Collections specialist vs collections representative

The differences between collections specialists and collections representatives 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 specialist and a collections representative. Additionally, a collections specialist has an average salary of $35,164, which is higher than the $34,015 average annual salary of a collections representative.

The top three skills for a collections specialist include customer service, patients and customer accounts. The most important skills for a collections representative are payment arrangements, customer service, and delinquent accounts.

Collections specialist vs collections representative overview

	Collections Specialist	Collections Representative
Yearly salary	$35,164	$34,015
Hourly rate	$16.91	$16.35
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	40,277	85,275
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 34%	High School Diploma, 33%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	12	12

What does a collections specialist do?

As their name entails, collections specialists collect payments for the outstanding accounts receivables. Collections specialists list the names of those who were unable to pay their overdue bills based on their delinquency severity. They locate the customers through loan documents, background checks, credit bureau information, and other databases or paperwork. These specialists are expected to be excellent in their negotiation and communication skills. They should also be trustworthy, reliable, and act professionally to be considered as good specialists.

What does a collections representative do?

A Collections Representative's role is to collect payment for outstanding or overdue bills through phone calls, email, mail, or sometimes personal appointments. A Collections Representative is required to have a great deal of research and communication skills in order to reach out to people and explain how to settle their debts or even negotiate a payment term or plan. Collections Representatives must also make sure that these terms are honored and met, and create reports for the creditor regarding the delinquent accounts.

Collections specialist vs collections representative salary

Collections specialists and collections representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Collections Specialist	Collections Representative
Average salary	$35,164	$34,015
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $45,000	Between $26,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	San Ramon, CA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	California
Best paying company	Kent Daniels & Associates	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between collections specialist and collections representative education

There are a few differences between a collections specialist and a collections representative in terms of educational background:

	Collections Specialist	Collections Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 34%	High School Diploma, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Collections specialist vs collections representative demographics

Here are the differences between collections specialists' and collections representatives' demographics:

	Collections Specialist	Collections Representative
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5%	Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 3.7% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 3.4% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between collections specialist and collections representative duties and responsibilities

Collections specialist example responsibilities.

Manage university A/R processes and enforce tuition payment policy.
Manage accounts for healthcare clients, review detailed patient information for payment resolution while abiding HIPPA privacy and security regulations.
Review denied Medicare and Maine Medicaid insurance claims for accuracy.
Analyze hospital insurance claims of individual patients for errors and contact major insurance carriers for claims dispute resolution.
Analyze accounts for patients ineligible for private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid and indicating inability to pay balance.
Possess effective persuasion and negotiation skills, excellent interpersonal and communications skills with the ability to deliver quality customer service.

Collections representative example responsibilities.

Protect A/R assets by managing a portfolio of accounts to maximize gainful sales and reduce debt losses.
Maintain effective communication and utilize negotiation skills with internal and external customers to effect collections while maintaining customer good will.
Submit all reconsideration and appeals if need.
Conduct periodic data cleaning of queues balances deny with deny appeals.
Resolve valid or authorize NSF charges due to decline credit cards or ACH transactions.
Collect and count inventories, reconcile purchases and scan UPC's and inputting price information.

Collections specialist vs collections representative skills

Common collections specialist skills

Customer Service, 23%
Patients, 8%
Customer Accounts, 6%
Payment Arrangements, 5%
Delinquent Accounts, 4%
Phone Calls, 4%

Common collections representative skills

Payment Arrangements, 14%
Customer Service, 13%
Delinquent Accounts, 9%
Past Due Accounts, 6%
Customer Accounts, 4%
Debt Repayment, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Collections Specialist
Collections Specialist vs Collections Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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