Accounting clerk vs accounts receivable clerk

The differences between accounting clerks and accounts receivable 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 clerk and an accounts receivable clerk. Additionally, an accounting clerk has an average salary of $38,683, which is higher than the $36,425 average annual salary of an accounts receivable clerk.

The top three skills for an accounting clerk include data entry, customer service and purchase orders. The most important skills for an accounts receivable clerk are customer service, data entry, and collection calls.

Accounting clerk vs accounts receivable clerk overview

	Accounting Clerk	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Yearly salary	$38,683	$36,425
Hourly rate	$18.60	$17.51
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	106,969	87,935
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
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 accounts receivable clerk do?

An Accounts Receivable Clerk specializes in processing payment records and bill statements of a company or organization. Among the duties include calculating total revenues and unpaid invoices, maintaining financial records and keeping a detailed and organized database, and verifying financial transactions and payment delinquencies. Furthermore, an Accounts Receivable Clerk must resolve and examine deductions, prepare invoices and necessary documentation, and review customer payment plans and history records and coordinate with the collections department should there be any issues.

Accounting clerk vs accounts receivable clerk salary

Accounting clerks and accounts receivable clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accounting Clerk	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Average salary	$38,683	$36,425
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $51,000	Between $29,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	New York	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp	IBM
Best paying industry	Government	Finance

Differences between accounting clerk and accounts receivable clerk education

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

	Accounting Clerk	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting clerk vs accounts receivable clerk demographics

Here are the differences between accounting clerks' and accounts receivable clerks' demographics:

	Accounting Clerk	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%	Male, 13.7% Female, 86.3%
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, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounting clerk and accounts receivable clerk 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.

Accounts receivable clerk example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor weekly bank deposit runs and record deposits into QuickBooks.
Manage profitable accounts receivable ledgers for existing and new clientele maintaining accuracy of monies enter to appropriate relate account.
Obtain online reports of bank transactions, including deposits, ACH, EFT and wire payments from multiple banking institutions.
Utilize QuickBooks accounting software for billing/invoices, generate statements.
Perform necessary adjustments using knowledge of Medicare and all third party insurance.
Investigate and resolve any out-of-balances including credit card discrepancies / lockbox exceptions.

Accounting clerk vs accounts receivable clerk skills

Common accounting clerk skills

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

Common accounts receivable clerk skills

Customer Service, 12%
Data Entry, 9%
Collection Calls, 8%
Financial Data, 7%
Credit Card Payments, 5%
Process Payments, 5%

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Accounting Clerk
Accounting Clerk vs Accounts Receivable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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