Accounting representative vs accounts receivable specialist

The differences between accounting representatives and accounts receivable specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an accounting representative, becoming an accounts receivable specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an accounting representative has an average salary of $43,876, which is higher than the $39,873 average annual salary of an accounts receivable specialist.

The top three skills for an accounting representative include patients, data entry and payroll. The most important skills for an accounts receivable specialist are customer service, patients, and data entry.

Accounting representative vs accounts receivable specialist overview

	Accounting Representative	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Yearly salary	$43,876	$39,873
Hourly rate	$21.09	$19.17
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	111,415	61,988
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	51	46
Years of experience	6	12

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 accounts receivable specialist do?

Accounts receivable specialists are members of the organization's finance or accounting department. They are responsible for managing the collection of payments for the company. They prepare official receipts and coordinate with account payable specialists from other companies with pending payables. They ensure that clients pay on time, and they also follow up on payments when necessary. They are responsible for checking whether the clients have already paid in full. Accounts receivable specialists are in charge of updating accounting records as well to ensure that client records are up to date.

Accounting representative vs accounts receivable specialist salary

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

	Accounting Representative	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Average salary	$43,876	$39,873
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $65,000	Between $31,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	Menlo Park, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	Connecticut
Best paying company	Amazon	InfosysPublicService
Best paying industry	Automotive	Technology

Differences between accounting representative and accounts receivable specialist education

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

	Accounting Representative	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Accounting representative vs accounts receivable specialist demographics

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

	Accounting Representative	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Average age	51	46
Gender ratio	Male, 21.6% Female, 78.4%	Male, 18.2% Female, 81.8%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 3.9% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	7%	8%

Differences between accounting representative and accounts receivable specialist 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.

Accounts receivable specialist example responsibilities.

Manage profitable accounts receivable ledgers for existing and new clientele maintaining accuracy of monies enter to appropriate relate account.
Perform accounts reconciliations, complex invoice research, statement reconciliations, complex invoice research, statement reconciliation and journal entries.
Follow company's standard operating procedures in cooperation with Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance providers to resolve billing issues.
Cash and credit allocation of customer payments in ROSS ERP system.
Prepare PowerPoint presentations, word documents, letters and spreadsheets while meeting deadlines.
Reconcile direct billing accounts and adjust product pricing utilizing JD Edwards EnterpriseONE ERP system.

Accounting representative vs accounts receivable specialist skills

Common accounting representative skills

Patients, 15%
Data Entry, 8%
Payroll, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Computer System, 5%
Financial Reports, 5%

Common accounts receivable specialist skills

Customer Service, 15%
Patients, 9%
Data Entry, 5%
Credit Card Payments, 4%
Reconciliations, 4%
Accounts Receivables, 3%

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Accounting Representative
Accounting Representative vs Accounts Receivable Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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