Accounts payable technician vs accounts payable lead

The differences between accounts payable technicians and accounts payable leads 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 accounts payable lead takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an accounts payable lead has an average salary of $57,175, which is higher than the $47,325 average annual salary of an accounts payable technician.

The top three skills for an accounts payable technician include FAA, A/P and powerplant. The most important skills for an accounts payable lead are FAA, purchase orders, and vendor invoices.

Accounts payable technician vs accounts payable lead overview

	Accounts Payable Technician	Accounts Payable Lead
Yearly salary	$47,325	$57,175
Hourly rate	$22.75	$27.49
Growth rate	6%	-5%
Number of jobs	23,079	31,041
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
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 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.

Accounts payable technician vs accounts payable lead salary

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

	Accounts Payable Technician	Accounts Payable Lead
Average salary	$47,325	$57,175
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $66,000	Between $41,000 And $79,000
Highest paying City	Juneau, AK	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	New York
Best paying company	Baptist Health Care	NV Energy
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between accounts payable technician and accounts payable lead education

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

	Accounts Payable Technician	Accounts Payable Lead
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	SUNY Farmingdale	University of Pennsylvania

Accounts payable technician vs accounts payable lead demographics

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

	Accounts Payable Technician	Accounts Payable Lead
Average age	40	51
Gender ratio	Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0%	Male, 28.7% Female, 71.3%
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, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	2%	7%

Differences between accounts payable technician and accounts payable lead 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.

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 payable technician vs accounts payable lead skills

Common accounts payable technician skills

FAA, 13%
A/P, 9%
Powerplant, 9%
Airframe, 8%
Troubleshoot, 7%
Hand Tools, 5%

Common accounts payable lead skills

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

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Installation, Maintenance and Repair Industry
Accounts Payable Technician
Accounts Payable Technician vs Accounts Payable Lead

Updated January 8, 2025

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