How To Become An Accounts Payable Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is an accounts payable manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Janet Tarase

An accounts payable assistant is in charge of scrutinizing an organization's billing deals. You are to make sure of the precise and smooth realization of enterprise monetary duties. As an individual fulfilling this role, you must prepare invoices, solve account incompatibility, and handle bak agreements. Additionally, you are to also develop budget reports. Also, you must keep the account data on the organization database up to date. Alongside all these, you will have to operate within a crew of accounting and monetary sector and aid tax documentation and review process. You must possess a vast understanding of the financial company and accounting regulations to execute several jobs. Furthermore, you may also be required to perform managerial and office duties when necessary.

It is essential to have outstanding technical, organizational, and analytical skills for this role. You must be honest, able to interact well with others, and as well be flexible. You need a bachelor's degree or an associate degree to be suited for this job. As an accounts payable assistant, your average yearly salary will be $34,341 or $16.51 per hour.

What general advice would you give to an accounts payable manager?

Janet Tarase

Lead Accounting Faculty / Accounting Department Chair, Red Rocks Community College

Create a vision board to set your yearly objectives and a long-term strategic plan that includes your professional and personal goal aspirations; be prepared to modify both of these guides as things change in your life. Join LinkedIn, if you haven't already, update it and make sure it is current. Make connections with a local professionals' group and create a network of like-minded, goal-oriented individuals. Also find a mentor or ask senior employees for their advice and counseling. Clean up your social media accounts or at the very least mark your questionable content as private so you are not sharing it publicly; become the professional you want to be. Continue your professional development, either through your employer, free online programs, or by furthering your education. Keep track of your accomplishments and continue to update your biography and resume. Finally, be appreciative and modest - thank those that help you and make sure to acknowledge those who participated in your successes.

ScoreAccounts Payable ManagerUS Average

Salary

5.5

Avg. Salary $69,808

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.5

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.34%

Asian 8.00%

Black or African American 7.93%

Hispanic or Latino 15.33%

Unknown 4.12%

White 64.28%

Gender

female 75.98%

male 24.02%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

9.5

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an accounts payable manager

Explore accounts payable manager education requirements

Most common accounts payable manager degrees

Bachelor's

58.5 %

Associate

23.7 %

Master's

7.5 %

Start to develop specific accounts payable manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	7.39%
Reconciliations	5.57%
Purchase Orders	4.72%
Vendor Invoices	4.72%
Financial Statements	3.92%

Complete relevant accounts payable manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New accounts payable managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an accounts payable manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real accounts payable manager resumes.

Research accounts payable manager duties and responsibilities

Manage bi-weekly payroll, bonuses, pay cards, PTO.
Collect, enter & manage the quality of information require to produce accurate information report to IRS.
Authorize all AP payment invoices, manage deposits and cash management functions, while providing overall complete payroll oversight.
Refine the 'pro forma invoice' system process to manage prepayments of client invoices enhancing efficiency and adding value.

Prepare your accounts payable manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your accounts payable manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an accounts payable manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable accounts payable manager resume templates

Build a professional accounts payable manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your accounts payable manager resume.

Apply for accounts payable manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an accounts payable manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do accounts payable managers rate their job?

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Accounts payable manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019

Pros

learn about more about the company projects and what are the costs on these projects.

Cons

The process is still too manual, not efficient.

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019