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Accounts payable administrator skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Alex Yen Ph.D.,

Frank Longo

Accounts payable administrator example skills

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical accounts payable administrator skills. We ranked the top skills for accounts payable administrators based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 11.8% of accounts payable administrator resumes contained purchase orders as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an accounts payable administrator needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 accounts payable administrator skills for your resume and career

1. Purchase Orders

Here's how accounts payable administrators use purchase orders:

Investigated and resolved problems associated with processing of invoices and purchase orders, particularly those that do not automatically match.
Communicated effectively with corporate personnel for information regarding pricing, purchase orders, payment terms and supplier updates.

2. Data Entry

Data entry means entering data into a company's system with the help of a keyboard. A person responsible for entering data may also be asked to verify the authenticity of the data being entered. A person doing data entry must pay great attention to tiny details.

Here's how accounts payable administrators use data entry:

Assisted with other payable processes as needed, to include data entry, performing queries, basic reconciliations and data management.
Trained other accounts payable staff on new off-line data entry system that reduced their data entry time by 75%.

3. Vendor Invoices

Here's how accounts payable administrators use vendor invoices:

Process vendor invoices ensuring compliance with purchasing policies, tax and governmental regulations and corporate instructions.
Monitored all vendor invoices accurately according to contract agreement terms and auditing procedures.

4. Expense Reports

Here's how accounts payable administrators use expense reports:

Enforced compliance by associates regarding travel policies and procedures to include the substantiation and justification of expenditures and expense reports.
Verified and checked expense reports for accuracy and ensured timely submission in accordance with strict company deadlines.

5. Credit Card

A type of card issued by banks and other financial institutions, that enable users to manage and borrow their finances is called a credit card. The funds borrowed from a financial institution through a credit card are meant to be paid back along with certain amounts of interest imposed by the bank.

Here's how accounts payable administrators use credit card:

Assisted with development of standard policies and operating procedures for payment verification, employee reimbursements, and credit card administration.
Prepared and posted monthly credit card statements and performed monthly bank account reconciliations.

6. Vendor Statements

Here's how accounts payable administrators use vendor statements:

Reconciled vendor statements and performed any other miscellaneous office related duties.
Reconciled vendor statements regarding outstanding invoices, credits or debits.

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7. Financial Reports

Here's how accounts payable administrators use financial reports:

Assisted controller with financial reports and analyses of financial data including P/L Statements and Balance Sheet Reconciliation.
Provided financial reports for budget analysis of new customer acquisition and current customer retention.

8. Reconciliations

Here's how accounts payable administrators use reconciliations:

Solved complex general accounting functions, including preparation of journal entries, account analysis and balance sheet reconciliations.
Assisted with various HR-related duties including employment verification, unemployment claims, benefit reconciliations, etc.

9. Journal Entries

Journal entries can be defined as an act of keeping or making records of any transactions either economic or non-economic. The journal entries are made in the accounting systems of an organization. The entries are filled with two main fields; debit and credit. The debit and credit must be equal at the end of a journal entry else it is not considered correct. The journal entries also keep the date of transactions and the names of the accounts that were affected by the transactions.

Here's how accounts payable administrators use journal entries:

Data-entered all cash disbursement journal entries for four subsidiary companies.
Generated monthly accounting journal entries.

10. General Ledger Accounts

A general ledger account is a practice to keep a record of a company's total financial accounts. The accounts included in a general ledger lists the assets, liabilities, owners' equity, expenses, and income or revenue. It forms the basis of reporting a business's financial statements.

Here's how accounts payable administrators use general ledger accounts:

Updated critical logs for reconciling General Ledger accounts.
Performed coding of invoices according to company procedures to ensure that the invoices post to the correct general ledger accounts.

11. ACH

Automated Clearing House, ACH is a computerized electronic network to process, coordinate and manage transactions (credit and debit) and automated money transfers between banks and other financial institutions without the use of paper checks, electronic transfers, credit cards, or cash networks. The ACH network is regulated by the federal government and managed by the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA).

Here's how accounts payable administrators use ach:

Obtained and updated bank information and vendor contact information in SAP for the conversion from printed check payments to ACH payments.
Maintained a cash flow chart of checks issued and cleared, ACH payments, incoming collections, and wire transfers.

12. Accounts Payables

Here's how accounts payable administrators use accounts payables:

Full responsibility of accounts payables for a large development and subcontractor company.
Entered Accounts Payables, handled money from shows, received customer service calls, collection calls, show revenue reports

13. HR

HR stands for human resources and is used to describe the set of people who work for a company or an organization. HR responsibilities revolve around updating employee records and carrying out management processes like planning, recruitment, evaluation, and selection processes. HR is a key contributor to any company or organization's growth as they are in charge of hiring the right employees, processing payrolls, conducting disciplinary actions, etc.

Here's how accounts payable administrators use hr:

Assist HR Manager with employee verification and benefit administration.
Verified attendance, hours worked, pay adjustments, and PTO weekly for payroll before being sent to HR for posting.

14. Vendor Accounts

Here's how accounts payable administrators use vendor accounts:

Resolved, disputed discrepancy on an invoice by working with internal managers (warehouse/purchasing) and externally with vendor accounts receivables.
Reconciled and researched vendor accounts.

15. Vendor Inquiries

Here's how accounts payable administrators use vendor inquiries:

Respond to vendor inquiries regarding payment status and statement reconciliation.
Handled and resolved vendor inquiries regarding invoice discrepancies.

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What skills help Accounts Payable Administrators find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on accounts payable administrator resumes?

Alex Yen Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Accounting, Stonehill College

As mentioned above, the ability to work with "big data" is highly valued by CPA firms these days. So recruiters are looking (on resumes) for experience working with "big data" and experience with the tools to analyze data and communicate results, like Excel, Power BI, SAS, Python, and Tableau.

But public accounting is also a people business and CPA firms also value leadership, communication skills, leadership, and the ability to work in teams. Resume items like having a leadership position in a campus organization or having a customer-facing position in retail or food service will signal to recruiters that a student is developing these skills. But having the position is just the start. Once in a formal interview, recruiters will want to hear anecdotes and specifics from students about how they leveraged a leadership position into success for the organization or how students worked with others to overcome challenges in their organization or work.

Finally, and I am not sure how it can be communicated on a resume, CPA firm recruiters are looking for students who are eager to learn more and want to continue to expand their skill set. The idea that a student is fully formed and has learned everything s/he will ever need to know for their job while they were in college is a faulty assumption. Students cannot feel that now they have their degree that they can coast. The economy is constantly changing in terms of technology, new industries being created, globalization, and changing tax and regulatory laws, and accountants will need to keep up with these developments to be able to audit companies and to advise their clients. For example, in technology, the programs mentioned above that are in vogue today could be obsolete in 3 to 5 years, requiring accountants to learn new programs. The openness and ability to adapt and be a lifelong learner is critical for accountants entering the profession and recruiters are looking for graduates with that mindset.

What hard/technical skills are most important for accounts payable administrators?

Frank Longo

Assistant Professor of Business, Centenary University

Proficiency with emerging technology is an attention-getter. We should note that the Certified Public Accountants Exam will contain three sections by 2024, including Data Analytics, Tax Compliance and Planning, and Information System and Controls. A basic knowledge will be required in each of these, and the CPA candidate will identify one area of the above for more detailed testing. This change in knowledge requirements reflects the skills employers see as most important to hire. Using technology in any of these areas can move a candidate to the top of the hiring list. We should emphasize that the job candidate does not need to be an expert in each area, but the ability to effectively use technology in one area is important. Employers are looking for the ability to use technology in information security, business processes, information systems, IT audits, data analytics, and tax planning but not all of them.

Keep in mind that successful firms performed audits, prepared tax returns, advised clients on data security, and much more during the pandemic, and they often did so remotely. This can be expected to continue into the future.

What soft skills should all accounts payable administrators possess?

Frank Longo

Assistant Professor of Business, Centenary University

The skills listed above in question number one are soft skills. They are the skills that truly differentiate the candidate. All candidates are expected to possess hard skills such as excel proficiency. It is the soft skills that get the job done. The ability to solve problems and to lead a team are the top requirements. Recent studies conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers consistently arrived at this conclusion, as did a recent Centenary University survey that included New Jersey and New York employers. These skills can be demonstrated through work experience, internships, and extra-curricular activities, including clubs and sports, which can serve as examples.

What accounts payable administrator skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. John McGowan

Professor of Accounting, Saint Louis University

A gap year shouldn't just be a break from everything where a student sits around doing nothing. That won't set them up for future success. Instead there should be a purpose.

After high school, students sometimes get involved with service programs like Job Corps or Teach for America.

In light of the tough job market now, one idea is to try and reach out, connect, and collaborate with professionals in great companies. This can be done with LinkedIn. I like the advice given by Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great, find a company that has achieved greatness and figure out a way to get onto that ship.

What type of skills will young accounts payable administrators need?

Michelle Liu Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Accounting, Hunter College CUNY

You might be surprised to know that in the past few years, computer programming skills have become more and more important for accounting graduates. Students need to know Excel extremely well, and even better, it helps to know some type of computer programming language. Even though I first learned computer programming when getting my Ph.D. in accounting (from MIT), I now teach these same skills to my Hunter undergraduate students. Hunter is one of the first colleges in NYC, that I know of, to offer such a course. Yes, learning this is tough, but the students need these skills to stay competitive.

What technical skills for an accounts payable administrator stand out to employers?

Jodi Olson

Assistant Accounting Professor, Winona State University

Accountants serve many industries and sectors, so a broad range of technical skills is required to be ready to meet the needs of employers. Graduates must be technically competent in areas such as accounting information systems, tax preparation, auditing, managerial/cost accounting, financial reporting, and financial statement analysis. Also, graduates are expected to have general business acumen in areas such as management information systems, business law, operations, strategic management, and ethics. All these skills are important for graduates, but the pandemic has made the accounting systems and management information systems skills operative in allowing graduates to deliver their other areas of technical expertise.

Do you want to know more?

List of accounts payable administrator skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an accounts payable administrator resume and required skills for an accounts payable administrator to have include:

Purchase Orders
Data Entry
Vendor Invoices
Expense Reports
Credit Card
Vendor Statements
Financial Reports
Reconciliations
Journal Entries
General Ledger Accounts
ACH
Accounts Payables
HR
Vendor Accounts
Vendor Inquiries
Invoice Processing

W-9
QuickBooks
Wire Transfers
Office Equipment
Payable Invoices
Vendor Payments
ADP
Credit Memos
W9
Accounts Payable Processing
Bank Deposits
Manual Checks
Payable Process
Payable Checks
Payable Functions
Reconcile Accounts Payable

Bank Statements
Payment Terms
Accounts Receivables
Financial Statements
Payable Reports
Bank Reconciliations
Payroll Processing
Customer Accounts
AS400
IRS
Cost Centers
Fixed Assets
EFT
Timberline
Collection Calls
Vendor Checks

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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