Finance technician vs accounts payable clerk

The differences between finance technicians 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 finance technician and an accounts payable clerk. Additionally, a finance technician has an average salary of $45,251, which is higher than the $38,333 average annual salary of an accounts payable clerk.

The top three skills for a finance technician include financial reports, financial management and review contracts. The most important skills for an accounts payable clerk are customer service, data entry, and purchase orders.

Finance technician vs accounts payable clerk overview

	Finance Technician	Accounts Payable Clerk
Yearly salary	$45,251	$38,333
Hourly rate	$21.76	$18.43
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	89,668	89,564
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

What does a finance technician do?

Finance technicians are professionals who perform various tasks that are related to financial accounting for an organization. These technicians are required to provide monthly transaction reports and perform forecasts on their future budget requirements to ensure proper financial management for the organization. They must assist in preparing financial statements to analyze and summarize accounting data for the organization's senior management. Finance technicians must also research and resolve any disputes that involve financial transactions while informing the senior management about any financial discrepancies.

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.

Finance technician vs accounts payable clerk salary

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

	Finance Technician	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average salary	$45,251	$38,333
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $67,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Ernst & Young	Jane Street
Best paying industry	Government	Technology

Differences between finance technician and accounts payable clerk education

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

	Finance Technician	Accounts Payable Clerk
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Finance technician vs accounts payable clerk demographics

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

	Finance Technician	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 41.2% Female, 58.8%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.5% White, 67.8% 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 finance technician and accounts payable clerk duties and responsibilities

Finance technician example responsibilities.

Develop expertise in use of PeopleSoft system to manage balance accounts for quarterly investment portfolio.
Transmit data to MAJCOM, HQ USAF, & DoD timely.
Provide debt management for the DOD and service members.
Process and review documents associate with PCS, ETS, retirement and/or separation.
Ensure that obligations are correct, record, and submits vouchers to DFAS for processing.
Network and coordinate with DFAS, civilian personnel or other resources to resolve complex problems.

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.

Finance technician vs accounts payable clerk skills

Common finance technician skills

Financial Reports, 15%
Financial Management, 13%
Review Contracts, 10%
Financial Transactions, 8%
Treasury, 6%
Bonds, 4%

Common accounts payable clerk skills

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

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Finance Technician
Finance Technician vs Accounts Payable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

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