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The differences between collections coordinators 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 coordinator and an account specialist. Additionally, an account specialist has an average salary of $42,586, which is higher than the $37,938 average annual salary of a collections coordinator.
The top three skills for a collections coordinator include customer service, patients and phone calls. The most important skills for an account specialist are customer service, patients, and account management.
| Collections Coordinator | Account Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $37,938 | $42,586 |
| Hourly rate | $18.24 | $20.47 |
| Growth rate | -8% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 40,113 | 116,010 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Usually working alongside a company's account receivables team, a collections coordinator is in charge of developing strategies to optimize the payment collection operations. Among their responsibilities include reaching out to clients through calls or correspondence to remind them of their payment obligations, arranging appointments, processing payments, arranging payment terms, and researching a client's communication information such as cellphone number, address, or email. Moreover, a collections coordinator must maintain an active communication line with staff while promoting and enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
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 coordinators and account specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Collections Coordinator | Account Specialist | |
| Average salary | $37,938 | $42,586 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $47,000 | Between $28,000 And $62,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Virginia |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Finance |
There are a few differences between a collections coordinator and an account specialist in terms of educational background:
| Collections Coordinator | Account Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between collections coordinators' and account specialists' demographics:
| Collections Coordinator | Account Specialist | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.6% Female, 73.4% | Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 3.6% White, 59.0% 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% |