Collections/accounts receivable vs account specialist

The differences between collections/accounts receivables and account specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a collections/accounts receivable and an account specialist. Additionally, an account specialist has an average salary of $42,586, which is higher than the $38,949 average annual salary of a collections/accounts receivable.

The top three skills for a collections/accounts receivable include customer service, patients and delinquent accounts. The most important skills for an account specialist are customer service, patients, and account management.

Collections/accounts receivable vs account specialist overview

	Collections/Accounts Receivable	Account Specialist
Yearly salary	$38,949	$42,586
Hourly rate	$18.73	$20.47
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	30,523	116,010
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	12	12

What does a collections/accounts receivable do?

An officer for collections/accounts receivable is in charge of a company's financial activities, ensuring that they receive payment from clients. They primarily focus on overseeing all billing and invoices, processing and verifying all receipts and rendered services, maintaining an accurate record of all transactions, producing reports and presentations, reviewing account and payment histories, and ensuring the accuracy of all processes involving the matter. Furthermore, should there be any complex issues, it is essential to reach out to a manager or a supervisor right away.

What does an account specialist do?

An account specialist is responsible for reaching out to customers or potential clients through calls, emails, and other forms of correspondence to secure sales and strengthen business relations. An account specialist may also perform other tasks such as arranging appointment schedules with clients, providing price quotes and responding to further inquiries, process orders, generating sales leads, and handling complaints and resolving issues. Furthermore, an account specialist may also be involved in developing strategies, finding new opportunities, producing and completing necessary documents, and preparing reports, all in adherence to the company's policies and regulations.

Collections/accounts receivable vs account specialist salary

Collections/accounts receivables and account specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Collections/Accounts Receivable	Account Specialist
Average salary	$38,949	$42,586
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $49,000	Between $28,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Virginia
Best paying company	Apollo Global Management	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between collections/accounts receivable and account specialist education

There are a few differences between a collections/accounts receivable and an account specialist in terms of educational background:

	Collections/Accounts Receivable	Account Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Collections/accounts receivable vs account specialist demographics

Here are the differences between collections/accounts receivables' and account specialists' demographics:

	Collections/Accounts Receivable	Account Specialist
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 25.3% Female, 74.7%	Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 3.7% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between collections/accounts receivable and account specialist duties and responsibilities

Collections/accounts receivable example responsibilities.

Plan and conduct sensitive HUMINT collection operations with an emphasis on managing and debriefing confidential sources.
Work accounts receivable for Medicaid verification and payments.
Work remittance advice from Medicaid ensuring accuracy of payments.
Research and obtain extensive knowledge of FDCPA debt recovery laws and assist in recovering commercial debt from organizations.
Communicate effectively with patients, physicians, hospital staff, and insurance representatives to ensure accuracy in claims processing.
Review claims to determine if process correctly and if necessary, direct patients to contact insurance companies regarding additional benefit questions.

Account specialist example responsibilities.

Cultivate productive long-term relationships with all assign accounts, and manage all reporting and presentation needs for RFP's.
Manage a portfolio of accounts end to end RFP program execution inclusive of pricing, contracting, process and technology solutions.
Manage the daily correspondence from assign practices with keeping doctor/patient confidentiality under consideration along with HIPPA regulations.
Deliver exceptional customer service to hospital accounts and internal sales representatives in accordance to revenue recognition policies and HIPAA regulations.
Experience with CMS 1500 and UB-04 claims using HCPC/CPT codes as well as NDC codes
Monitor CMS and real time aux codes.

Collections/accounts receivable vs account specialist skills

Common collections/accounts receivable skills

Customer Service, 21%
Patients, 6%
Delinquent Accounts, 5%
Credit Card Payments, 5%
Past Due Accounts, 5%
Customer Accounts, 5%

Common account specialist skills

Customer Service, 25%
Patients, 13%
Account Management, 6%
PowerPoint, 4%
Data Entry, 4%
Catheter, 3%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Collections/Accounts Receivable
Collections/Accounts Receivable vs Account Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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