What is an Accounts Payable Associate?

Accounts payable associates are in charge of managing activities for a department or an organization. They receive, process, organize, and record invoices as necessary.

A day in the life of an accounts payable associate invoices inputting data from invoices into company records. They may also generate and mail out refunds. In some organizations, the role of an accounts payable associate extends to managing paychecks. They send payroll check reports to supervisors for approval and then deliver them to the concerned employees.

Other responsibilities include organizing remittances, confirming account details, and resolving issues with transactions. The accounts payable associates may also offer guidance to accountants and help process reimbursements.

To become an accounts payable associate, you need a degree in accounting or a related field. You'll also need up to four years of accounting and accounts payable experience. Required skills include efficiency with the phone, proficiency with MS office packages, and strong organizational skills.

What Does an Accounts Payable Associate Do

There are certain skills that many accounts payable associates have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed computer skills, detail oriented and integrity.

Learn more about what an Accounts Payable Associate does

How To Become an Accounts Payable Associate

If you're interested in becoming an accounts payable associate, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 50.4% of accounts payable associates have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.9% of accounts payable associates have master's degrees. Even though most accounts payable associates have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become an Accounts Payable Associate

Top Accounts Payable Associate Jobs Near You

Accounts Payable Associate Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of accounts payable clerk you might progress to a role such as accountant eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title assistant controller.

Average Salary for an Accounts Payable Associate

Accounts Payable Associates in America make an average salary of $39,270 per year or $19 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $49,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $31,000 per year.

Average Accounts Payable Associate Salary

$39,270 Yearly

$18.88 hourly

$31,00010%

$39,000Median

$49,00090%

See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

Roles and Types of Accounts Payable Associate

The role of an accounts payable associate includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general accounts payable associate responsibilities:

Analyze and process invoices in a timely manner; ensure appropriate approval authority, general ledger coding,
Oversees the accounts payable processes and assist in timely issue resolution responsible for continuous assessment
Timely processing of vendor invoices ensuring proper authorizations

There are several types of accounts payable associate, including:

Accounts Payable Clerk

Role:

Accounts Payable Clerks are responsible for check financial records for accuracy. A lot of the work is also known as bookkeeping. Most generally, you'll be working in an office setting, but occassionally you'll get to visit clients at their place of work. A change of scenary might be nice.

You'll probably want some postsecondary education experience under your belt if you're going to try to become an accounts payable clerk. But you'll also be able to learn some on-the-job so keep that in mind. The big takeaway here is that you'll want some basic math and computer skills so that you can perform your work effortlessly.

Average Salary: $38,333
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

Bookkeeper

Role:

As keeper of the books, er sorry, we mean bookkeeper, you're in charge of all things financial records. From creating the records in the first place to checking them for accuracy, you've got a lot of math on your hands.

Speaking of math, you'll probably need some postsecondary education to become a bookkeeper. Math will be a good starting point, but you'll also want to be familiar with certain bookkeeping software and other computer skills. While it's great to have some experience and knowledge before you secure the job, you will learn a lot through on-the-job training.

The majority of your work will be in the office. But depending on where you're employed as a bookkeeper, you may have to travel to clients' sites as well. The majority of your work can be completed in solitude so no group projects here. Isn't it time they ban those types of projects anyway?

Average Salary: $40,337
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

Accounting Clerk

Role:

Most accountants look at numbers all day. Accounting clerks do so much more. In fact, they're in charge of making sure the financial records are kept up-to-date, as well as being responsible for typing up reports.

You might need a little training at first, especially with the accounting software programs. Those programs can be a little tricky to understand, but after a little practice, you'll get the hang of it.

It's pretty well-known that accountants have a "busy season." Well, as an accounting clerk, don't start thinking you're in the clear from that. Taxes need to be filed at the same time each year and the number of financial documents that you'll keep organized will keep you very busy for much of the year.

Average Salary: $38,683
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

States With The Most Accounts Payable Associate Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active accounts payable associate jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where accounts payable associates earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Accounts Payable Associate Jobs By State

Rank	State	Number of Jobs	Average Salary
1	California	1,839	$45,977
2	Texas	1,050	$37,003
3	Florida	944	$35,449
4	New York	774	$44,082
5	Illinois	667	$40,012
6	Pennsylvania	581	$43,051
7	Massachusetts	473	$46,693
8	Ohio	457	$37,051
9	Virginia	445	$42,104
10	Georgia	440	$37,776
11	New Jersey	418	$44,127
12	Colorado	369	$40,278
13	North Carolina	357	$34,416
14	Washington	354	$42,661
15	Minnesota	344	$42,672
16	Arizona	334	$38,728
17	Michigan	334	$39,551
18	Maryland	327	$36,998
19	Tennessee	317	$36,811
20	Oregon	290	$41,455
21	Missouri	264	$34,106
22	Indiana	261	$36,242
23	Wisconsin	248	$38,487
24	Kentucky	195	$33,793
25	Connecticut	188	$46,043
26	Utah	151	$31,708
27	Iowa	144	$34,941
28	Alabama	129	$34,681
29	South Carolina	127	$33,137
30	Kansas	125	$35,614
31	Arkansas	117	$36,403
32	Nebraska	104	$34,756
33	Nevada	98	$33,709
34	Louisiana	95	$38,778
35	Oklahoma	87	$35,570
36	New Hampshire	78	$39,126
37	Delaware	72	$37,666
38	Idaho	69	$35,223
39	Montana	67	$35,156
40	New Mexico	64	$36,033
41	Maine	53	$36,323
42	Rhode Island	51	$43,093
43	North Dakota	43	$40,131
44	Mississippi	38	$31,301
45	West Virginia	36	$27,990
46	Vermont	35	$43,441
47	Alaska	30	$47,076
48	Hawaii	27	$38,226
49	South Dakota	22	$33,536
50	Wyoming	13	$35,248

Accounts Payable Associate Education

Accounts Payable Associate Majors

Accounting

38.6 %

Business

31.8 %

Finance

4.9 %

Accounts Payable Associate Degrees

Bachelors

50.4 %

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 11.3% of accounts payable associates listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as computer skills and detail oriented are important as well.

Customer Service, 11.3%

Data Entry, 9.0%

Purchase Orders, 7.5%

Vendor Statements, 6.0%

Vendor Invoices, 5.8%

Other Skills, 60.4%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Accounts Payable Associate Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Accounts Payable Associate templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Accounts Payable Associate resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Accounts Payable Associate diversity

Accounts Payable Associate Gender Distribution

Female

79%

Male

21%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

Among accounts payable associates, 79.4% of them are women, while 20.6% are men.

The most common race/ethnicity among accounts payable associates is White, which makes up 67.6% of all accounts payable associates.

The most common foreign language among accounts payable associates is Spanish at 55.0%.

Online Courses For Accounts Payable Associate That You May Like

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Best States For an Accounts Payable Associate

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an accounts payable associate. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California. Accounts payable associates make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $47,076. Whereas in Massachusetts and Connecticut, they would average $46,693 and $46,043, respectively. While accounts payable associates would only make an average of $45,977 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Connecticut

Total Accounts Payable Associate Jobs: 188

Highest 10% Earn:

$59,000

Location Quotient:

1.13

$46,043

Avg. Salary

View 188 Accounts Payable Associate Jobs In CT

2. Massachusetts

Total Accounts Payable Associate Jobs: 473

Highest 10% Earn:

$59,000

Location Quotient:

1.03

$46,693

Avg. Salary

View 473 Accounts Payable Associate Jobs In MA

3. California

Total Accounts Payable Associate Jobs: 1,839

Highest 10% Earn:

$60,000

Location Quotient:

1.26

$45,977

Avg. Salary

View 1,839 Accounts Payable Associate Jobs In CA

Full List Of Best States For Accounts Payable Associates

How Do Accounts Payable Associates Rate Their Jobs?

Top Accounts Payable Associate Employers

Most Common Employers For Accounts Payable Associate

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	Devon Energy	$54,291	$26.10	13
2	UPS	$48,649	$23.39	22
3	Pfizer	$47,327	$22.75	14
4	Ralph Lauren	$43,329	$20.83	16
5	Lehigh Hanson	$41,930	$20.16	15
6	Stanley Black & Decker	$41,771	$20.08	15
7	Sysco	$41,599	$20.00	20
8	Kforce	$41,253	$19.83	12
9	Americold	$41,236	$19.82	12
10	Walmart	$40,346	$19.40	18

Accounts Payable Associate Videos

Introduction to Accounts Payable Process

Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable Clerk

Updated April 6, 2023

What is an Accounts Payable Associate?

What Does an Accounts Payable Associate Do

How To Become an Accounts Payable Associate

Accounts Payable Associate Career Paths

Average Salary for an Accounts Payable Associate

Roles and Types of Accounts Payable Associate

Accounts Payable Clerk

Role:

Bookkeeper

Role:

Accounting Clerk

Role:

States With The Most Accounts Payable Associate Jobs

Number Of Accounts Payable Associate Jobs By State

Accounts Payable Associate Education

Accounts Payable Associate Majors

Accounts Payable Associate Degrees

Top Colleges for Accounts Payable Associates

1. University of Pennsylvania

2. Northwestern University

3. University of Southern California

4. SUNY at Binghamton

5. Villanova University

6. San Diego State University

7. Bentley University

8. SUNY Farmingdale

9. Boston University

10. SUNY Stony Brook

Top Skills For an Accounts Payable Associate

Choose From 10+ Customizable Accounts Payable Associate Resume templates

Accounts Payable Associate diversity

Accounts Payable Associate Gender Distribution

Online Courses For Accounts Payable Associate That You May Like

Best States For an Accounts Payable Associate

How Do Accounts Payable Associates Rate Their Jobs?

Top Accounts Payable Associate Employers

Most Common Employers For Accounts Payable Associate

Accounts Payable Associate Videos

Accounts Payable Associate Related Careers

Accounts Payable Associate Related Jobs

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