Junior Accountant – Commercial Real Estate Firm

employment type: full-time
compensation: starting salary range of $55-65k depending on qualifications and experience, 2 weeks paid vacation per year, 7 sick days per year, bonus pay

We are Silverstate Development Corporation, a local real estate development, investment, and property management firm based in San Jose, CA. We are looking for a full-time Junior Accountant / Office Admin at our office in San Jose. In this position, you will work under the supervision of our senior property accountant on accounting and administrative responsibilities across all aspects of our organization.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Starting annual salary range of $55-65k, depending on qualifications and experience
• Two weeks paid vacation per year
• Bonus pay

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

• Accounting:
- Process day-to-day payables and receivables for our commercial properties
- Bookkeeping for our various property-owning LP and LLC business entities
- Process the payroll
- Perform monthly bank reconciliations, create monthly financial reports, assist in reviewing for trends and discrepancies
- Manage tenant ledgers, review automatically-generated tenant monthly statements, identify/correct discrepancies
- Prepare journal entries for special accounting situations (e.g. capital distributions to LP/LLC partners/members)
- Work with our third-party CPA firms for annual tax return preparation, prepare and implement adjusting journal entries to match filed tax returns for each LP/LLC to close out the previous year

• Administrative:
- Support Property Management Activities – coordinate communication/scheduling with property managers, tenants, contractors
- Support Leasing Activities – assist in preparing/processing/filing leasing documents, maintaining correct leasing information, performing tenant move-ins and move-outs in AppFolio Property Manager (cloud-based property management software)
- Support Commercial Real Estate Development Activities – assist in coordination of communication and activities between managers and outside brokers, attorneys, city planning/building officials, architects, consultants, contractors
- Assist in our planned and on-going efforts to streamline/update some aspects of our operations using available new technology

Qualifications/Requirements:

• Strong working knowledge/understanding of basic accounting principles:
- The accounting equation and double-entry bookkeeping
- A strong fundamental understanding of income statements and balance sheets
- Basic understanding of cash basis tax accounting and U.S. tax law
- Some form of formal accounting education/training is required
- Experience with double-entry accounting software (e.g. QuickBooks) is preferred
- Prior experience/knowledge of the accounting functionality of AppFolio Property Manager is a plus (but if not, that’s ok--it’s fairly intuitive and we will train you)

• Strong verbal and written communication skills:
- Ability to communicate effectively via phone, e-mail, and in-person
- Ability/willingness to deal with tenants, contractors, vendors, etc. in an effective, friendly, and professional manner, but able to be assertive and take initiative when needed.

• Other attributes/qualities that will help a candidate be successful in this role:
- Be highly organized and be able to manage effective and efficient paper and digital filing systems
- Strong proficiency with computers and technology, including word processing (e.g. MS Word, Google Docs) and spreadsheet (e.g. MS Excel, Google Sheets) software
- High level of conscientiousness and being detail-oriented, responsive
- Having a proactive attitude toward operations, e.g. being proactive in spotting problems/discrepancies, checking for mistakes, anticipating problem areas that may have otherwise been overlooked, etc.
- Ability to be an independent problem solver, but also able to ask for help or seek out additional information or resources when needed
- Positive and open-minded attitude
- Any previous real-estate/property management/development experience or knowledge is also a plus, but not required

The ideal candidate would have some formal education/training in financial accounting, such as an undergraduate degree in business or economics with financial accounting coursework, or completion of an accounting certification program. A solid foundation of basic accounting principles knowledge is key. Some practical experience working with double-entry bookkeeping, income statements, and balance sheets is preferred (this could include school projects, internships, work experience).

The ideal candidate would also be sharp, have a positive attitude, and be willing to learn. We will train you. We also value work-life balance and you will not be expected to put in many extra hours outside of the normal work day except (rarely) in extraordinary circumstances. Our philosophy is to find the right candidate for the long-term, so that they can grow with the company, and both employer and employee can invest in each other’s mutual success.

About Us – Silverstate Development Corporation:

We are a local real estate development, investment, and property management firm based in San Jose, CA. Although we now focus mainly on commercial real estate, we have experience in developing and building both residential and commercial real estate projects. Since the 1990s, we have developed and built townhouse condominiums, single family homes, commercial shopping centers, industrial buildings, hotels, and more recently, daycare/preschools. We manage our own (mostly commercial) portfolio of over 100 leasable units that includes retail, office, and industrial properties, all of which we have a majority and/or managing ownership interest in.

As a member of a relatively small and lean team, you will have the opportunity to learn about and be involved in many aspects of real estate: leasing, sales, development, construction, property management, accounting, investment, financing, and more. The position also has great opportunity to evolve and grow depending on your own interests, capabilities, and goals. If you're interested in this position, please send your resume to accounting@silverstatedev.com

Employment is contingent on passing a background check. Applicants should have work authorization in the U.S. We look forward to hearing from you!