With offices across the South West, Burton Sweet has developed into a regional centre of excellence, assisting businesses, charities and individuals with their financial needs. Our offices are friendly places to work that mix experienced members of staff with fresher faces. We’re looking to grow our team to enhance the services we can provide, as well as encouraging our existing team to broaden their expertise.
Bookkeeper/Finance Assistant
Location: Shepton Mallet
Job type: Full-time, part-time, permanent
Full-time hours: 35 per week
Part-time hours: 30 per week
Salary range: £23,200-£28,000 FTE
Assisting with all aspects of bookkeeping, accounts and management accounts preparation.
The Bookkeeper/Finance Assistant will provide bookkeeping services and support for cloud packages, both in-house and externally for clients. We act as an outsourced finance department for a range of businesses and charities. The scope of work is interesting and varied. We are looking for someone who is comfortable managing their own workload and enjoys collaborating in a team environment. Typical daily tasks will include some sales ledger work, maintaining purchase ledgers, using extensive purchase invoice automation and other add-ons. This role also involves VAT return preparation/review and bank reconciliations.
Skills & experience required
- AAT part-qualified or equivalent knowledge/experience
- Good knowledge of bookkeeping processes and control
- Ideally with previous experience of delivering training on cloud bookkeeping packages
- Experience with various accountancy software/systems packages, e.g. Sage 50Cloud Accounts, Xero, QuickBooks Online, etc.
- Full working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, etc.
Qualities & skills
- Good oral and written communication skills, with proven ability to write reports and other documents
- Excellent presentation skills with the ability to communicate complex products in a clear, meaningful manner
- Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build strong relationships both internally and with clients
- Good organisational skills
- Be able to work flexibly, using own initiative and judgement, as well as working towards deadlines managing a number of tasks simultaneously
- Ability to work as part of a team
- Focused and motivated
- Professional and confident manner
- Have an understanding of confidentiality within a practice setting.
- Excellent attention to detail
Charity Accounts Assistant
Location: Bristol office
Employment type: Full-time (35 hours)
About the role
We are seeking an Accounts Assistant to join our Charity team, based in our Bristol office. This role is ideal for someone looking to assist senior accountants in maintaining accurate financial records and ensuring compliance with accounting standards. The role will involve developing expertise in accounting for charities.
The role will include:
Charity accounts preparation
- Drafting year-end accounts, extended trial balances, and basic financial statements under supervision
- Reconciliations – Perform bank and ledger reconciliations to ensure accuracy
- Compliance – Ensure documentation meets regulatory and firm standards
- Client communication – Liaise with clients for missing information and clarify queries
Independent examination
- Compliance review – Help ensure accounts align with charity law and governing documents
- Report preparation – Draft working papers and contribute to examiner’s report
- Support examination process – Assist in reviewing transactions, checking documentation against ledgers etc.
- Basic checks – Verify completeness of records and perform simple reconciliations
This role would be a perfect stepping stone to a graduate or trainee programme, leading toward professional qualifications such as AAT, ACA or ACCA.
Skills & competencies
- Studying towards (or completed) AAT Level 4 or equivalent
- Understanding of accounting principles and financial statements
- Strong analytical skills and attention to detail for testing and identifying discrepancies
- Effective communication, both written and verbal (raising issues, liaising with clients)
- Proficiency in Excel and comfortable using accounting or audit software (e.g, QBO, Xero)
- Good teamwork, readiness to learn, and ability to meet deadlines under supervision
- Good organisational and time management skills
- Desirable to hold a full UK driving licence, with access to a car
- Must hold the right to work in the UK
Benefits
- Competitive salary and benefits package
- Flexible working arrangements to promote work-life balance
- Structured professional development support within a recognised training practice
- Study support for qualifications, including exam fees and study leave
- Payment of professional subscriptions relevant to your role
- Employer contribution to pension scheme (4%)
- Supportive and friendly team environment
- Paid annual leave plus additional days for long service
- Employee wellbeing initiatives and social events
- Opportunities for career progression and professional development
If you’re ready to take the next step in your career, we’d love to hear from you!