Credit clerk vs accounts payable clerk

The differences between credit clerks 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 credit clerk and an accounts payable clerk. Additionally, an accounts payable clerk has an average salary of $38,333, which is higher than the $32,870 average annual salary of a credit clerk.

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

Credit clerk vs accounts payable clerk overview

	Credit Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Yearly salary	$32,870	$38,333
Hourly rate	$15.80	$18.43
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	86,922	89,564
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

What does a credit clerk do?

Credit clerks control their company's credit and collection policies and daily procedures. They use the database to improve their organization's collections and maintain records for internal control and compliance. They deal with collecting, investigating, analyzing, and correcting disputed accounts to serve customers better and increase their collection rate. These clerks work with a credit manager to identify which accounts need to be written off for bad debt and solve complex cases that require special collection attention. They sometimes negotiate with customers to discuss the terms of payment for their unpaid balances.

What does an accounts payable clerk do?

An accounts payable clerk is responsible for supporting the accounting department by performing clerical duties to file financial reports timely and accurately. Accounts payable clerks manage and verify invoices documents, reconcile balance spreadsheets, process payments for suppliers and vendors, resolve billing discrepancies, confirm and post account statements, record outstanding credits, and maintain an organized record of transactions. An accounts payable clerk must have excellent knowledge of the accounting principles to deliver high-quality services and help the business minimize excessive financial loss.

Credit clerk vs accounts payable clerk salary

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

	Credit Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average salary	$32,870	$38,333
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $40,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, OR	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Oregon	Massachusetts
Best paying company	JBS USA	Jane Street
Best paying industry	Automotive	Technology

Differences between credit clerk and accounts payable clerk education

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

	Credit Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Credit clerk vs accounts payable clerk demographics

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

	Credit Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.1% 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 credit clerk and accounts payable clerk duties and responsibilities

Credit clerk example responsibilities.

Manage resident's private information for insurance verification, billing, and eligibility to apply for Medicaid.
Maintain payroll, attendance records, coordinate group travel arrangements and conference calls.
Prepare, check, and maintain various records and payroll reports.
Transfer loans from warehouse to permanent investor reports on the CPI systems.
Process applications for credit, Microsoft excel, AS400 , 10key by touch, type 45 wpm.
Travele to the post office to drop off approve incidents and pick up remittance items from the assigned lockboxes.

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.

Credit clerk vs accounts payable clerk skills

Common credit clerk skills

Data Entry, 13%
Customer Service, 12%
Customer Accounts, 6%
Credit Card Payments, 5%
Financial Statements, 5%
AS400, 4%

Common accounts payable clerk skills

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

Credit Clerk vs. similar jobs

Credit Clerk related careers

Credit Clerk related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Credit Clerk
Credit Clerk vs Accounts Payable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs