Account receivable associate vs accounting clerk

The differences between account receivable associates and accounting clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become an account receivable associate, becoming an accounting clerk takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an account receivable associate has an average salary of $43,252, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.

The top three skills for an account receivable associate include customer service, data entry and patients. The most important skills for an accounting clerk are data entry, customer service, and purchase orders.

Account receivable associate vs accounting clerk overview

	Account Receivable Associate	Accounting Clerk
Yearly salary	$43,252	$38,683
Hourly rate	$20.79	$18.60
Growth rate	-8%	-5%
Number of jobs	79,264	106,969
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	46	51
Years of experience	12	6

What does an account receivable associate do?

An account receivable associate is responsible for collecting and posting client payments for the company's services, recording system transactions timely, and reaching out to clients for outstanding bills. Account receivable associates settle accurate receipts for records, resolve payment discrepancies, and handle other related financial transactions. They also create comprehensive financial reports to the supervisor for review and submission to the senior management. An account receivable associate reviews contract agreements and discusses payment terms with the clients.

What does an accounting clerk do?

Accounting clerks are employees assigned to manage administrative and clerical tasks in the accounting department. Accounting clerks handle office accounting records and ensure that files are properly labeled and stored. They validate records and check whether these are updated. They also sort through documents to ensure that they are in their proper storage bins. Aside from document handling, they also help with creating and validating financial statements and bookkeeping. As such, accounting clerks should have a strong background in accounting to manage their tasks better.

Account receivable associate vs accounting clerk salary

Account receivable associates and accounting clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Account Receivable Associate	Accounting Clerk
Average salary	$43,252	$38,683
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $63,000	Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Wallingford, CT	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Connecticut	New York
Best paying company	Alvarez & Marsal	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp
Best paying industry	Technology	Government

Differences between account receivable associate and accounting clerk education

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

	Account Receivable Associate	Accounting Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Account receivable associate vs accounting clerk demographics

Here are the differences between account receivable associates' and accounting clerks' demographics:

	Account Receivable Associate	Accounting Clerk
Average age	46	51
Gender ratio	Male, 23.5% Female, 76.5%	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 3.5% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	8%	7%

Differences between account receivable associate and accounting clerk duties and responsibilities

Account receivable associate example responsibilities.

Manage daily credit card reconciliations and personally deliver regular cash deposits in a safe and professional manner.
Manage profitable accounts receivable ledgers for existing and new clientele maintaining accuracy of monies enter to appropriate relate account.
Participate in month end close process by ensuring all assign journal entries and account reconciliations are perform timely and accurately.
Receive payments by credit card, ACH (automate clearing house) and electronic bank deposits.
Create and process ACH draft files, credit cards and manual deposits for multiple bank accounts.
Print and export daily EDI orders, match documents by PO number and forward to shipping department for processing.

Accounting clerk example responsibilities.

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Perform balance sheet reconciliations and resolve open items by notifying employees and vendors of transaction discrepancies.
Assist in monthly financial close process by analyzing preliminary departmental expense reports and making necessary adjustments and accruals.
Develop a spreadsheet that pulls all data relate to project hours by operation from the ERP system.
Process all incoming payments receive via ACH, EFT, or the web; ensure accounts are accurately balance and reconcile.
Digitize proof of delivery receipts into ERP system (AS400) serving as an easy backup for employees to verify occurrence.

Account receivable associate vs accounting clerk skills

Common account receivable associate skills

Customer Service, 19%
Data Entry, 8%
Patients, 8%
Good Judgment, 5%
Credit Card Payments, 4%
Cash Application, 4%

Common accounting clerk skills

Data Entry, 15%
Customer Service, 10%
Purchase Orders, 9%
Reconciliations, 6%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
QuickBooks, 3%

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Account Receivable Associate
Account Receivable Associate vs Accounting Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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