Account associate vs accounts payable clerk

The differences between account associates and accounts payable clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an account associate and an accounts payable clerk. Additionally, an account associate has an average salary of $48,927, which is higher than the $38,333 average annual salary of an accounts payable clerk.

The top three skills for an account associate include customer service, work ethic and develop leads. The most important skills for an accounts payable clerk are customer service, data entry, and purchase orders.

Account associate vs accounts payable clerk overview

	Account Associate	Accounts Payable Clerk
Yearly salary	$48,927	$38,333
Hourly rate	$23.52	$18.43
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	98,235	89,564
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

What does an account associate do?

An account associate is responsible for supporting the accounting and finance department in performing accounting operations, bookkeeping functions, and other related clerical tasks. Account associates analyze and sort financial statements accordingly, assist on payroll processing, evaluate account reconciliations and receivables, create financial reports, and updating recent account information on the database. They also handle clients' inquiries and concerns, routing calls to the appropriate accounting staff or department. An account associate must have excellent analytical and communication skills, as well as comprehensive knowledge of the accounting principles.

What does an accounts payable clerk do?

An accounts payable clerk is responsible for supporting the accounting department by performing clerical duties to file financial reports timely and accurately. Accounts payable clerks manage and verify invoices documents, reconcile balance spreadsheets, process payments for suppliers and vendors, resolve billing discrepancies, confirm and post account statements, record outstanding credits, and maintain an organized record of transactions. An accounts payable clerk must have excellent knowledge of the accounting principles to deliver high-quality services and help the business minimize excessive financial loss.

Account associate vs accounts payable clerk salary

Account associates and accounts payable clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Account Associate	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average salary	$48,927	$38,333
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $67,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC	Jane Street
Best paying industry	Finance	Technology

Differences between account associate and accounts payable clerk education

There are a few differences between an account associate and an accounts payable clerk in terms of educational background:

	Account Associate	Accounts Payable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Account associate vs accounts payable clerk demographics

Here are the differences between account associates' and accounts payable clerks' demographics:

	Account Associate	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 38.9% Female, 61.1%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between account associate and accounts payable clerk duties and responsibilities

Account associate example responsibilities.

Manage corporate Google+ and Instagram accounts.
Input and manage the company CRM system.
Utilize LinkedIn, Google search to identify B2B decision-makers and generate warm leads.
Install network software, create company inventory, and manage financial records in QuickBooks, and act as secretary
Manage social media accounts and advertise the soir e events through email and Instagram resulting in increase in follower count.
Manage data, creative, premium and POS fulfillment, follow-up telemarketing to dealers and legal requirements for group dealer programs.

Accounts payable clerk example responsibilities.

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Match, code, and process vendor payments via MAS90 accounting system - including check runs and ACH payments.
Perform duties in compliance with GAAP, company and department policies and procedures, internal controls, and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
Process division payroll in coordination with ADP payroll systems for semi-monthly and weekly union contract employees.
Scan and store documents daily, retrieve W2 and W9 information along with service provider agreements when or if need.
Print, review, research, edit, code and batch invoices for processing via the various ERP financial systems.

Account associate vs accounts payable clerk skills

Common account associate skills

Customer Service, 29%
Work Ethic, 8%
Develop Leads, 7%
Patients, 5%
Account Management, 5%
PowerPoint, 4%

Common accounts payable clerk skills

Customer Service, 13%
Data Entry, 10%
Purchase Orders, 8%
Expense Reports, 6%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
Vendor Statements, 5%

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Account Associate
Account Associate vs Accounts Payable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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