Principal account clerk vs accounts payable clerk

The differences between principal account 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 principal account clerk and an accounts payable clerk. Additionally, an accounts payable clerk has an average salary of $38,333, which is higher than the $32,077 average annual salary of a principal account clerk.

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

Principal account clerk vs accounts payable clerk overview

	Principal Account Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Yearly salary	$32,077	$38,333
Hourly rate	$15.42	$18.43
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	157,387	89,564
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	51	51
Years of experience	6	6

Principal account clerk vs accounts payable clerk salary

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

	Principal Account Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average salary	$32,077	$38,333
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $39,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Jane Street
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between principal account clerk and accounts payable clerk education

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

	Principal Account Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Principal account clerk vs accounts payable clerk demographics

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

	Principal Account Clerk	Accounts Payable Clerk
Average age	51	51
Gender ratio	Male, 18.3% Female, 81.7%	Male, 17.2% Female, 82.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.7% 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 principal account clerk and accounts payable clerk duties and responsibilities

Principal account clerk example responsibilities.

Manage resident's private information for insurance verification, billing, and eligibility to apply for Medicaid.
Prepare garnishments for processing into PeopleSoft as well as notifying employees and the different garnishing services.
Close patient contact, appropriate decision-making concerning patient financial affairs and coordination between patients and third-party sponsorship for further financial assistance.
Process and file claims against courier or ATM owners for shortages unresolve.
Respond to inquiries from internal organization and external customers regarding package processing, delivery information and services offer by USPS stores.

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.

Principal account clerk vs accounts payable clerk skills

Common principal account clerk skills

Payroll Processing, 23%
Purchase Orders, 16%
Data Entry, 13%
Journal Entries, 10%
Vendor Checks, 9%
Reconciliations, 8%

Common accounts payable clerk skills

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

Principal Account Clerk vs. similar jobs

Principal Account Clerk related careers

Principal Account Clerk related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Principal Account Clerk
Principal Account Clerk vs Accounts Payable Clerk

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs