Accounting staff vs accounts receivable clerk

The differences between accounting staff 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 staff and an accounts receivable clerk. Additionally, an accounting staff has an average salary of $53,322, which is higher than the $36,425 average annual salary of an accounts receivable clerk.

The top three skills for an accounting staff include reconciliations, journal entries and general ledger accounts. The most important skills for an accounts receivable clerk are customer service, data entry, and collection calls.

Accounting staff vs accounts receivable clerk overview

	Accounting Staff	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Yearly salary	$53,322	$36,425
Hourly rate	$25.64	$17.51
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	108,836	87,935
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

What does an accounting staff do?

The accounting staff works alongside the head accountant in an organization, company, or business. Proper accounting is essential for all companies as it will help management assess areas of the company that needs adjustments, especially budget-wise. Aside from this, a competent accounting staff assists in the company's bookkeeping and filing its taxes. The accounting staff must be highly organized, communicate well with colleagues, and generate accurate reports for the executives and management.

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 staff vs accounts receivable clerk salary

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

	Accounting Staff	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Average salary	$53,322	$36,425
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $73,000	Between $29,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Oregon	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Essex Property Trust	IBM
Best paying industry	Professional	Finance

Differences between accounting staff and accounts receivable clerk education

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

	Accounting Staff	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounting staff vs accounts receivable clerk demographics

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

	Accounting Staff	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1%	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, 67.3% 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 staff and accounts receivable clerk duties and responsibilities

Accounting staff example responsibilities.

Manage accounts payable activities such as receiving and processing invoices, preparing relate journal entries and completing monthly reconciliations.
Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Administer management of AR transactions in support of optimizing cash-inflow, including establishing and maintaining account reconciliations.
Ensure accuracy of financial statements in accordance with GAAP and internal policies.
Audit reports and approve invoices to ensure proper coding are done in compliance with GAAP.
Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.

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 staff vs accounts receivable clerk skills

Common accounting staff skills

Reconciliations, 9%
Journal Entries, 8%
General Ledger Accounts, 6%
Payroll Taxes, 6%
Cash Management, 5%
Accounts Payable Processing, 5%

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 Staff vs Accounts Receivable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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