Accounting clerk lead vs accounts payable clerk

The differences between accounting clerks lead and accounts payable 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 lead and an accounts payable clerk. Additionally, an accounting clerk lead has an average salary of $70,816, which is higher than the $38,333 average annual salary of an accounts payable clerk.

The top three skills for an accounting clerk lead include general ledger, HR and GAAP. The most important skills for an accounts payable clerk are customer service, data entry, and purchase orders.

Accounting clerk lead vs accounts payable clerk overview

	Accounting Clerk Lead	Accounts Payable Clerk
Yearly salary	$70,816	$38,333
Hourly rate	$34.05	$18.43
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	100,886	89,564
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

What does an accounting clerk lead do?

Accounting Clerk Leads are professionals who are responsible for leading a team of junior-level clerks to maintain a record of a wide range of financial transactions for an organization. These clerks are required to settle and update general ledger accounts by reviewing the month-end process. They are required to develop and implement accounting policies and procedures by following the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to ensure external financial statements and internal management reports. Accounting clerk leads must also coordinate all accounting activities related to internal controls.

What does an accounts payable clerk do?

An accounts payable clerk is responsible for supporting the accounting department by performing clerical duties to file financial reports timely and accurately. Accounts payable clerks manage and verify invoices documents, reconcile balance spreadsheets, process payments for suppliers and vendors, resolve billing discrepancies, confirm and post account statements, record outstanding credits, and maintain an organized record of transactions. An accounts payable clerk must have excellent knowledge of the accounting principles to deliver high-quality services and help the business minimize excessive financial loss.

Accounting clerk lead vs accounts payable clerk salary

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

	Accounting Clerk Lead	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average salary	$70,816	$38,333
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $118,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Square	Jane Street
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between accounting clerk lead and accounts payable clerk education

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

	Accounting Clerk Lead	Accounts Payable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting clerk lead vs accounts payable clerk demographics

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

	Accounting Clerk Lead	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 26.1% Female, 73.9%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.4% 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 lead and accounts payable clerk duties and responsibilities

Accounting clerk lead example responsibilities.

Manage weekly, monthly, and quarterly accruals and SOX reporting.
Lead the conversion to new trading software that enhance cash management and treasury reporting.
Prepare monthly trust experience reports, including reconciliations of trust contributions and disbursements.
Prepare adjusting journal entries, reconcile general accounts, and conduct bank reconciliations.
Conduct internal control testing and provide controllership operating framework data metrics for SOX compliance.
Establish feasibility of payroll function consolidation from individual facilities to single location, resulting in reduction of headcount and cost savings.

Accounts payable clerk example responsibilities.

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Match, code, and process vendor payments via MAS90 accounting system - including check runs and ACH payments.
Perform duties in compliance with GAAP, company and department policies and procedures, internal controls, and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
Process division payroll in coordination with ADP payroll systems for semi-monthly and weekly union contract employees.
Scan and store documents daily, retrieve W2 and W9 information along with service provider agreements when or if need.
Print, review, research, edit, code and batch invoices for processing via the various ERP financial systems.

Accounting clerk lead vs accounts payable clerk skills

Common accounting clerk lead skills

General Ledger, 13%
HR, 13%
GAAP, 9%
Reconciliations, 9%
Invoice, 5%
Internal Controls, 5%

Common accounts payable clerk skills

Customer Service, 13%
Data Entry, 10%
Purchase Orders, 8%
Expense Reports, 6%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
Vendor Statements, 5%

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Accounting Clerk Lead
Accounting Clerk Lead vs Accounts Payable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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