Account specialist vs accounting clerk

The differences between account specialists 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 specialist, becoming an accounting clerk takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an account specialist has an average salary of $42,586, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.

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

Account specialist vs accounting clerk overview

	Account Specialist	Accounting Clerk
Yearly salary	$42,586	$38,683
Hourly rate	$20.47	$18.60
Growth rate	-8%	-5%
Number of jobs	116,010	106,969
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	46	51
Years of experience	12	6

What does an account specialist do?

An account specialist is responsible for reaching out to customers or potential clients through calls, emails, and other forms of correspondence to secure sales and strengthen business relations. An account specialist may also perform other tasks such as arranging appointment schedules with clients, providing price quotes and responding to further inquiries, process orders, generating sales leads, and handling complaints and resolving issues. Furthermore, an account specialist may also be involved in developing strategies, finding new opportunities, producing and completing necessary documents, and preparing reports, all in adherence to the company's policies and regulations.

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 specialist vs accounting clerk salary

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

	Account Specialist	Accounting Clerk
Average salary	$42,586	$38,683
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $62,000	Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Virginia	New York
Best paying company	Microsoft	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp
Best paying industry	Finance	Government

Differences between account specialist and accounting clerk education

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

	Account Specialist	Accounting Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	-	University of Pennsylvania

Account specialist vs accounting clerk demographics

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

	Account Specialist	Accounting Clerk
Average age	46	51
Gender ratio	Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8%	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 60.8% 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 specialist and accounting clerk duties and responsibilities

Account specialist example responsibilities.

Cultivate productive long-term relationships with all assign accounts, and manage all reporting and presentation needs for RFP's.
Manage a portfolio of accounts end to end RFP program execution inclusive of pricing, contracting, process and technology solutions.
Manage the daily correspondence from assign practices with keeping doctor/patient confidentiality under consideration along with HIPPA regulations.
Deliver exceptional customer service to hospital accounts and internal sales representatives in accordance to revenue recognition policies and HIPAA regulations.
Experience with CMS 1500 and UB-04 claims using HCPC/CPT codes as well as NDC codes
Monitor CMS and real time aux codes.

Show more

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.

Show more

Account specialist vs accounting clerk skills

Common account specialist skills

Customer Service, 25%
Patients, 13%
Account Management, 6%
PowerPoint, 4%
Data Entry, 4%
Catheter, 3%

Common accounting clerk skills

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

Account Specialist vs. similar jobs

Account Specialist related careers

Account Specialist related jobs

Account Specialist jobs by location

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z