How Much Can You Earn as a Bookkeeper? UK Salary Guide

Bookkeeping can be a lucrative and rewarding career if you get it right and find the role that’s best suited for you. But how much can you actually earn in it, and where are the best places in the UK to find a bookkeeping role that matches your skills and experience?

We decided to have a deeper dive into the issue. Here’s our UK salary guide about how much you can earn as a bookkeeper in various regions and countries across the UK.

Bookkeeper Salaries Across the UK

Let’s acknowledge our sources first of all. We’ve used the fantastic 2024 Hays UK Salary and Recruiting Trends Report to compile this blog, so if you’re looking for up to date information about salaries for roles in different areas of the UK, this report is for you.

England

London

A bookkeeper in London can expect to earn between £32,000 to £40,000 a year, thanks to the London job weighting for roles in the city. On average, most bookkeepers take home around £36,000 a year in the capital, making this one of the most competitive places to work in the UK.

Salary range: £32,000 to £40,000

On average: £36,000

South East England

In the south east of England – counties like Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex, you can expect to make around £28,000 to £38,000 as a bookkeeper. Generally though, the average salary is around £33,000, which is still quite competitive for the UK.

Salary range: £28,000 to £38,000

On average: £33,000

South West England

Counties like Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall that make up the South West of England tend to have slightly lower average salaries than other areas of the UK, based on the fact that they’re closer to the extreme edges of the country. In general though, a bookkeeper will still make between £30,000 and £35,000. On average, they generally take home around £30,000.

Salary range: £30,000 to £35,000

On average: £30,000

East of England

The east of England – the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk – is a popular area for bookkeepers, based on the decent salaries that are available in the region. Generally, a bookkeeper’s salary in the east of England will range from £28,000 to £35,000. On average, it’s normally around £32,000.

Salary range: £28,000 to £35,000

On average: £32,000

West Midlands

The second most populous county after Greater London, the West Midlands boasts one of the widest ranges of salaries for bookkeeping in the UK, making it well suited to bookkeepers at every stage of their career. Normally, bookkeepers in the West Midlands will earn a salary in the range of £27,000 to £34,000, although on average bookkeepers will usually earn around £30,000.

Salary range: £27,000 to £34,000

On average: £30,000

East Midlands

Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland are a promising place for a bookkeeper at the start of their career to try and land their first role in. With a salary range of between £27,000 to £33,000, a bookkeeper working in the region can expect to earn around £28,000 on average. 

Salary range: £27,000 to £33,000

On average: £28,000

North East

Reflecting its distance from London, the North East has one of the lower salary ranges for bookkeeping, but that means that you might not necessarily need as much detailed work experience to land an exciting role that you can build on. Salaries usually range from between £24,000 to £30,000 in the area, and on average, bookkeepers can expect to take home around £26,500 in the North East.

Salary range: £24,000 to £30,000

On average: £26,500

North West

The North West is the third most heavily populated area of the UK, home to the metropolises of Greater Manchester and Merseyside and the beautiful counties of Cheshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire. A good bookkeeper can expect to earn a salary between £27,000 to £33,000. On average though, they’ll be more likely to take home around £30,500. 

Salary range: £27,000 to £33,000

On average: £30,000

Scotland

Almost a third of the entire size of the UK, Scotland is home to the vibrant, cosmopolitan city of Glasgow and the stunning ‘Athens of the North’, Edinburgh – not to mention some breath-taking Highland and island vistas. In terms of bookkeepers though, salaries range between £26,000 and £28,000 – reflecting, in part, the lower cost of living in the country compared to England. On average, a bookkeeper can expect to make around £27,000 in Scotland.

Salary range: £26,000 to £28,000

On average: £27,000

Wales

A proud Celtic nation, Wales is becoming an increasingly popular place for many young professionals to work, thanks to the growth of the capital, Cardiff.

Bookkeepers can expect to make a salary of between £24,000 to £32,000 a year, and take home around £28,000 on average in Wales. As salaries go for bookkeeping roles in the UK, that’s not too bad.

Salary range: £24,000 to £32,000

On average: £28,000

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland holds many surprises when it comes to bookkeeping. In terms of salaries, it has one of the widest ranges, stretching from £25,000 to £32,000. It also has one of the largest average salaries for bookkeepers in a UK country that isn’t England, at £28,000.

Salary range: £25,000 to £33,000

On average: £28,000

As you can see, there are a wide range of bookkeeping salaries available in different areas of the UK, letting you match your skills and experience to a role more easily. We hope this blog has been useful in helping you to find out where you can grow your bookkeeping career.

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