Legal Bookkeeper 💼⚖️📊 (Legal Accounting | Client Services | Remote)

About the Job

Goodwork is recruiting for an American bookkeeping and accounting firm.

What makes this opportunity interesting?

• 🇺🇸 American company with a strong focus on legal services
• 💼 Empower small to mid-sized law firms with excellent bookkeeping
• 💻 Join a fully remote, flexible, and dynamic team

About the Company

We’re a fully remote bookkeeping and accounting firm based in St. Louis, Missouri. We’re dedicated to providing high-quality, efficient, and reliable solutions that help law firms manage their financial operations seamlessly. Our mission: Take over back-office services for 1% of law firms in the United States. This represents a significant amount of business in the country.

We offer a comprehensive suite of back-office services tailored to meet the unique needs of our clients, including accounting/bookkeeping, strategic consulting, marketing, managed IT services, and HR and benefits support.

Our customers are small to mid-sized law firms across the US, benefiting from our extensive experience and specialized services. We focus exclusively on the legal industry because we recognize the value of people's time, which sets us apart from other industries.

We were born from a need identified by our sister company, a boutique law firm. Our founder, a former partner at a major US law firm, was named one of the "Most Influential Business Women" by the St. Louis Business Journal in 2023. Additionally, the firm has been recognized in "Best Lawyers in America" for Business Organizations, Closely Held Companies, and Family Business Law, underscoring our expertise in legal practice and dedication to excellence in serving the legal sector.

OUR COMPANY VALUES spell “IDEAL PATH”, guide our team and shape our culture: 

• ✨ Integrity at all costs – We build, maintain, and restore trust!
• 🚀 Deliver results consistently – We help everyone succeed!
• 🌟 Excellence is a virtue – Quality work matters!
• 💪 Above and Beyond – We do what it takes!
• 🤝 Leadership through service – Through actions and words, we serve the world!
• 👥 People matter – Teamwork makes the dream work!
• 😊 Always be positive – There is never not a way!
• 💡 Think differently – Creative thought makes us all better!
• 🧎 Humility is embraced – We get better together!

We’re a fully remote organization with 10 teammates, including 7 on our accounting team, 2 in marketing and IT, and 1 director. Our team, spread across the US, thrives in a flexible and dynamic work environment where each member is trusted to manage their responsibilities independently. Our director provides oversight, but everyone is accountable for their workload. We support each other through cross-training and stay connected using tools like Slack and MS Teams, sharing both professional updates and personal news to foster camaraderie.

Our culture emphasizes flexibility, proactive communication, and continuous improvement. We maintain high standards and rely on over-communication to ensure no details are missed, encouraging team members to raise issues or notify absences proactively. We’re undergoing an organizational transformation to provide regular, repeatable work with our clients, carefully selecting those who align with our services in accounting, marketing, and IT, and aiming to integrate and consolidate our efforts across these functions.

About the Role

We’re looking for a remote Legal Bookkeeper to manage various bookkeeping tasks for our clients, including payroll, legal billing, accounts receivable, collections, accounts payable, and client services.

In this role, you’ll handle financial records for multiple clients, ensuring all transactions are accurately recorded and reported. You’ll contribute to continuous improvement initiatives, streamlining processes using modern web tools.

This role involves some client-facing interactions and requires a strong background in accounting with specific technology experience. You’ll handle accounts for up to five different clients, performing essential bookkeeping services. Training will be provided, and you’ll have access to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all client functions.

OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE is a proactive, detail-oriented professional with 3-5 years of relevant experience with a US-based firm, including 1-2 years using accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero, ideally within legal bookkeeping. You excel in a fast-paced, remote environment with exceptional written and verbal communication skills. Tech-savvy and quick to master new tools, you adeptly manage multiple tasks and priorities. Your solid grasp of accounting principles – such as reading balance sheets, categorizing expenses, and understanding COGS – combined with your initiative and ability to ask the right questions, helps build trust within the team. You’re assertive in client services, bringing emotional intelligence and dynamic energy to keep the team organized and focused. Your curiosity drives continuous improvement, streamlining processes and fostering a positive, can-do attitude to tackle challenges head-on.

Your performance will be measured by productivity in billable hours, self-unblocking and proactive communication, accuracy and timeliness in bookkeeping, and your overall impact on client work and team efficiency.

You'll be on the Accounting team, collaborating with other Bookkeepers, Accounting Specialists and Accounts Receivable Specialists. This position reports directly to the Accounting Manager.

You’ll be doing things like:

• Payroll: Perform processing; handle HR roles related to payroll and benefits; conduct payroll tax report audits; ensure compliance with state and federal regulations; manage employee data within payroll software; handle timekeeping and scheduling; prepare payroll submission reports; conduct quarterly wage reporting.
• Legal Billing: Generate invoices for designated law firm clients; serve as backup biller; ensure accuracy and timeliness; create bills via the customer billing platform; make edits per attorney request; finalize and submit bills; apply trust monies to customer accounts; create and send trust requests; update billing rates as requested.
• Accounts Receivable: Maintain accurate records; reconcile accounts; generate AR reports; contact clients for payment resolution; negotiate payment arrangements; process and record payments.
• Past Due Collections: Contact clients who owe money to law firms; follow up on overdue accounts; ensure timely payments; recommend accounts for third-party collections.
• Accounts Payable: Ensure all law firm bills are paid on schedule; verify and process invoices; manage vendor relationships; handle payments via various platforms; request W9s from new vendors.
• Bookkeeping: Categorize transactions for each law firm; maintain accurate financial records; perform transactional bookkeeping; conduct month-end close activities including bank and credit card reconciliations; prepare financial reports; provide curated financial reports and packages; perform trust reconciliation projects.
• Client Services: Attend onboarding Zoom calls; create guides and tutorials for clients; provide client training on tools; manage client communication and expectations; facilitate onboarding materials and processes for new employees; set up QuickBooks Online and Clio accounts for clients.
• Continuous Improvement: Generate new ideas for streamlining processes; implement improvements; and contribute to team efficiency.

Skills & Qualifications

• 3-5 years of prior experience in roles like bookkeeping, accounting, or related fields.
• Proficiency with accounting software such as QuickBooks Online and Xero.
• Strong knowledge of accounting principles and practices, including reading balance sheets, categorizing expenses, and understanding COGS.
• Tech-savviness and ability to quickly learn new tools.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Proactive and able to work independently and as part of a team.
• Experience in client services and managing client relationships.

Bonus if you also have:

• Experience working with or within a US firm
• Experience in legal services or legal bookkeeping.
• Working towards or holding CA or ACCA certification.
• Quickbooks certifications.
• Familiarity with our tools: Slack, MS Teams, Clio, QuickBooks Online, Centerbase, TABs, Basecamp, Excel, SharePoint, Bitwarden, and time tracking tools.

Working Hours: 6 hours of required overlap between 8AM-4PM CST (St Louis, MO time), with remaining hours flexible.

Employment Type: Full-time (40 hours/week).

Education: A relevant undergraduate degree is preferred; accounting-related training is a plus.

Level: Intermediate (3-5 years of relevant work experience).

Compensation: ~🇺🇸USD$538-754/month (🇪🇬26K-36K EGP/month), depending on experience.

Benefits of working with us:

• 🚀 Work directly with a forward-thinking American firm.
• 🏡 Work from the comfort of your home.
• 🏆 Incredibly talented teammates.
• 🧘🏾‍♀️ Work-life balance: 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
• 💰 Above-market compensation.
• 💻 Remote-first company culture.
• 🧠 Lots of learning & growth opportunities.
• 🤗 Engage in Slack channels for good news, sharing info about our kids, and building camaraderie.
• 👥 Participate in team seminars and monthly vision meetings to stay involved in company plans.
• 🎉 Enjoy birthday shout-outs, cards, and charity donations in honor of our team members' birthdays.

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Additional keywords: Legal Bookkeeper, Financial Accountant, Accounts Payable Specialist, Accounts Receivable Specialist, Payroll Specialist, Accounting Clerk, Bookkeeping Manager, Tax Accountant, Billing Specialist, Trust Accountant, QuickBooks Online, Clio, cloud bookkeeping, legal accounting, financial reconciliation, year-end close, international tax experience, US GAAP, CA certification, ACCA certification, cloud-based accounting tools, financial analysis, client services, trust account management.