Freelance Small Business Jobs (NOW HIRING)

THIS IS REMOTE BUT MUST RESIDE IN THE EASTERN TIME ZONE OF THE UNITED STATES. CANDIDATE MUST NOT BE PRESENTLY EMPLOYED BY A COMPANY OR SEEKING TEMPORARY, PART-TIME FREELANCE WORK; CANDIDATE MUST BE A CAREER SELF-EMPLOYED FREELANCE BOOKKEEPER - NOT A W2 SEEKER.

AEP Engineering, LLC is a growing MEP engineering consulting firm seeking a highly reliable, proactive U.S.-based freelance QuickBooks Desktop Bookkeeper & Small Business Administrator to support our accounting and day-to-day business administration.

This is a 1099 independent-contractor position paid hourly at $30 per hour. Unlike our project-based engineering contractor positions, this role is ongoing hourly support rather than lump-sum work negotiated separately for individual projects.

We are looking for an established freelancer or independent professional who has meaningful availability for ongoing client work. We will not consider candidates who are currently employed full-time elsewhere and are seeking moonlighting opportunities.

This is a hands-on bookkeeping and small-business administration role, not a senior accounting, controller, tax, audit, payroll-management, or financial-analysis position. We are looking for someone who enjoys accurate day-to-day QuickBooks work, reconciliations, billing, Excel data entry, recordkeeping, and practical business administration. Advanced accounting credentials or graduate degrees are not required.

The right person will become a trusted part of our extended team and take ownership of recurring accounting and administrative responsibilities.

Primary Responsibilities

• QuickBooks Desktop data entry and account maintenance
• Bank and credit-card reconciliations
• Entering and processing bills and payments
• Contractor billing and payment administration
• Maintaining customer, vendor, and contractor records
• Importing and exporting QuickBooks data to and from Excel
• Assisting with project billing and accounting spreadsheets
• Reviewing accounts receivable and aging reports
• Following up on routine overdue invoices using AEP-approved procedures and communications
• Generating routine QuickBooks reports, including P&L, A/R, A/P, and transaction-detail reports
• Researching transactions, payments, invoices, account history, and other information in QuickBooks as requested
• Maintaining organized accounting and administrative records

Business Administration

The role may also include:

• Maintaining software licenses, subscriptions, and recurring service accounts
• Tracking renewals and account changes
• Managing routine software/user-account administration
• Keeping company records and recurring administrative items organized
• Making occasional updates to the AEP website
• Maintaining basic company information and project updates on LinkedIn or other business platforms
• Posting or updating company content provided or approved by AEP

This is not primarily a marketing or social-media strategy position. These responsibilities are intended as practical administrative support for a small professional-services firm.

What Matters Most to Us

We place a very high value on reliability, responsiveness, organization, and initiative.

We are looking for someone who:

• Treats agreed deadlines as firm commitments
• Does not allow AEP work to fall behind other clients after accepting an assignment
• Communicates early if anything could affect a deadline
• Proactively identifies problems, missing information, discrepancies, or tasks requiring attention
• Does not wait to be repeatedly reminded or followed up with
• Is comfortable learning and following AEP's specific procedures and workflows
• Accepts feedback and can adapt to our preferred methods
• Reviews their own work carefully
• Communicates clearly and professionally
• Is reasonably available during normal U.S. business hours

Qualifications

• Several years of hands-on bookkeeping experience using QuickBooks Desktop
• Strong practical understanding of bookkeeping and basic accounting terminology
• Experience with bank and credit-card reconciliations, A/R, A/P, invoices, bills, payments, and routine financial reports
• Ability to research and retrieve information efficiently within QuickBooks
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including accurate data entry and working with existing spreadsheets
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Excellent written and verbal English communication
• Comfortable working independently and remotely
• Must provide and maintain your own computer, reliable internet service, and Microsoft 365 software, including Word, Excel, Outlook/email, and other standard office applications required to perform the work
• Must maintain a professional email address and reliable phone/online communication capability during agreed working periods
• U.S.-based
• CPA licensure, advanced accounting certifications, and graduate degrees are not required for this role.

Experience supporting a small professional-services, engineering, architecture, consulting, or similar firm is a plus.

Contractor Relationship

This is a remote 1099 freelance independent-contractor relationship paid at $30 per hour.

Workload may vary depending on AEP's needs, and no minimum number of hours is guaranteed. Hours will be based on actual bookkeeping and administrative work assigned and performed.

Our goal is to develop a long-term relationship with the right person and gradually delegate additional recurring bookkeeping and administrative responsibilities as trust and familiarity with AEP's systems develop.

To Apply

Please submit your resume and briefly answer the following:

• How many years of hands-on QuickBooks Desktop experience do you have?
• Do you primarily use QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, or both?
• Are you currently employed full-time by another company?
• Are you an established freelance/independent contractor as your primary career or business, rather than freelancing temporarily while between full-time W-2 positions or seeking your next salaried job?
• Approximately how much availability do you typically have each week?
• Briefly describe the types of bookkeeping and small-business administrative work you currently handle for clients.

AEP Engineering, LLC is an MEP engineering consulting firm providing Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire Protection, and Fire Alarm design services for commercial and residential building projects throughout the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area.