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The differences between accounting assistants and accounts receivable assistants 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 assistant and an accounts receivable assistant. Additionally, an accounting assistant has an average salary of $39,569, which is higher than the $36,730 average annual salary of an accounts receivable assistant.
The top three skills for an accounting assistant include data entry, customer service and reconciliations. The most important skills for an accounts receivable assistant are customer service, data entry, and cash handling.
| Accounting Assistant | Accounts Receivable Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $39,569 | $36,730 |
| Hourly rate | $19.02 | $17.66 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 63,945 | 31,748 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
An accounting assistant is responsible for supporting the daily operations of the business' accounting department, from reviewing financial transactions to the submission of financial reports. Accounting assistants' duties include performing data entry and clerical tasks, maintaining a safe record of account statements, updating and analyzing transactions, verifying the accuracy of financial records, and managing customers and vendors' inquiries as immediate as possible. An accounting assistant must have a broad knowledge of the accounting principles and processes, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills, especially on meeting strict deadlines and doing complex tasks as needed.
An accounts receivable assistant has a variety of duties and responsibilities, including securing revenue by verifying receipts, maintaining records by microfilming debits, credits, and invoices, and summarizing receivables by maintaining invoices and determining the validity of account discrepancies. Other duties include keeping information confidential to protect the organization's value, accomplishing the organization and accounting mission, and resolving valid and authorized deductions. As an accounts receivable assistant, you are also responsible for posting customer payments by recording credit card, cash, and check transactions.
Accounting assistants and accounts receivable assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Accounting Assistant | Accounts Receivable Assistant | |
| Average salary | $39,569 | $36,730 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $50,000 | Between $29,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between an accounting assistant and an accounts receivable assistant in terms of educational background:
| Accounting Assistant | Accounts Receivable Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between accounting assistants' and accounts receivable assistants' demographics:
| Accounting Assistant | Accounts Receivable Assistant | |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 20.1% Female, 79.9% | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |