Accounting staff vs accounts receivable specialist

The differences between accounting staff 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 staff, becoming an accounts receivable specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an accounting staff has an average salary of $53,322, which is higher than the $39,873 average annual salary of an accounts receivable specialist.

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

Accounting staff vs accounts receivable specialist overview

	Accounting Staff	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Yearly salary	$53,322	$39,873
Hourly rate	$25.64	$19.17
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	108,836	61,988
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	51	46
Years of experience	6	12

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 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 staff vs accounts receivable specialist salary

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

	Accounting Staff	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Average salary	$53,322	$39,873
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $73,000	Between $31,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Oregon	Connecticut
Best paying company	Essex Property Trust	InfosysPublicService
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between accounting staff and accounts receivable specialist education

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

	Accounting Staff	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Accounting staff vs accounts receivable specialist demographics

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

	Accounting Staff	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Average age	51	46
Gender ratio	Male, 31.9% Female, 68.1%	Male, 18.2% Female, 81.8%
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, 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 staff and accounts receivable specialist 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 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 staff vs accounts receivable specialist 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 specialist skills

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

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Accounting Staff vs Accounts Receivable Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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