Bookkeeper & Property Administrator

Location: Remote - South Africa

Employment Type: Full-Time

Start Date: Immediate

Working Environment: Supporting a UK-based property business

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Bookkeeper & Property Administrator to join a well-established, family-run UK property business specialising in residential and student property.

This is a varied remote position combining hands-on bookkeeping with property administration and tenant support. Bookkeeping is the primary focus of the role, and candidates must have strong practical accounting experience, particularly using Xero.

The successful candidate will be responsible for maintaining accurate financial records across multiple accounts and business entities, completing daily reconciliations, and supporting the wider administration of a busy property portfolio.

As the role develops, there will be an opportunity to take on broader responsibilities across property administration and operations.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

Bookkeeping & Finance

• Manage day-to-day bookkeeping activities across multiple business entities.
• Complete daily bank reconciliations across multiple bank accounts.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date financial records within Xero.
• Allocate and categorise income and expenditure accurately.
• Process and reconcile invoices, payments and financial transactions.
• Monitor outstanding payments and support accounts receivable processes.
• Maintain accurate records across different properties, businesses and projects.
• Investigate discrepancies and proactively resolve reconciliation issues.
• Ensure financial information is properly recorded and organised.
• Support financial reporting and provide accurate information when required.
• Identify unusual transactions or issues and escalate them appropriately rather than allowing them to remain unresolved.

Property Administration

Once core bookkeeping responsibilities are managed effectively, the role will also provide support across the wider property portfolio, including:

• Supporting general property and tenancy administration.
• Maintaining accurate tenant and property records.
• Responding professionally to tenant enquiries.
• Communicating with students, tenants, parents and other stakeholders.
• Following up on outstanding documentation or actions.
• Assisting with tenancy-related administration and correspondence.
• Supporting the coordination of property-related tasks.
• Maintaining organised digital records and documentation.
• Helping improve and document administrative processes as the role develops.

Essential Experience

To be considered, candidates must have:

• Strong hands-on bookkeeping experience.
• Excellent working knowledge of Xero.
• Proven experience completing bank reconciliations accurately and consistently.
• Experience managing a high volume of financial transactions.
• Strong numerical accuracy and attention to detail.
• Confidence investigating discrepancies rather than simply processing transactions.
• Strong written and spoken English.
• Professional communication skills suitable for dealing directly with customers or tenants.
• Strong administrative and organisational ability.
• The ability to work independently in a remote environment.

Experience working with multiple entities, companies or bank accounts within Xero would be highly advantageous.

Property, lettings, real estate or property-management experience would also be beneficial, but strong bookkeeping experience is more important than property experience.

What We Are Looking For

This position requires more than someone who can simply follow a checklist.

We are looking for an individual with strong judgement, initiative and problem-solving ability who can recognise when something does not look right, investigate the issue and determine the appropriate next step.

The successful candidate should be:

• Proactive and comfortable working independently.
• Confident making sensible decisions within their area of responsibility.
• Able to identify exceptions and escalate issues appropriately.
• Naturally curious when figures, transactions or information do not match.
• Highly accurate and detail-oriented.
• Warm, patient and professional when communicating with tenants and customers.
• Comfortable handling sensitive conversations professionally and with empathy.
• Able to balance established processes with practical judgement.
• Reliable, organised and accountable for completing work without constant supervision.

Customer & Tenant Communication

A key part of the wider role involves communicating with students, tenants and, at times, their parents.

We therefore need someone who combines financial accuracy with excellent people skills.

You should be able to handle sensitive situations calmly and professionally, including conversations relating to outstanding payments or tenancy concerns. The right person will understand when to follow procedure while also recognising when a situation requires empathy, further investigation or escalation.

Systems & Technical Requirements

• Strong Xero experience - essential.
• Microsoft Office / Google Workspace proficiency.
• Comfortable working across cloud-based systems and digital records.
• Strong Excel or spreadsheet skills.
• Own reliable computer/laptop.
• Stable, high-speed internet connection.
• Comfortable working remotely and communicating with a UK-based team.