Accounts receivable assistant vs accounts payable clerk

The differences between accounts receivable assistants and accounts payable clerks 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 receivable assistant and an accounts payable clerk. Additionally, an accounts payable clerk has an average salary of $38,333, which is higher than the $36,730 average annual salary of an accounts receivable assistant.

The top three skills for an accounts receivable assistant include customer service, data entry and cash handling. The most important skills for an accounts payable clerk are customer service, data entry, and purchase orders.

Accounts receivable assistant vs accounts payable clerk overview

	Accounts Receivable Assistant	Accounts Payable Clerk
Yearly salary	$36,730	$38,333
Hourly rate	$17.66	$18.43
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	31,748	89,564
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

What does an accounts receivable assistant do?

An accounts receivable assistant has a variety of duties and responsibilities, including securing revenue by verifying receipts, maintaining records by microfilming debits, credits, and invoices, and summarizing receivables by maintaining invoices and determining the validity of account discrepancies. Other duties include keeping information confidential to protect the organization's value, accomplishing the organization and accounting mission, and resolving valid and authorized deductions. As an accounts receivable assistant, you are also responsible for posting customer payments by recording credit card, cash, and check transactions.

What does an accounts payable clerk do?

An accounts payable clerk is responsible for supporting the accounting department by performing clerical duties to file financial reports timely and accurately. Accounts payable clerks manage and verify invoices documents, reconcile balance spreadsheets, process payments for suppliers and vendors, resolve billing discrepancies, confirm and post account statements, record outstanding credits, and maintain an organized record of transactions. An accounts payable clerk must have excellent knowledge of the accounting principles to deliver high-quality services and help the business minimize excessive financial loss.

Accounts receivable assistant vs accounts payable clerk salary

Accounts receivable assistants and accounts payable clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Accounts Receivable Assistant	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average salary	$36,730	$38,333
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $46,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	Massachusetts
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Jane Street
Best paying industry	Professional	Technology

Differences between accounts receivable assistant and accounts payable clerk education

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

	Accounts Receivable Assistant	Accounts Payable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Accounts receivable assistant vs accounts payable clerk demographics

Here are the differences between accounts receivable assistants' and accounts payable clerks' demographics:

	Accounts Receivable Assistant	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between accounts receivable assistant and accounts payable clerk duties and responsibilities

Accounts receivable assistant example responsibilities.

Reconcile bank deposit information with QuickBooks and manage all deposit files.
Manage profitable accounts receivable ledgers for existing and new clientele maintaining accuracy of monies enter to appropriate relate account.
Post customer payments by recording ACH, checks, and credit card transactions.
Inventory control using IBM AS400 system.
Maintain invoicing in AS400 billing system, reviewing collection activities and reconciling accounts.
Take in and disburse payments from customers in forms of checks, credit cards, ACH, and portal payments.

Accounts payable clerk example responsibilities.

Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
Match, code, and process vendor payments via MAS90 accounting system - including check runs and ACH payments.
Perform duties in compliance with GAAP, company and department policies and procedures, internal controls, and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.
Process division payroll in coordination with ADP payroll systems for semi-monthly and weekly union contract employees.
Scan and store documents daily, retrieve W2 and W9 information along with service provider agreements when or if need.
Print, review, research, edit, code and batch invoices for processing via the various ERP financial systems.

Accounts receivable assistant vs accounts payable clerk skills

Common accounts receivable assistant skills

Customer Service, 25%
Data Entry, 10%
Cash Handling, 7%
Financial Reports, 4%
Purchase Orders, 4%
Payroll, 4%

Common accounts payable clerk skills

Customer Service, 13%
Data Entry, 10%
Purchase Orders, 8%
Expense Reports, 6%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
Vendor Statements, 5%

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Accounts Receivable Assistant
Accounts Receivable Assistant vs Accounts Payable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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