quickbooks Desktop experience is not sufficient.
You are physically based in Canada for at least 9 months a year.

ABOUT OUR FIRM

Back Office Stars is a 6-year-old cloud-only bookkeeping company led by a marketing entrepreneur, not an accountant. That makes our culture a little different than your typical cloud accounting firm. We don't have the cultural baggage of an old-school desktop accounting firm that's being dragged slowly into the cloud era. We have only ever lived and breathed cloud accounting.

We are flexible and innovative in our approach. We are well-managed, with good clients, and you can expect coaching and support from your manager, Jonathan. Jonathan is a former Procter & Gamble Brand Manager with extensive training and experience managing remote teams.

Our team of virtual bookkeepers tells me they appreciate:

Being part of a team for support and encouragement.
The flexibility of the role allows them to take care of their families and still enjoy meaningful work and build their careers.
The quality of the clients we attract and the rewarding feeling of building good relationships with them over time.
The learning they get from exposure to sophisticated clients using cutting-edge accounting and business management tools.
The coaching and support I provide.
That we use state-of-the-art software tools that they find efficient and useful.

Our clients are smart business owners in software, tech, e-commerce, agencies, professional services, trade service companies, virtual events, real estate, massage therapy, chiropractic or physiotherapy clinics. They are primarily in Ontario, with some in Manitoba and BC.

Successful entrepreneurs are rarely strong at keeping their books organized. You'll be helping some of Canada's brightest entrepreneurs organize their books & systems so they can manage their business well and keep their staff, customers and the CRA happy. You'll give them the gift of peace of mind.

We do essential work, but we have fun doing it, and our culture is highly collaborative, supportive and light-hearted.

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Permanent

Pay: $32.00-$46.00 per hour

Expected hours: 30 – 40 per week

Additional pay:

Bonus pay

Benefits:

Flexible schedule
Profit sharing
Work from home

Schedule:

Monday to Friday

Application question(s):

What is your favourite tech productivity app and why is it your favourite? It doesn't have to be business related. DO NOT list accounting software like Xero, QBO, Dext, Hubdoc, Excel or any Microsoft products.
What was the name and city of the bookkeeping or accounting firm where you most recently formally managed a team of bookkeepers and how many staff did you manage?

Experience:

working under a CPA at an accounting or bookkeeping firm: 2 years (required)
managing bookkeepers in a Cdn cloud bkp'ing/accounting firm: 1 year (required)
QuickBooks Online (not Desktop): 5 years (required)
Xero: 2 years (preferred)
Canadian cloud bookkeeping: 5 years (required)

Work Location: Remote

Application deadline: 2024-07-30

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