What does a Accountant do?
An accountant records, classifies and reports a company's financial transactions, ensuring the books are accurate and compliant. In India they typically maintain ledgers, reconcile accounts, process invoices and payroll, prepare financial statements, handle GST and tax filings, and support audits — providing the reliable financial records that managers and regulators depend on for decisions and compliance.
A accountant usually has around 0–6 yrs of experience and earns typically ₹2.5L–₹9L/yr in India. The day-to-day blends Bookkeeping, Tally, GST & TDS and more — this page gives you a ready-to-use accountant job description template you can copy, plus the exact skills and salary employers expect.
Accountant job description template
Copy the 8 responsibilities, 5 requirements and 9 skills below into your job post, then edit the parts that are specific to your company — pay band, location and reporting line.
Select the text above to copy it manually if the button is unavailable.
What are a Accountant's key responsibilities?
A accountant is typically responsible for the 8 duties below, which cover the day-to-day work most employers expect the role to own outright. Paste them into your job post as they are, or cut the ones another team already handles — a responsibility list that claims work the hire will not actually do is the fastest way to lose a candidate at offer stage:
- Record and classify daily financial transactions in the ledger
- Reconcile bank, vendor and customer accounts
- Process accounts payable, receivable and invoices
- Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements
- Handle GST, TDS and other tax computations and filings
- Assist with payroll processing and statutory compliance
- Support internal and statutory audits with documentation
- Maintain accurate records in accounting software like Tally or Zoho Books
What qualifications does a Accountant need?
Employers hiring a accountant in India usually ask for the 5 qualifications below, typically alongside 0–6 yrs of experience. Keep only the ones you will genuinely screen on: every extra must-have narrows the pool, and in the Indian market a long mandatory list filters out strong candidates whose background simply reads differently on paper:
- Bachelor's degree in commerce, accounting or finance (B.Com)
- Knowledge of accounting principles, GST and TDS
- Proficiency in accounting software (Tally, Zoho Books) and Excel
- Strong attention to detail and numerical accuracy
- Understanding of statutory compliance and audit support
What skills should a Accountant have?
These are the 9 skills employers name most often on live accountant listings in India. Treat the first few as the ones worth screening for directly and the rest as signals a candidate can pick up on the job — asking for all of them at once is what turns a reasonable role into an unfillable one:
Listing the three or four skills you genuinely screen on — rather than all 9 — is what keeps a accountant posting from filtering out candidates who could do the job.
What does a Accountant earn in India?
Typical salary (India)
typically ₹2.5L–₹9L/yr
Experience range
0–6 yrs
These are typical ranges and vary by city, company and skills. For live, role-specific pay data, see the OnJob salary guide.
Accountant job description — FAQs
What does an accountant do?
An accountant records and reports a company's financial transactions, keeps the books accurate, reconciles accounts, processes invoices and payroll, prepares financial statements, and handles GST and tax filings — ensuring the business stays financially organised and compliant.
What is the difference between an accountant and a chartered accountant?
An accountant handles day-to-day bookkeeping and financial records, typically with a B.Com. A chartered accountant (CA) is a certified professional who can audit accounts, sign off statutory filings and provide expert tax and advisory services, requiring the rigorous CA qualification.
What software do accountants use in India?
Tally is the most widely used accounting software in India, with Zoho Books also common and QuickBooks or SAP appearing at larger firms. Accountants still lean on Excel alongside any package: bank reconciliations, ledger checks and the workings behind GST and TDS filings are usually built in spreadsheets, and statutory audits expect schedules that can be traced line by line.
How much does an accountant earn in India?
Accountants at fresher level earn ₹2.5L–₹4L per year, ₹4.5L–₹7L at mid-level, and ₹8L+ once senior. Compliance depth is what separates the tiers — handling GST and TDS computations and filings, closing monthly and annual statements, and standing up to statutory audit pays more than data entry in Tally, and B.Com plus real Excel fluency is the usual entry gate.