Billing associate vs accounts payable clerk

The differences between billing associates and accounts payable clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a billing associate, becoming an accounts payable clerk takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an accounts payable clerk has an average salary of $38,333, which is higher than the $34,612 average annual salary of a billing associate.

The top three skills for a billing associate include patients, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for an accounts payable clerk are customer service, data entry, and purchase orders.

Billing associate vs accounts payable clerk overview

	Billing Associate	Accounts Payable Clerk
Yearly salary	$34,612	$38,333
Hourly rate	$16.64	$18.43
Growth rate	-3%	-5%
Number of jobs	23,835	89,564
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	46	51
Years of experience	2	6

What does a billing associate do?

A billing associate is responsible for processing payments and invoices for customers and ensuring accurate financial reports for auditing purposes. Billing associates utilize the business' accounting systems to monitor billing transactions and resolve account discrepancies accordingly. They also update customer records in the database, post payments timely, and escalate outstanding bills to the supervisor for resolution. A billing associate reaches out to the clients and customers for payment responsibility and respond to the inquiries and concerns they may have.

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.

Billing associate vs accounts payable clerk salary

Billing associates and accounts payable clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Billing Associate	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average salary	$34,612	$38,333
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $42,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Washington	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Huron Consulting Group	Jane Street
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between billing associate and accounts payable clerk education

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

	Billing Associate	Accounts Payable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Billing associate vs accounts payable clerk demographics

Here are the differences between billing associates' and accounts payable clerks' demographics:

	Billing Associate	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average age	46	51
Gender ratio	Male, 20.6% Female, 79.4%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 7.6% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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 billing associate and accounts payable clerk duties and responsibilities

Billing associate example responsibilities.

Manage the submission and reimbursement of claims bill to insurance companies using ICD-9 coding.
Accept and process healthcare claims and confidential medical records; verify patient eligibility and manage the Medicare and Medicaid billing process.
Verify correct ICD-9 and CPT codes for a variety of specialties submission of electronic claims to clearinghouse.
Ensure appropriate medical terminology and HIPAA compliance for all claims entry/online submissions, payment posting, insurance and patient aging.
Help office transition from patient charts to new EMR system.
Scan in all documents to EMR routing reports and labs to ordering physicians.

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.

Billing associate vs accounts payable clerk skills

Common billing associate skills

Patients, 15%
Customer Service, 12%
Data Entry, 11%
Medical Billing, 5%
Insurance Billing, 3%
Billing Inquiries, 3%

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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Billing Associate
Billing Associate vs Accounts Payable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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