Top 12 Accounting Administrative Assistant Skills to Put on Your Resume
In today’s hiring climate, a resume that actually says something matters. If you’re aiming for an Accounting Administrative Assistant role, the right skills do the heavy lifting: they signal accuracy, speed, and trust. Below, you’ll find a refreshed snapshot of what employers want, why these skills matter, and how to sharpen them so your application hits harder.
Accounting Administrative Assistant Skills
- QuickBooks
- Excel
- SAP
- Payroll
- Bookkeeping
- Xero
- Oracle
- Invoicing
- Reconciliation
- Peachtree
- Tax Preparation
- Financial Reporting
1. QuickBooks
QuickBooks is widely used accounting software for small and midsize businesses. It handles invoicing, bills, bank feeds, payroll, inventory, and reports—all in one place—so day-to-day accounting doesn’t sprawl.
Why It's Important
It trims manual work, tightens accuracy, and centralizes financial activity. That means faster closes, cleaner reports, and fewer headaches during audits or tax time.
How to Improve QuickBooks Skills
Level up with habits that stick:
Go cloud when you can: QuickBooks Online gives real-time access, easier collaboration, and fewer version-control issues.
Tune your bank feeds: Create bank rules, memorize vendor mappings, and clear uncategorized transactions weekly.
Automate recurring items: Recurring invoices, bills, journal entries—set and forget, then review monthly.
Use Classes and Locations: Segment by department, project, or site for sharper reporting.
Custom reports: Build report groups with filters and memorize them. Schedule delivery to stakeholders.
Month-end checklist: Reconcile every bank/credit account, lock periods, and review the audit log.
Security and backups: Enforce two-factor authentication, restrict roles, and back up regularly.
Less time fixing errors, more time driving clarity.
How to Display QuickBooks Skills on Your Resume
2. Excel
Excel is the accountant’s Swiss Army knife—data organization, analysis, modeling, and reporting. From budgets to reconciliations, it’s everywhere.
Why It's Important
It turns raw data into answers. Accurate sums, sharp analysis, quick pivots. When deadlines loom, Excel speed saves the day.
How to Improve Excel Skills
Sharpen what matters most:
Modern lookups: Prefer XLOOKUP over VLOOKUP; learn INDEX/MATCH, SUMIFS, XMATCH.
Dynamic arrays: FILTER, UNIQUE, SORT, SEQUENCE, TEXTSPLIT—clean and reshape data fast.
PivotTables and slicers: Summarize large datasets and build quick drilldowns.
Power Query: Import, clean, and transform messy data without manual rework.
Power Pivot (DAX): Build models and measures for deeper reporting.
Data validation + conditional formatting: Keep inputs tight, surface outliers instantly.
Tables and structured references: Fewer broken formulas, cleaner models.
Automation: Record macros or use Office Scripts to eliminate repetitive steps.
Optional certification: A Microsoft Excel certification can validate proficiency.
Small upgrades compound into serious time savings.
How to Display Excel Skills on Your Resume
3. SAP
SAP (including S/4HANA) integrates finance, procurement, sales, inventory, and more into one system. For accounting support, it’s about precise postings and dependable reports.
Why It's Important
It standardizes processes at scale, improves data quality, and provides real-time visibility so decisions aren’t guesswork.
How to Improve SAP Skills
Build fluency step by step:
Learn the landscape: Understand Fiori, common FI/CO transactions, document types, and posting periods.
Module basics: General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Asset Accounting—know the flow end to end.
Hands-on practice: Post sample documents, reverse entries, run payment proposals, clear open items.
Standard reports: Get comfortable with line item displays and aging, then save variants for speed.
Controls and approvals: Follow segregation-of-duties rules and workflow steps precisely.
Keep notes: Document t-codes, variants, and common error fixes for quick reference.
The more you see, the faster you connect the dots.
How to Display SAP Skills on Your Resume
4. Payroll
Payroll is the calculation and payment of wages, taxes, and deductions—accurately, on time, every time.
Why It's Important
It protects compliance, keeps employees paid correctly, and anchors trust across the organization.
How to Improve Payroll Skills
Bring order and reliability:
Use robust software: Tools like ADP, QuickBooks Payroll, or Gusto can automate rates, taxes, and filings.
Calendar everything: Federal and state deposit deadlines, quarterlies, year-end—no surprises.
Clean master data: Verify pay rates, addresses, exemptions, garnishments, and bank details regularly.
Time tracking sync: Integrate time systems to reduce manual keying and errors.
Reconcile each run: Tie payroll registers to GL postings and cash outflows; fix variances immediately.
Year-end readiness: Prepare W-2s, 1099-NEC, and state forms early; maintain audit-ready support.
Stay current: Monitor changes to tax rates, thresholds, and labor rules across jurisdictions.
Consistency is king in payroll—precision builds confidence.
How to Display Payroll Skills on Your Resume
5. Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the organized recording of financial activity—every invoice, payment, bill, and journal entry kept in line.
Why It's Important
Accurate books enable smart decisions, easier audits, compliant tax filings, and a smoother month-end close.
How to Improve Bookkeeping Skills
Make accuracy routine:
Standardize the chart: Clear account names and numbers reduce miscoding and cleanup later.
Lock a cadence: Enter transactions daily, reconcile weekly, review monthly.
Use software well: Leverage features in QuickBooks, Xero, or similar for bank feeds, rules, and recurring entries.
Document flow: Keep bills, receipts, and approvals centralized with consistent naming conventions.
Internal controls: Segregate duties, require approvals, and review change logs.
Know the basics: Cash vs. accrual, prepaids, deferrals, depreciation—get the mechanics right.
Continuous learning: Refresh on standards and process improvements periodically.
Tidy books make everything else easier.
How to Display Bookkeeping Skills on Your Resume
6. Xero
Xero is cloud accounting built for small and midsize teams—bank feeds, invoicing, payroll, reporting, collaboration.
Why It's Important
It compresses manual tasks into a streamlined flow and offers real-time numbers you can act on.
How to Improve Xero Skills
Work smarter inside Xero:
Automation first: Set bank rules, repeating invoices/bills, and scheduled reports.
Tracking categories: Segment results by department, project, or location without extra files.
Receipts in one place: Use Xero Files or receipt capture tools to attach source documents.
Find & Recode: Clean bulk mistakes quickly, with audit trails intact.
Lock dates: Prevent changes to closed periods and protect the audit trail.
Integrations: Connect CRM, payments, or payroll via the Xero app marketplace to reduce duplicate entry.
Keep the system clean, and the numbers stay sharp.
How to Display Xero Skills on Your Resume
7. Oracle
Oracle offers enterprise-grade finance tools, including Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP and, in some firms, Oracle E-Business Suite. Think GL, AP, AR, fixed assets, cash management, and analytics under one umbrella.
Why It's Important
It standardizes finance across entities and geographies, improves data integrity, and supports robust reporting and controls.
How to Improve Oracle Skills
Get comfortable with the essentials:
Core modules: Understand GL, AP, AR, and Cash Management flows—from entry to approval to posting.
Reporting tools: Learn Smart View, OTBI, and financial reporting center basics; save parameter sets.
Workflow and roles: Follow approval paths and keep role-based access lean.
Close management: Reconcile subledgers to GL, monitor intercompany, and tick off close checklists.
Templates and imports: Use upload templates for high-volume entries; validate before posting.
Precision in setup means smoother day-to-day execution.
How to Display Oracle Skills on Your Resume
8. Invoicing
Invoicing is the creation and delivery of bills for products or services, with clear terms so payments arrive on time.
Why It's Important
Cash flow lives or dies here. Accurate, timely invoices mean fewer disputes and faster receipts.
How to Improve Invoicing Skills
Make it consistent and predictable:
Standard templates: Include PO, item details, quantities, taxes, and payment terms every time.
E-delivery: Send invoices electronically with embedded payment options (ACH, card) to shorten cycles.
PO matching: Verify price and quantity before sending; avoid rework and credit memos.
Follow-up rhythm: Automated reminders at due date and after; escalate with a firm but polite dunning sequence.
Partial and progress billing: Handle deposits, retainers, and milestones cleanly.
Dispute playbook: Document common issues and standard responses to resolve quickly.
Clear invoices get paid. Confusing ones don’t.
How to Display Invoicing Skills on Your Resume
9. Reconciliation
Reconciliation compares internal records to external statements and fixes differences. Bank accounts, credit cards, AR, AP—everything must tie.
Why It's Important
It safeguards accuracy, exposes errors and fraud, and underpins reliable financial statements.
How to Improve Reconciliation Skills
Build a no-drama process:
Increase frequency: Weekly beats monthly for catching issues early.
Bank rules + imports: Use statement imports and rules to speed matching, then investigate exceptions only.
Checklists: Standard steps for each account; document reconciling items with dates and owners.
Tie-outs: AR and AP subledgers must agree with the GL; age and review unapplied cash or credits.
Clear suspense: Zero out clearing accounts promptly; set thresholds for materiality.
Lock periods: Prevent post-close changes without approvals.
When reconciliations stay current, close is calm.
How to Display Reconciliation Skills on Your Resume
10. Peachtree
Peachtree is now Sage 50cloud Accounting. It supports invoicing, AP/AR, inventory, payroll, and reporting for small businesses.
Why It's Important
It streamlines everyday accounting and produces reliable reports without heavyweight IT overhead.
How to Improve Peachtree Skills
Get more out of Sage 50:
Chart discipline: Keep accounts lean and logical; prune duplicates.
Recurring transactions: Memorize frequent entries and reports to save clicks.
Inventory accuracy: Set costing methods correctly, cycle count, and reconcile variances monthly.
Bank feeds and rules: Speed coding and reduce manual entry.
Backups: Rotate backups and test restores; don’t wait for a crisis.
Stay updated: Apply patches and read release notes for improvements.
Consistency here pays off in fewer fixes later.
How to Display Peachtree Skills on Your Resume
11. Tax Preparation
Tax preparation gathers, organizes, and files returns for individuals or businesses—accurately and in compliance—while managing deadlines and documentation.
Why It's Important
It reduces risk, prevents penalties, and ensures the company takes credits and deductions it’s entitled to.
How to Improve Tax Preparation Skills
Make filing season feel ordinary, not chaotic:
Documentation first: Maintain W-9s, 1099 vendor status, sales tax certificates, and support for deductions throughout the year.
Organized workpapers: Create a folder structure for returns, statements, fixed asset schedules, and tie-outs to the GL.
Fixed assets: Track additions, disposals, and methods; reconcile book vs. tax depreciation.
Calendar deadlines: Federal, state, city, and quarterly estimates—no missed dates.
Review trail: Checklists for common errors; document who reviewed what and when.
Leverage software: Use reliable tax and accounting tools to reduce manual calculations and e-file when possible.
Preparation isn’t seasonal; it’s a steady habit.
How to Display Tax Preparation Skills on Your Resume
12. Financial Reporting
Financial reporting produces statements and schedules—balance sheet, income statement, cash flows, and supporting notes—that describe performance and position.
Why It's Important
Stakeholders need trustworthy numbers. Good reporting enables decisions, ensures compliance, and tells the financial story without fog.
How to Improve Financial Reporting Skills
Polish the process and the output:
Close checklist: Define tasks, owners, and due dates; track progress and blockers.
Control the data: Reconcile all key accounts; lock periods after review.
Standard packages: Build a repeatable reporting deck with KPIs, variance analyses, and trends.
Narratives count: Add concise explanations for major movements; anticipate stakeholder questions.
Compliance awareness: Keep current on relevant standards (for example, revenue and lease rules) and apply company policies consistently.
Version control: Centralize files and track changes; avoid “which file is final?” chaos.
Automation: Use software to pull data once, refresh many times; reduce copy-paste risk.
The best reports are accurate, timely, and instantly readable.
How to Display Financial Reporting Skills on Your Resume
