Bookkeepers perform a critical function for the firms and organizations they serve. Regularly challenged to maintain precise and accurate records, bookkeepers produce the vital reports that keep management up to date on the financial condition of their company. Bookkeepers are responsible for maintaining the “business checkbook”, much like a personal checkbook. They record routine money transactions like customer payments into a “cash receipts journal” and checks to vendors into a “cash disbursement journal. They also process payroll. At month end they transfer or “post” the “journal” totals to the “general ledger” in preparation for financial statements prepared by the accountant. Bookkeeping is procedural and is largely concerned with development and maintenance of accounting records. It is the “how” of accounting. Bookkeeping means keeping basic financial records, tracking and providing information used by a business. book keeping is the recording of financial transactions and events, either manually or electronically. While recordkeeping is essential to data reliability, accounting is this and much more.