Accounts payable lead vs accounting technician

The differences between accounts payable leads and accounting technicians 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 technician. Additionally, an accounts payable lead has an average salary of $57,175, which is higher than the $41,337 average annual salary of an accounting technician.

The top three skills for an accounts payable lead include FAA, purchase orders and vendor invoices. The most important skills for an accounting technician are customer service, financial reports, and payroll.

Accounts payable lead vs accounting technician overview

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounting Technician
Yearly salary	$57,175	$41,337
Hourly rate	$27.49	$19.87
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	31,041	39,972
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
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 technician do?

An accounting technician is responsible for evaluating financial information procedures to support accounting and taxation tasks, verifying the accuracy of account statements for the reference of accountants. Accounting technicians manage the payroll processes, generate invoices, perform account reconciliations, analyze account receivables, prepare budget reports, and monitor the company's financial transactions. Accounting technicians should always adhere to taxation legislation, comply with accounting disciplines, and coordinate with the account management for any findings and concerns, requiring them to have excellent communication and analytical skills.

Accounts payable lead vs accounting technician salary

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

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounting Technician
Average salary	$57,175	$41,337
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $79,000	Between $31,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Oakland, CA
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	NV Energy	W. R. Berkley
Best paying industry	Technology	Government

Differences between accounts payable lead and accounting technician education

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

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

Accounts payable lead vs accounting technician demographics

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

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounting Technician
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 28.7% Female, 71.3%	Male, 22.7% Female, 77.3%
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, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 6.5% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounts payable lead and accounting technician 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 technician example responsibilities.

Develop expertise in use of PeopleSoft system to manage balance accounts for quarterly investment portfolio.
Reconcile the agency SPCC statement each month
Audit includes reviewing SPCC invoices and receipts to ensure appropriate tax exemptions are follow.
Analyze cases to determine if ICD-9 and CPT codes are covered benefits according to insurance's medical policy.
Apply GAAP following applicable federal regulations.
Maintain adherence to university accounting and GAAP standards.

Accounts payable lead vs accounting technician skills

Common accounts payable lead skills

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

Common accounting technician skills

Customer Service, 12%
Financial Reports, 10%
Payroll, 8%
Purchase Orders, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Reconciliations, 5%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Accounts Payable Lead
Accounts Payable Lead vs Accounting Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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