Senior Bookkeeper - Trust, Retainer & Multi-Company Accounting

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Senior Bookkeeper - Trust, Retainer & Multi-Company Accounting

Accounting, Financial Services, Legal, Property Management, Real Estate, Real Estate Brokerage and Leasing

Type Full-Time

Location(s) Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

• On-Site
  
  

Compensation CAD $65,000 - CAD $80,000 Annually

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Job

Description

• Full-Time
• Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
• On-Site
  
  

Important Location Requirement:

This is a remote position; however, candidates must be located in the same country, city, or region where the job is posted. The successful candidate must be available to attend a local office, meeting, training session, or company event if requested.

Please only apply if you are based in the location listed on this job posting. Remote does not mean the position is open worldwide.

The Opportunity

The Rothenbury Group is seeking an experienced Senior Bookkeeper to support a Canadian real estate brokerage, a property management company, and several related businesses.

This Position Requires Hands-on Experience In Two Areas

• Real estate brokerage trust accounting and monthly trust reconciliation
• Client retainer or reserve accounting, including receiving funds, applying authorized expenses, reconciling balances, and returning unused amounts
  
  

Retainer experience may come from property management, a law firm, professional services, or another environment where funds are held on behalf of clients. Candidates must also have direct Canadian real estate brokerage trust-account experience.

This is a senior individual-contributor position for someone who can independently maintain accurate records, investigate discrepancies, and keep trust, retainer, operating, and multi-company accounts properly reconciled.

Key Responsibilities

Trust and Brokerage Accounting

• Maintain brokerage trust and operating-account records
• Complete monthly brokerage trust reconciliations
• Reconcile trust bank balances to accounting and individual deal records
• Track deposits, disbursements, transfers, reversals, and adjustments
• Reconcile completed deals, commissions, salesperson payments, co-operating brokerage amounts, and trust-to-operating transfers
• Investigate unidentified funds, unmatched deposits, posting errors, and unsupported balances
• Maintain complete reconciliation files and audit trails
• Escalate unresolved or material trust differences
  
  

Client Retainers and Reserve Funds

• Maintain separate balances by client, owner, property, or agreement
• Track funds received, expenses applied, additional funding, refunds, and balances remaining
• Confirm that deductions are authorized and supported
• Reconcile client-level records to bank and general-ledger balances
• Identify retainers requiring replenishment or return
• Calculate and process approved refunds of unused funds
• Investigate negative, unidentified, unsupported, or unreconciled balances
• Maintain documentation supporting every use or release of client funds
  
  

Full-Cycle Bookkeeping

• Maintain accounting records across multiple companies and legal entities
• Complete bank, credit-card, general-ledger, and balance-sheet reconciliations
• Prepare accruals, prepaids, depreciation, recurring entries, and approved journal entries
• Reconcile intercompany, accounts payable, and accounts receivable balances
• Apply and reconcile appropriate GST/HST treatment
• Record payroll expenses, deductions, remittances, and liabilities
• Support month-end and year-end close
• Prepare internal financial statements and supporting schedules
• Investigate unusual balances, incorrect coding, duplicate entries, and unsupported transactions
• Maintain organized documentation and year-end working papers
  
  

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or diploma in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field
• Minimum five years of full-cycle Canadian bookkeeping or accounting experience
• Direct Canadian real estate brokerage accounting experience
• Hands-on experience maintaining and reconciling brokerage trust accounts
• Experience with brokerage deposits, completed deals, commissions, and trust disbursements
• Experience managing client retainers, reserve funds, or other money held on behalf of clients
• Experience tracking client funds from receipt through authorized use, reconciliation, and refund
• Strong bank, general-ledger, and balance-sheet reconciliation skills
• GST/HST, payroll, intercompany, month-end, and year-end experience
• Advanced QuickBooks Online proficiency
• Strong Excel or Google Sheets skills
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Ability to work independently from the Vaughan office
  
  

Both brokerage trust-account experience and client retainer or reserve accounting experience are required. The experience may have been gained in different positions or industries.

Preferred Experience

• Ontario real estate brokerage accounting
• Property management accounting
• Law-firm trust or retainer accounting
• Brokerage or property-management systems
• High-volume trust, deal, or client-fund reconciliation
• Preparing records for audit, compliance, or year-end review
• Cleaning up historically unreconciled accounts
• Reviewing work completed by administrators or junior bookkeepers
  
  

Who Will Succeed

You understand that trust and retainer accounting requires more than matching a bank statement. Every amount held on behalf of a client must be supported by the appropriate deal, owner, property, agreement, and documentation.

You investigate discrepancies instead of carrying them forward. You also understand when funds may be applied, transferred, refunded, or released and when additional documentation or approval is required.

Unresolved trust differences, missing funds, negative client balances, unsupported deductions, and possible mixing of client and operating funds must be escalated immediately.

How to Apply

Apply with your resume. If your background aligns with the position, you’ll receive an email with a link to complete a short pre-recorded video interview within 24–48 hours of applying.

Schedule and Compensation

• Full-time, Monday to Friday
• In-office position in Vaughan
• C$65,000–C$80,000 annually
  
  

Final compensation will depend on brokerage trust-account experience, client-retainer experience, reconciliation ability, Canadian bookkeeping background, systems knowledge, and overall qualifications.

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