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Accounting representative vs accounting clerk

The differences between accounting representatives and accounting 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 representative and an accounting clerk. Additionally, an accounting representative has an average salary of $43,876, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.

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

Accounting representative vs accounting clerk overview

Accounting RepresentativeAccounting Clerk
Yearly salary$43,876$38,683
Hourly rate$21.09$18.60
Growth rate-5%-5%
Number of jobs111,415106,969
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age5151
Years of experience66

What does an accounting representative do?

Account representatives are in charge of making sales. Their primary duties include designing and maintaining customer accounts, as well as being a liaison between the organization and clients. They constantly communicate with clients, respond to their concerns, and monitor transactions as well as payments. Also, they develop company invoices, regularly keeping track of client's transactions, maintaining records of the client's account, and routinely auditing them. The job requirements include strong communication and negotiation skills, relevant experience in sales, and confidence.

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.

Accounting representative vs accounting clerk salary

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

Accounting RepresentativeAccounting Clerk
Average salary$43,876$38,683
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $65,000Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying CityMenlo Park, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew York
Best paying companyAmazonWilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp
Best paying industryAutomotiveGovernment

Differences between accounting representative and accounting clerk education

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

Accounting RepresentativeAccounting Clerk
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 46%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorBusinessAccounting
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Accounting representative vs accounting clerk demographics

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

Accounting RepresentativeAccounting Clerk
Average age5151
Gender ratioMale, 21.6% Female, 78.4%Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratioBlack 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%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%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between accounting representative and accounting clerk duties and responsibilities

Accounting representative example responsibilities.

  • Review and verify invoices and administer check, ACH, and wire payments.
  • Submit claims; re-bill claims, adjustments claims, and collections from Medicare, Medicaid and other commercial insurance payers.
  • Balance ACH debit exception report, ACH credit exception report and share draft non-post report and enter corresponding general ledger entries.
  • Submit claims to Medicare and Medicaid utilizing IDX system for electronic processing.
  • Prepare daily reconciliations of policy relate cash receipts and disbursements and suspense accounts.
  • Resolve errors by resubmitting correct or unacknowledge claims, medical records, appeals and other documentation require for timely payments.
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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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Accounting representative vs accounting clerk skills

Common accounting representative skills
  • Patients, 15%
  • Data Entry, 8%
  • Payroll, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Computer System, 5%
  • Financial Reports, 5%
Common accounting clerk skills
  • Data Entry, 15%
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Purchase Orders, 9%
  • Reconciliations, 6%
  • Vendor Invoices, 6%
  • QuickBooks, 3%

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