A bookkeeper is someone whose job is to keep careful track of a business's money: recording every payment received and every expense paid. When a store sells a shirt, someone buys supplies, or an employee gets paid, the bookkeeper writes it all down in organized accounts, or books. This way, the business owner always knows exactly how much money they have, where it came from, and where it went.

Before computers, bookkeepers worked with actual bound books full of lined pages, writing entries by hand with meticulous care. One mistake could throw off all the calculations. Today, most bookkeepers use computer software, but the job remains essentially the same: maintaining accurate, detailed financial records.

Good bookkeeping matters enormously. Without accurate records, a business can't file taxes correctly, can't tell whether it's making or losing money, and can't plan for the future. Many successful entrepreneurs credit their bookkeeper as one of the most important people in their business, even though the work happens quietly behind the scenes.