Accounting administrator vs accounts payable administrator

The differences between accounting administrators and accounts payable administrators 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 accounts payable administrator. Additionally, an accounting administrator has an average salary of $48,068, which is higher than the $41,860 average annual salary of an accounts payable administrator.

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

Accounting administrator vs accounts payable administrator overview

	Accounting Administrator	Accounts Payable Administrator
Yearly salary	$48,068	$41,860
Hourly rate	$23.11	$20.12
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	97,934	79,272
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
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 accounts payable administrator do?

An accounts payable administrator is an individual who reviews and verifies the invoices of suppliers and grants payment requests. Accounts payable administrators must prepare invoice batches and input them in the accounts payable module of the financial information system every day to ensure that payments meet weekly and monthly deadlines. When warranted, they seek clarifications or explanations from submitters and responds to inquiries from suppliers, consultants, and clients regarding the status of their payments. Accounts payable administrators must also ensure that reimbursements are properly approved.

Accounting administrator vs accounts payable administrator salary

Accounting administrators and accounts payable administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accounting Administrator	Accounts Payable Administrator
Average salary	$48,068	$41,860
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $70,000	Between $32,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	Clifton, NJ	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New Jersey	New York
Best paying company	Cambridge Associates	Ducommun
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between accounting administrator and accounts payable administrator education

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

	Accounting Administrator	Accounts Payable Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting administrator vs accounts payable administrator demographics

Here are the differences between accounting administrators' and accounts payable administrators' demographics:

	Accounting Administrator	Accounts Payable Administrator
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%	Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3%
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, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounting administrator and accounts payable administrator 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.

Accounts payable administrator example responsibilities.

Manage payroll transactions utilizing ADP payroll software.
Maintain a cash flow chart of checks issue and clear, ACH payments, incoming collections, and wire transfers.
Solve complex general accounting functions, including preparation of journal entries, account analysis and balance sheet reconciliations.
Set up new vendors, maintain new supplier forms and proper W8 and W9 reporting.
Implement standard form to vendors to complete and return along with W9 and a sample invoice.
Review and record vendor bills utilizing QuickBooks.

Accounting administrator vs accounts payable administrator skills

Common accounting administrator skills

Customer Service, 13%
Data Entry, 9%
Reconciliations, 7%
Purchase Orders, 6%
Journal Entries, 5%
Credit Card Payments, 4%

Common accounts payable administrator skills

Purchase Orders, 12%
Data Entry, 9%
Vendor Invoices, 8%
Expense Reports, 6%
Credit Card, 5%
Vendor Statements, 5%

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Accounting Administrator
Accounting Administrator vs Accounts Payable Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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