Accounting technician vs accounts payable technician

The differences between accounting technicians and accounts payable technicians 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 technician, becoming an accounts payable technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an accounts payable technician has an average salary of $47,325, which is higher than the $41,337 average annual salary of an accounting technician.

The top three skills for an accounting technician include customer service, financial reports and payroll. The most important skills for an accounts payable technician are FAA, A/P, and powerplant.

Accounting technician vs accounts payable technician overview

	Accounting Technician	Accounts Payable Technician
Yearly salary	$41,337	$47,325
Hourly rate	$19.87	$22.75
Growth rate	-5%	6%
Number of jobs	39,972	23,079
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	51	40
Years of experience	6	4

What does an accounting technician do?

An accounting technician is responsible for evaluating financial information procedures to support accounting and taxation tasks, verifying the accuracy of account statements for the reference of accountants. Accounting technicians manage the payroll processes, generate invoices, perform account reconciliations, analyze account receivables, prepare budget reports, and monitor the company's financial transactions. Accounting technicians should always adhere to taxation legislation, comply with accounting disciplines, and coordinate with the account management for any findings and concerns, requiring them to have excellent communication and analytical skills.

What does an accounts payable technician do?

An Accounts Payable Technician performs the day-to-day processing of accounts payable transactions. They prepare and process invoices and other financial documents manually or by using specialized automated software.

Accounting technician vs accounts payable technician salary

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

	Accounting Technician	Accounts Payable Technician
Average salary	$41,337	$47,325
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $53,000	Between $33,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	Oakland, CA	Juneau, AK
Highest paying state	California	Alaska
Best paying company	W. R. Berkley	Baptist Health Care
Best paying industry	Government	Manufacturing

Differences between accounting technician and accounts payable technician education

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

	Accounting Technician	Accounts Payable Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY Farmingdale

Accounting technician vs accounts payable technician demographics

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

	Accounting Technician	Accounts Payable Technician
Average age	51	40
Gender ratio	Male, 22.7% Female, 77.3%	Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 6.5% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	2%

Differences between accounting technician and accounts payable technician duties and responsibilities

Accounting technician example responsibilities.

Develop expertise in use of PeopleSoft system to manage balance accounts for quarterly investment portfolio.
Reconcile the agency SPCC statement each month
Audit includes reviewing SPCC invoices and receipts to ensure appropriate tax exemptions are follow.
Analyze cases to determine if ICD-9 and CPT codes are covered benefits according to insurance's medical policy.
Apply GAAP following applicable federal regulations.
Maintain adherence to university accounting and GAAP standards.

Accounts payable technician example responsibilities.

Manage the FOD prevention program to reduce costly repairs and increase the participation in FOD awareness and FOD walk downs.
Utilize technical data to troubleshoot maintenance issues.
Obtain practical experience on the Garrett TPE-331 powerplant.
Maintain catalog of store A/P, A/R source documents.
Enter all invoices into a/p software, assigns g/l account numbers & appropriate cost centers.
Obtain practical experience on the TFE-731 Garrett powerplant and hot section inspection experience on the Pratt and Whitney PT6.

Accounting technician vs accounts payable technician skills

Common accounting technician skills

Customer Service, 12%
Financial Reports, 10%
Payroll, 8%
Purchase Orders, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Reconciliations, 5%

Common accounts payable technician skills

FAA, 13%
A/P, 9%
Powerplant, 9%
Airframe, 8%
Troubleshoot, 7%
Hand Tools, 5%

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Accounting Technician
Accounting Technician vs Accounts Payable Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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