Accounts payable administrator vs accounts receivable specialist

The differences between accounts payable administrators 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 accounts payable administrator, becoming an accounts receivable specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an accounts payable administrator has an average salary of $41,860, which is higher than the $39,873 average annual salary of an accounts receivable specialist.

The top three skills for an accounts payable administrator include purchase orders, data entry and vendor invoices. The most important skills for an accounts receivable specialist are customer service, patients, and data entry.

Accounts payable administrator vs accounts receivable specialist overview

	Accounts Payable Administrator	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Yearly salary	$41,860	$39,873
Hourly rate	$20.12	$19.17
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	79,272	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 accounts payable administrator do?

An accounts payable administrator is an individual who reviews and verifies the invoices of suppliers and grants payment requests. Accounts payable administrators must prepare invoice batches and input them in the accounts payable module of the financial information system every day to ensure that payments meet weekly and monthly deadlines. When warranted, they seek clarifications or explanations from submitters and responds to inquiries from suppliers, consultants, and clients regarding the status of their payments. Accounts payable administrators must also ensure that reimbursements are properly approved.

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.

Accounts payable administrator vs accounts receivable specialist salary

Accounts payable administrators and accounts receivable specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accounts Payable Administrator	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Average salary	$41,860	$39,873
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $54,000	Between $31,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	Connecticut
Best paying company	Ducommun	InfosysPublicService
Best paying industry	Finance	Technology

Differences between accounts payable administrator and accounts receivable specialist education

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

	Accounts Payable Administrator	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	-

Accounts payable administrator vs accounts receivable specialist demographics

Here are the differences between accounts payable administrators' and accounts receivable specialists' demographics:

	Accounts Payable Administrator	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Average age	51	46
Gender ratio	Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3%	Male, 18.2% Female, 81.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.5% 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 accounts payable administrator and accounts receivable specialist duties and responsibilities

Accounts payable administrator example responsibilities.

Manage payroll transactions utilizing ADP payroll software.
Maintain a cash flow chart of checks issue and clear, ACH payments, incoming collections, and wire transfers.
Solve complex general accounting functions, including preparation of journal entries, account analysis and balance sheet reconciliations.
Set up new vendors, maintain new supplier forms and proper W8 and W9 reporting.
Implement standard form to vendors to complete and return along with W9 and a sample invoice.
Review and record vendor bills utilizing QuickBooks.

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.

Accounts payable administrator vs accounts receivable specialist skills

Common accounts payable administrator skills

Purchase Orders, 12%
Data Entry, 9%
Vendor Invoices, 8%
Expense Reports, 6%
Credit Card, 5%
Vendor Statements, 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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Office and Administrative Industry
Accounts Payable Administrator
Accounts Payable Administrator vs Accounts Receivable Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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