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Collector vs bill collector

The differences between collectors and bill collectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a collector and a bill collector. Additionally, a bill collector has an average salary of $35,585, which is higher than the $34,872 average annual salary of a collector.

The top three skills for a collector include patients, customer service and payment arrangements. The most important skills for a bill collector are patients, customer service, and medicaid.

Collector vs bill collector overview

CollectorBill Collector
Yearly salary$34,872$35,585
Hourly rate$16.77$17.11
Growth rate-8%-8%
Number of jobs23,94823,746
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 31%High School Diploma, 27%
Average age4646
Years of experience1212

What does a collector do?

Collectors are responsible for monitoring and providing immediate actions for client accounts with overdue payments. Collectors must be able to contact clients through phone or e-mail. A collector's duty also includes negotiating on payment procedures and offering repayment plans and alternative payment solutions to free the debt. Collectors need to document any agreements made to the client, updating and verifying contact information, resolving account discrepancies and client complaints, and report escalated concerns to the management.

What does a bill collector do?

A bill collector is responsible for reaching out to the customers to collect overdue payments, negotiate repayment plans, and update account information upon settling of payments. Bill collectors monitor the contact details of the customer, utilizing locator tools and software as required by the organization, and review contract terms to decide on credit advice or escalate the issue to a higher tier. A bill collector must have excellent communication and customer service skills, especially in explaining the customer's case and perform debt collection duties efficiently.

Collector vs bill collector salary

Collectors and bill collectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

CollectorBill Collector
Average salary$34,872$35,585
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $44,000Between $30,000 And $40,000
Highest paying CityLos Angeles, CAPittsfield, MA
Highest paying stateAlaskaVirginia
Best paying companyUlineRetina Group Of Washington
Best paying industryFinanceFinance

Differences between collector and bill collector education

There are a few differences between a collector and a bill collector in terms of educational background:

CollectorBill Collector
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 31%High School Diploma, 27%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Collector vs bill collector demographics

Here are the differences between collectors' and bill collectors' demographics:

CollectorBill Collector
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 36.0% Female, 64.0%Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 24.0% Asian, 3.5% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between collector and bill collector duties and responsibilities

Collector example responsibilities.

  • Manage patient focuse reports, collection modules, provider/facility A/R, collections, patient discharge letters.
  • Monitor all assign accounts by reviewing the client's aging, manage all potential bad debit, DSO, aging.
  • Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
  • Provide customer service via telephone and correspondence for patients and authorize representatives regarding outstanding patient accounts in accordance with facility protocol.
  • Verify and run eligibility on the following insurance, Medi-Cal, Medi-Cal HMO, Medicare, Medicare HMO.
  • Provide excellent customer service while following HIPPA confidentiality laws.
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Bill collector example responsibilities.

  • Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
  • Follow HIPPA and FDCPA guidelines to ensure legal collection practices are utilized.
  • Bill and collect all skil Medicare, and other insurance claims which include HMO claims denials.
  • Provide patients with information and resources essential to their financial needs including payment arrangements and account reminders.
  • Take payments by ACH and debit cards.
  • Collect A/R payments from medical insurance companies and customers.
  • Show more

Collector vs bill collector skills

Common collector skills
  • Patients, 14%
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Payment Arrangements, 10%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 9%
  • Delinquent Accounts, 8%
  • Student Loans, 5%
Common bill collector skills
  • Patients, 19%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Medicaid, 6%
  • Medical Billing, 4%
  • Patient Accounts, 4%
  • Appeals, 4%

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