Accounting clerk vs finance clerk

The differences between accounting clerks and finance 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 a finance clerk. Additionally, a finance clerk has an average salary of $39,225, 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 a finance clerk are data entry, purchase orders, and HR.

Accounting clerk vs finance clerk overview

	Accounting Clerk	Finance Clerk
Yearly salary	$38,683	$39,225
Hourly rate	$18.60	$18.86
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	106,969	143,372
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
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 a finance clerk do?

Finance clerks are financial professionals who are responsible for performing various administrative tasks such as keeping financial records, preparing bills, and delivering excellent customer service. These clerks are required to process bills, checks, receipts, and other documents to ensure that they are all properly signed and distributed. They must verify financial and other data so that they can enter those data into the database and maintain updated records. Finance clerks must also assist with account reconciliations and should report the status of accounts and discrepancies to the management.

Accounting clerk vs finance clerk salary

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

	Accounting Clerk	Finance Clerk
Average salary	$38,683	$39,225
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $51,000	Between $27,000 And $56,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp	United States Courts
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between accounting clerk and finance clerk education

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

	Accounting Clerk	Finance Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting clerk vs finance clerk demographics

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

	Accounting Clerk	Finance Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%	Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8%
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, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounting clerk and finance 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.

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Finance clerk example responsibilities.

Manage resident's private information for insurance verification, billing, and eligibility to apply for Medicaid.
Collaborate with insurance company representatives, case managers and physicians to obtain treatment authorization for potential kidney and kidney/pancreas transplant patients.
Write checks in the QuickBooks software to vendors and to reimburse employees.
Establish customer files in QuickBooks, write and test work instructions for clients, log and close complete files.
Produce PowerPoint presentations in order to brief the command team of the on goings within the company.
Used an automate information system (PeopleSoft) to edit, modify, and verify customers personal and payment information.

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Accounting clerk vs finance clerk skills

Common accounting clerk skills

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

Common finance clerk skills

Data Entry, 16%
Purchase Orders, 9%
HR, 5%
Bank Statements, 5%
Bank Deposits, 5%
Credit Card, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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