Accounts payable clerk vs accounts receivable specialist

The differences between accounts payable clerks 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 clerk, becoming an accounts receivable specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an accounts receivable specialist has an average salary of $39,873, which is higher than the $38,333 average annual salary of an accounts payable clerk.

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

Accounts payable clerk vs accounts receivable specialist overview

	Accounts Payable Clerk	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Yearly salary	$38,333	$39,873
Hourly rate	$18.43	$19.17
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	89,564	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 clerk do?

An accounts payable clerk is responsible for supporting the accounting department by performing clerical duties to file financial reports timely and accurately. Accounts payable clerks manage and verify invoices documents, reconcile balance spreadsheets, process payments for suppliers and vendors, resolve billing discrepancies, confirm and post account statements, record outstanding credits, and maintain an organized record of transactions. An accounts payable clerk must have excellent knowledge of the accounting principles to deliver high-quality services and help the business minimize excessive financial loss.

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 clerk vs accounts receivable specialist salary

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

	Accounts Payable Clerk	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Average salary	$38,333	$39,873
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $48,000	Between $31,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Connecticut
Best paying company	Jane Street	InfosysPublicService
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between accounts payable clerk and accounts receivable specialist education

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

	Accounts Payable Clerk	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Accounts payable clerk vs accounts receivable specialist demographics

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

	Accounts Payable Clerk	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Average age	51	46
Gender ratio	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%	Male, 18.2% Female, 81.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% 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 clerk and accounts receivable specialist duties and responsibilities

Accounts payable clerk example responsibilities.

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Match, code, and process vendor payments via MAS90 accounting system - including check runs and ACH payments.
Perform duties in compliance with GAAP, company and department policies and procedures, internal controls, and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
Process division payroll in coordination with ADP payroll systems for semi-monthly and weekly union contract employees.
Scan and store documents daily, retrieve W2 and W9 information along with service provider agreements when or if need.
Print, review, research, edit, code and batch invoices for processing via the various ERP financial systems.

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 clerk vs accounts receivable specialist skills

Common accounts payable clerk skills

Customer Service, 13%
Data Entry, 10%
Purchase Orders, 8%
Expense Reports, 6%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
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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Accounts Payable Clerk
Accounts Payable Clerk vs Accounts Receivable Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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