Accounts payable lead vs accounting clerk

The differences between accounts payable leads and accounting clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an accounts payable lead and an accounting clerk. Additionally, an accounts payable lead has an average salary of $57,175, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.

The top three skills for an accounts payable lead include FAA, purchase orders and vendor invoices. The most important skills for an accounting clerk are data entry, customer service, and purchase orders.

Accounts payable lead vs accounting clerk overview

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounting Clerk
Yearly salary	$57,175	$38,683
Hourly rate	$27.49	$18.60
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	31,041	106,969
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

What does an accounts payable lead do?

Accounts payable leads are accounting professionals who are responsible for leading a team of professionals that manage the company's accounts payable, a short-term debt payment that needs to be paid to avoid default. These professionals are required to evaluate vendor invoices and prepare payments to pay vendors while preparing the daily expense reports. They must create the general ledger at the end of the month to reconcile closing balances. Accounts payable leads must also assist purchasing agents in resolving vendor or customer issues that pertained to inaccurate information on purchase orders.

What does an accounting clerk do?

Accounting clerks are employees assigned to manage administrative and clerical tasks in the accounting department. Accounting clerks handle office accounting records and ensure that files are properly labeled and stored. They validate records and check whether these are updated. They also sort through documents to ensure that they are in their proper storage bins. Aside from document handling, they also help with creating and validating financial statements and bookkeeping. As such, accounting clerks should have a strong background in accounting to manage their tasks better.

Accounts payable lead vs accounting clerk salary

Accounts payable leads and accounting clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounting Clerk
Average salary	$57,175	$38,683
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $79,000	Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	NV Energy	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp
Best paying industry	Technology	Government

Differences between accounts payable lead and accounting clerk education

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

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounting Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounts payable lead vs accounting clerk demographics

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

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounting Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 28.7% Female, 71.3%	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounts payable lead and accounting clerk duties and responsibilities

Accounts payable lead example responsibilities.

Manage weekly payment scheduling to expedite and efficiently meet vendor payment deadlines; including check run dates, wires and ACH.
Manage payroll transactions utilizing ADP payroll software.
Process check runs: set payments within the system, verify accuracy, and print checks launch ACH payments.
Assist in the implementation of new ERP system by testing and providing information need to meet the accounts payable processes.
Process invoices, check requests, employee reimbursements, and credit memos and ensure compliance with SOX documentation and approval guidelines.
Transmit monthly payroll information for bank reconciliation.

Accounting clerk example responsibilities.

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Perform balance sheet reconciliations and resolve open items by notifying employees and vendors of transaction discrepancies.
Assist in monthly financial close process by analyzing preliminary departmental expense reports and making necessary adjustments and accruals.
Develop a spreadsheet that pulls all data relate to project hours by operation from the ERP system.
Process all incoming payments receive via ACH, EFT, or the web; ensure accounts are accurately balance and reconcile.
Digitize proof of delivery receipts into ERP system (AS400) serving as an easy backup for employees to verify occurrence.

Accounts payable lead vs accounting clerk skills

Common accounts payable lead skills

FAA, 7%
Purchase Orders, 7%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
Reconciliations, 6%
Data Entry, 5%
ACH, 5%

Common accounting clerk skills

Data Entry, 15%
Customer Service, 10%
Purchase Orders, 9%
Reconciliations, 6%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
QuickBooks, 3%

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Accounts Payable Lead
Accounts Payable Lead vs Accounting Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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