Credit clerk vs accounts receivable clerk

The differences between credit clerks and accounts receivable 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 receivable clerk. Additionally, an accounts receivable clerk has an average salary of $36,425, 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 receivable clerk are customer service, data entry, and collection calls.

Credit clerk vs accounts receivable clerk overview

	Credit Clerk	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Yearly salary	$32,870	$36,425
Hourly rate	$15.80	$17.51
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	86,922	87,935
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 36%
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 receivable clerk do?

An Accounts Receivable Clerk specializes in processing payment records and bill statements of a company or organization. Among the duties include calculating total revenues and unpaid invoices, maintaining financial records and keeping a detailed and organized database, and verifying financial transactions and payment delinquencies. Furthermore, an Accounts Receivable Clerk must resolve and examine deductions, prepare invoices and necessary documentation, and review customer payment plans and history records and coordinate with the collections department should there be any issues.

Credit clerk vs accounts receivable clerk salary

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

	Credit Clerk	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Average salary	$32,870	$36,425
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $40,000	Between $29,000 And $45,000
Highest paying City	Springfield, OR	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Oregon	Massachusetts
Best paying company	JBS USA	IBM
Best paying industry	Automotive	Finance

Differences between credit clerk and accounts receivable clerk education

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

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

Credit clerk vs accounts receivable clerk demographics

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

	Credit Clerk	Accounts Receivable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 14.3% Female, 85.7%	Male, 13.7% Female, 86.3%
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, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between credit clerk and accounts receivable 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 receivable clerk example responsibilities.

Manage and monitor weekly bank deposit runs and record deposits into QuickBooks.
Manage profitable accounts receivable ledgers for existing and new clientele maintaining accuracy of monies enter to appropriate relate account.
Obtain online reports of bank transactions, including deposits, ACH, EFT and wire payments from multiple banking institutions.
Utilize QuickBooks accounting software for billing/invoices, generate statements.
Perform necessary adjustments using knowledge of Medicare and all third party insurance.
Investigate and resolve any out-of-balances including credit card discrepancies / lockbox exceptions.

Credit clerk vs accounts receivable 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 receivable clerk skills

Customer Service, 12%
Data Entry, 9%
Collection Calls, 8%
Financial Data, 7%
Credit Card Payments, 5%
Process Payments, 5%

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Credit Clerk
Credit Clerk vs Accounts Receivable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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