Accounting clerk vs accounting technician

The differences between accounting clerks and accounting technicians 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 clerk and an accounting technician. Additionally, an accounting technician has an average salary of $41,337, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.

The top three skills for an accounting clerk include data entry, customer service and purchase orders. The most important skills for an accounting technician are customer service, financial reports, and payroll.

Accounting clerk vs accounting technician overview

	Accounting Clerk	Accounting Technician
Yearly salary	$38,683	$41,337
Hourly rate	$18.60	$19.87
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	106,969	39,972
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

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.

What does an accounting technician do?

An accounting technician is responsible for evaluating financial information procedures to support accounting and taxation tasks, verifying the accuracy of account statements for the reference of accountants. Accounting technicians manage the payroll processes, generate invoices, perform account reconciliations, analyze account receivables, prepare budget reports, and monitor the company's financial transactions. Accounting technicians should always adhere to taxation legislation, comply with accounting disciplines, and coordinate with the account management for any findings and concerns, requiring them to have excellent communication and analytical skills.

Accounting clerk vs accounting technician salary

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

	Accounting Clerk	Accounting Technician
Average salary	$38,683	$41,337
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $51,000	Between $31,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Oakland, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp	W. R. Berkley
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between accounting clerk and accounting technician education

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

	Accounting Clerk	Accounting Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting clerk vs accounting technician demographics

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

	Accounting Clerk	Accounting Technician
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%	Male, 22.7% Female, 77.3%
Race ratio	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%	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%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounting clerk and accounting technician duties and responsibilities

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 technician example responsibilities.

Develop expertise in use of PeopleSoft system to manage balance accounts for quarterly investment portfolio.
Reconcile the agency SPCC statement each month
Audit includes reviewing SPCC invoices and receipts to ensure appropriate tax exemptions are follow.
Analyze cases to determine if ICD-9 and CPT codes are covered benefits according to insurance's medical policy.
Apply GAAP following applicable federal regulations.
Maintain adherence to university accounting and GAAP standards.

Accounting clerk vs accounting technician skills

Common accounting clerk skills

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

Common accounting technician skills

Customer Service, 12%
Financial Reports, 10%
Payroll, 8%
Purchase Orders, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Reconciliations, 5%

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Accounting Clerk vs Accounting Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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