Accounting administrator vs accounting clerk

The differences between accounting administrators and accounting 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 accounting administrator and an accounting clerk. Additionally, an accounting administrator has an average salary of $48,068, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.

The top three skills for an accounting administrator include customer service, data entry and reconciliations. The most important skills for an accounting clerk are data entry, customer service, and purchase orders.

Accounting administrator vs accounting clerk overview

	Accounting Administrator	Accounting Clerk
Yearly salary	$48,068	$38,683
Hourly rate	$23.11	$18.60
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	97,934	106,969
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

What does an accounting administrator do?

An accounting administrator is responsible for reviewing and analyzing account statements, managing deposits, and resolving bank discrepancies and financial disputes. Accounting administrators handle the efficient and accurate cash flow within an organization, including payroll release and filing of petty cash. They maintain an organized record of payments and billing statements for reference and audit purposes to generate reports for the management. An accounting administrator must have extensive knowledge of the accounting principles, as well as excellent communication and analytical skills to perform duties effectively, even under minimal supervision.

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.

Accounting administrator vs accounting clerk salary

Accounting administrators and accounting clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accounting Administrator	Accounting Clerk
Average salary	$48,068	$38,683
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $70,000	Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Clifton, NJ	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	Cambridge Associates	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp
Best paying industry	Technology	Government

Differences between accounting administrator and accounting clerk education

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

	Accounting Administrator	Accounting Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting administrator vs accounting clerk demographics

Here are the differences between accounting administrators' and accounting clerks' demographics:

	Accounting Administrator	Accounting Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 6.5% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	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	7%	7%

Differences between accounting administrator and accounting clerk duties and responsibilities

Accounting administrator example responsibilities.

Manage cash flow; online banking, initiates ACH transactions, deposits and transfer of funds.
Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Monitor and resolve accounts overdue, return ACH and collection calls.
Import time into the ADP batch and process any expenses or miscellaneous reimbursements.
Work directly with the owners & CPA providing weekly/monthly financial reporting and year end tax preparation.
Record dividends and loan payments, also consult with CPA and business owners for tax preparation.

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.

Accounting administrator vs accounting clerk skills

Common accounting administrator skills

Customer Service, 13%
Data Entry, 9%
Reconciliations, 7%
Purchase Orders, 6%
Journal Entries, 5%
Credit Card Payments, 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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Accounting Administrator
Accounting Administrator vs Accounting Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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