Accounts payable lead vs accounts receivable specialist

The differences between accounts payable leads 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 lead, becoming an accounts receivable specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an accounts payable lead has an average salary of $57,175, which is higher than the $39,873 average annual salary of an accounts receivable specialist.

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

Accounts payable lead vs accounts receivable specialist overview

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Yearly salary	$57,175	$39,873
Hourly rate	$27.49	$19.17
Growth rate	-5%	-8%
Number of jobs	31,041	61,988
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	51	46
Years of experience	6	12

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 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 lead vs accounts receivable specialist salary

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

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Average salary	$57,175	$39,873
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $79,000	Between $31,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	Connecticut
Best paying company	NV Energy	InfosysPublicService
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between accounts payable lead and accounts receivable specialist education

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

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Accounts payable lead vs accounts receivable specialist demographics

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

	Accounts Payable Lead	Accounts Receivable Specialist
Average age	51	46
Gender ratio	Male, 28.7% Female, 71.3%	Male, 18.2% Female, 81.8%
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, 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 lead and accounts receivable specialist 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.

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 lead vs accounts receivable specialist skills

Common accounts payable lead skills

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

Common accounts receivable specialist skills

Customer Service, 15%
Patients, 9%
Data Entry, 5%
Credit Card Payments, 4%
Reconciliations, 4%
Accounts Receivables, 3%

Accounts Payable Lead vs. similar jobs

Accounts Payable Lead related careers

Accounts Payable Lead related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Accounts Payable Lead
Accounts Payable Lead vs Accounts Receivable Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs