Bursar vs accounting clerk

The differences between bursars and accounting clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a bursar and an accounting clerk. Additionally, a bursar has an average salary of $52,195, which is higher than the $38,683 average annual salary of an accounting clerk.

The top three skills for a bursar include financial aid, student payments and credit card payments. The most important skills for an accounting clerk are data entry, customer service, and purchase orders.

Bursar vs accounting clerk overview

	Bursar	Accounting Clerk
Yearly salary	$52,195	$38,683
Hourly rate	$25.09	$18.60
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	475	106,969
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

Bursar vs accounting clerk salary

Bursars and accounting clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Bursar	Accounting Clerk
Average salary	$52,195	$38,683
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $79,000	Between $29,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Dartmouth, MA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	New York
Best paying company	Colorado State Express	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between bursar and accounting clerk education

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

	Bursar	Accounting Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Bursar vs accounting clerk demographics

Here are the differences between bursars' and accounting clerks' demographics:

	Bursar	Accounting Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 31.6% Female, 68.4%	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.3% 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	7%	7%

Differences between bursar and accounting clerk duties and responsibilities

Bursar example responsibilities.

Manage all financial reporting, accounts receivable, general ledgers and reconciliations.
Process accounting documents concerning entitlement to travel expenses for military and /or civilian personnel in activities service by DFAS.
Respond to inquiries from internal organization and external customers regarding package processing, delivery information and services offer by USPS stores.

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.

Bursar vs accounting clerk skills

Common bursar skills

Financial Aid, 22%
Student Payments, 8%
Credit Card Payments, 5%
Customer Service, 4%
Cash Handling, 4%
Bank Deposits, 4%

Common accounting clerk skills

Data Entry, 15%
Customer Service, 10%
Purchase Orders, 9%
Reconciliations, 6%
Vendor Invoices, 6%
QuickBooks, 3%