Bursar vs accounts payable clerk

The differences between bursars 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 a bursar and an accounts payable clerk. Additionally, a bursar has an average salary of $52,195, which is higher than the $38,333 average annual salary of an accounts payable clerk.

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

Bursar vs accounts payable clerk overview

	Bursar	Accounts Payable Clerk
Yearly salary	$52,195	$38,333
Hourly rate	$25.09	$18.43
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	475	89,564
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

Bursar vs accounts payable clerk salary

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

	Bursar	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average salary	$52,195	$38,333
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $79,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Dartmouth, MA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Colorado State Express	Jane Street
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between bursar and accounts payable clerk education

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

	Bursar	Accounts Payable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Bursar vs accounts payable clerk demographics

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

	Bursar	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 31.6% Female, 68.4%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
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, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between bursar and accounts payable 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.

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.

Bursar vs accounts payable 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 accounts payable clerk skills

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