Qualifications
Unlike an accounting job, all you really need to be a bookkeeper is a high school diploma and a knack for numbers, though it also helps to be a meticulous, fastidious, Felix Unger-y sort of person.
You'll have to be computer savvy and a whiz with accounting software like Quicken or QuickBooks, which are generally viewed as the standard programs in the biz. You also need to know your way around an Excel spreadsheet.
Furthermore, you must be extremely organized and really like to categorize things. A deep love of counting and sorting is even better. You're the kid who collected and organized not only all of your Pokemon cards, but everyone else's too. You probably know exactly how many servings you can get from a box of spaghetti, and all of your clothes are color coordinated—arranged by season and style.
You also need to be down with the lingo. Bookkeepers and accountants speak a language all to themselves, a jargon full of assets and liabilities and all things numerical. Sure, there's an app for it, but you still need to know what you're talking about.
There's also the human component: while you'll be dealing with facts and figures, you need to be able to work easily with others in order to both receive and share such information. You'll always be on a deadline, which means you'll have to impose deadlines on others. Definitely hone those people skills.