Accounts payable technician vs accounting clerk

The differences between accounts payable technicians and accounting clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an accounts payable technician, becoming an accounting clerk takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an accounts payable technician has an average salary of $47,325, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.

The top three skills for an accounts payable technician include FAA, A/P and powerplant. The most important skills for an accounting clerk are data entry, customer service, and purchase orders.

Accounts payable technician vs accounting clerk overview

	Accounts Payable Technician	Accounting Clerk
Yearly salary	$47,325	$38,683
Hourly rate	$22.75	$18.60
Growth rate	6%	-5%
Number of jobs	23,079	106,969
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	40	51
Years of experience	4	6

What does an accounts payable technician do?

An Accounts Payable Technician performs the day-to-day processing of accounts payable transactions. They prepare and process invoices and other financial documents manually or by using specialized automated software.

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 technician vs accounting clerk salary

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

	Accounts Payable Technician	Accounting Clerk
Average salary	$47,325	$38,683
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $66,000	Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Juneau, AK	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Alaska	New York
Best paying company	Baptist Health Care	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Government

Differences between accounts payable technician and accounting clerk education

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

	Accounts Payable Technician	Accounting Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	SUNY Farmingdale	University of Pennsylvania

Accounts payable technician vs accounting clerk demographics

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

	Accounts Payable Technician	Accounting Clerk
Average age	40	51
Gender ratio	Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0%	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.3% 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	2%	7%

Differences between accounts payable technician and accounting clerk duties and responsibilities

Accounts payable technician example responsibilities.

Manage the FOD prevention program to reduce costly repairs and increase the participation in FOD awareness and FOD walk downs.
Utilize technical data to troubleshoot maintenance issues.
Obtain practical experience on the Garrett TPE-331 powerplant.
Maintain catalog of store A/P, A/R source documents.
Enter all invoices into a/p software, assigns g/l account numbers & appropriate cost centers.
Obtain practical experience on the TFE-731 Garrett powerplant and hot section inspection experience on the Pratt and Whitney PT6.

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 technician vs accounting clerk skills

Common accounts payable technician skills

FAA, 13%
A/P, 9%
Powerplant, 9%
Airframe, 8%
Troubleshoot, 7%
Hand Tools, 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 Technician vs Accounting Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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