Account technician vs account specialist

The differences between account technicians and account specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an account technician, becoming an account specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an account technician has an average salary of $51,115, which is higher than the $42,586 average annual salary of an account specialist.

The top three skills for an account technician include veterans, financial statements and patients. The most important skills for an account specialist are customer service, patients, and account management.

Account technician vs account specialist overview

	Account Technician	Account Specialist
Yearly salary	$51,115	$42,586
Hourly rate	$24.57	$20.47
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	94,413	116,010
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	51	46
Years of experience	6	12

What does an account technician do?

Account technicians are skilled professionals who are responsible for gathering data and preparing financial statements and reports from the account records they have maintained. These technicians are required to settle accounts with insurance companies and maximize benefits payments received from those companies. They must maintain a client management system for multiple accounts and coordinate marketing outreach for potential and existing clients. Account technicians must also monitor and compile all documents of the department, such as invoices, checks, and financial records.

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.

Account technician vs account specialist salary

Account technicians and account specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Account Technician	Account Specialist
Average salary	$51,115	$42,586
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $97,000	Between $28,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	Virginia
Best paying company	Microsoft	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between account technician and account specialist education

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

	Account Technician	Account Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Account technician vs account specialist demographics

Here are the differences between account technicians' and account specialists' demographics:

	Account Technician	Account Specialist
Average age	51	46
Gender ratio	Male, 31.3% Female, 68.7%	Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	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%
LGBT Percentage	7%	8%

Differences between account technician and account specialist duties and responsibilities

Account technician example responsibilities.

Develop expertise in use of PeopleSoft system to manage balance accounts for quarterly investment portfolio.
Process medical claims and workman compensation claims and Medicare & Medicaid claims.
Review accounts, record payments from first and third party billing to include Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance.
Close patient contact, appropriate decision-making concerning patient financial affairs and coordination between patients and third-party sponsorship for further financial assistance.
Issue manual checks from QuickBooks as needed.
Construct payment scheduling through utilization of QuickBooks.

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.

Account technician vs account specialist skills

Common account technician skills

Veterans, 13%
Financial Statements, 10%
Patients, 8%
Data Entry, 6%
HR, 5%
Reconciliations, 5%

Common account specialist skills

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

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Office and Administrative Industry
Account Technician
Account Technician vs Account Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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