Platform
Plateform
Platform Overview
ai icon
AI
Why Workstream
Why Workstream
compliance icon
Compliance
Integrations
Integrations
fully-supported
Fully Supported
Product
Hiring
time & scheduling icon
HR
Engagement
payroll-1
Featured Reads
Webinar
For our customers: Product roadmap sneak peek
hiring
Restaurant Payroll 101
Learn how to tackle the hardest aspects of paying restaurant workers from taxes and tip reporting to labor law compliance.

How to Hire Accounting Clerks: A Practical Guide for Small Business Owners

Discover how to hire accounting clerks who keep your books accurate, payroll smooth, and compliance simple—so you can focus on growing your business.

Small business owner interviewing a candidate to hire accounting clerks for bookkeeping and payroll tasks in a modern office

How to Hire Accounting Clerks: A Practical Guide for Small Business Owners

Finding the right person to handle your business’s books can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Whether you’re a franchisee juggling payroll, a restaurant owner trying to keep labor costs in check, or a retail manager who just wants someone who won’t mess up the numbers, hiring accounting clerks is about more than just crunching figures. It’s about trust, reliability, and keeping your business running smoothly.

What Does an Accounting Clerk Actually Do?

Before you even think about posting that job ad, it helps to know what you’re hiring for. An accounting clerk is the backbone of your finance team—they process invoices, manage accounts payable and receivable, help with payroll, and keep records tidy for tax season. Sometimes they go by other names: bookkeeping assistant, payroll clerk, or just “the person who keeps us out of trouble with the IRS.”

  • Processing day-to-day transactions (think bills, receipts, and payments)
  • Reconciling bank statements—catching errors before they snowball
  • Assisting with payroll and benefits tracking
  • Maintaining accurate records for compliance (see federal recordkeeping requirements)

If you want to dig into the nitty-gritty of job descriptions and compliance, check out this helpful guide on job description topics.

The Real Cost of a Bad Hire (And Why It Hurts)

Here’s the thing: hiring the wrong person isn’t just a headache—it’s expensive. According to industry research on turnover costs, losing and replacing an employee can cost up to 200% of their annual salary. For small businesses, that’s money you’d rather spend on growth or new equipment.

High turnover in finance roles isn’t just about dollars and cents—it can lead to missed deadlines, tax penalties, or even lawsuits. If you want more numbers on how turnover affects your bottom line, take a look at this breakdown of employee turnover costs.

Why Do Accounting Staff Leave?

If you’re seeing high turnover, you’re not alone—restaurants and retail face this challenge too.

How to Recruit Finance Employees Who Stick Around

Write a Job Posting That Attracts the Right People

Your job ad shouldn’t read like a laundry list of demands. Instead, focus on what makes your business unique and why someone would want to join your team. For inspiration, browse these job posting examples tailored for hourly workers. Highlight perks—flexible hours, instant pay access (see how instant pay works), or opportunities for training.

  • Be clear about duties and expectations (how to write job descriptions)
  • Mention any required certifications or experience (but don’t scare off great learners!)
  • Describe your company culture—people want to know who they’ll be working with
  • Include pay range and benefits—transparency attracts serious candidates (why salary matters in job ads)

Sourcing Candidates: Where to Look (and Where Not To)

If you’re still pinning paper ads on the breakroom wall, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Modern recruiting happens everywhere—from Instagram job postings to digital platforms like Workstream’s hourly hiring automation suite. Don’t forget about referrals from current staff—sometimes your best new hire is a friend of your best employee.

Screening and Interviewing: Spotting the Real Deal

This is where things get interesting. Sure, you want someone who knows their debits from their credits—but attitude matters too. Use structured interviews with questions that reveal both technical skills and cultural fit. If you need help crafting questions, check out these cultural fit interview questions for hourly teams.

The Secret Sauce: Onboarding & Retaining Your Accounting Staff

Onboarding Done Right (And Why It Matters)

If you’ve ever thrown a new hire into the deep end without a life vest, you know how that story ends. A structured onboarding process reduces errors, boosts confidence, and increases retention. For actionable templates, see these onboarding templates for new hires.

Retention: Keeping Your Payroll Clerk Happy (and Productive)

You don’t need beanbag chairs or endless snacks to keep people happy (though they don’t hurt). What really matters? Fair pay, flexible scheduling, opportunities for growth, and a sense of belonging. Flexible schedules are especially important for hourly finance employees—here’s why schedule flexibility boosts retention rates.

  • Offer training and upskilling: Encourage learning new software or cross-training with bookkeeping assistants.
  • Recognize good work: Public praise goes a long way—read more on employee recognition strategies here.
  • Create a path for advancement: Even if it’s small steps, show there’s room to grow.
  • Use technology that makes life easier: Modern HR platforms like Workstream’s all-in-one suite save time and reduce errors.
  • Avoid burnout: Monitor workloads and provide support during busy seasons (Gallup’s research on burnout causes).

A Few Compliance Nuggets You Can’t Ignore (Disclaimer!)

Please note: This article is not legal advice. Always consult with a qualified HR or legal professional regarding wage laws and compliance in your state.

The Bottom Line: Make Hiring Accounting Staff Easier (and Smarter)

If you’re tired of paperwork mountains and manual scheduling headaches, it might be time to modernize how you hire accounting clerks. Platforms like Workstream’s mobile-first HR suite are designed for hourly businesses—automating everything from screening to onboarding so you can focus on building relationships (and maybe even take a lunch break).

  • Reduce time-to-hire by half: Automated screening and interview scheduling let you move fast—before great candidates slip away.
  • Simplify compliance: Digital document storage keeps everything organized for audits.
  • Cut HR tool costs by up to $30K/year: Replace multiple systems with one seamless platform.
  • Boost retention: Better onboarding and engagement tools mean fewer headaches down the road.
  • Avoid payroll errors: Integrated payroll processing built for hourly staff means fewer mistakes—and happier employees.

If you’re curious how other businesses have streamlined their hiring process, see these stories from real franchisees using Workstream’s solutions: Dunkin’ Franchisee Success Story, Five Guys Expansion Story, and tips on restaurant hiring automation here.

A Final Word: Don’t Go It Alone!

No one expects you to be an expert in finance hiring overnight. Lean on proven resources, talk to peers, and consider tools designed specifically for businesses like yours. And remember—every successful hire brings you closer to less stress and more time spent growing your business (or maybe just enjoying that cup of coffee while someone else balances the books).

If you want more practical guides on managing an hourly workforce, check out these resources:

You’ve got this—and if you need backup, there are tools (and people) ready to help.

Get the latest with Workstream

Always stay current with hiring news by subscribing to our email updates

platform

All your important HR tasks under one roof

Today’s business owners and HR teams are overwhelmed with administrative tasks: manual processes and exports, duplicative data entry, and siloed information. Workstream centralizes and simplifies people tasks so you can move fast, reduce labor costs, and simplify operations—all in one place.

Shape-1
hiring-icon-1
Hiring

Hire better quality workers, faster

HR
HR

Streamline people processes and ensure employee records are always accurate

Engagement
Engagement

Reduce turnover and increase worker engagement

Time-1
Time & Scheduling

Manage schedules and hours worked to optimize your labor costs

payroll-1
Payroll

Pay your team quickly, easily, and accurately

How we’re different

Lots of companies claim to be “all-in-one” - but aren’t a great fit for your hourly business. Here’s why Workstream stands out:

Mobile-friendly 

Mobile doesn’t just mean having an app. With Workstream, your time-sensitive people processes—from responding to candidates to reviewing shift changes and overtime alerts—happen easily on your mobile phone, so you can get things done while you’re on the go.

Built for hourly 

Whether it’s labor requirements,language diversity, meal breaks, or multiple pay rates - managing an hourly workforce comes with unique requirements. With Workstream, you’re using a system purpose-built to actually support the nuances of your hourly business.

Best in class support

When you’re trying to get a payroll run out the door, you can’t afford to wait a few days to hear back from a support team. With Workstream, our customers get a response time from our  dedicated (human) team in an average of 2 minutes. And did we mention we’ll also fully migrate your payroll data for you in about two weeks? We’re there for you, whatever you need.

resources

Become a hiring and onboarding expert.

thumb-2-1
CUSTOMER STORY

How one 26 location Burger King group streamlined staffing

unsplash_NoRsyXmHGpI-1
TEMPLATES

Download our free Hiring and Onboarding checklist

jj-customer-thumb-2-1
CUSTOMER STORY

What this Jimmy John's group did to future-proof their operations

Be smart with your hourly workforce

Book a demo