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The differences between senior accounts payable specialists and accounts payable administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a senior accounts payable specialist and an accounts payable administrator. Additionally, a senior accounts payable specialist has an average salary of $60,557, which is higher than the $41,860 average annual salary of an accounts payable administrator.
The top three skills for a senior accounts payable specialist include vendor statements, expense reports and purchase orders. The most important skills for an accounts payable administrator are purchase orders, data entry, and vendor invoices.
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Accounts Payable Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $60,557 | $41,860 |
| Hourly rate | $29.11 | $20.12 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 31,611 | 79,272 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A senior accounts payable specialist is responsible for performing more complex tasks in the accounting department of an organization and assisting the junior staff in processing financial transactions. Senior accounts payable specialists manage invoice release for vendors and perform bank reconciliations. They also handle the vendors' inquiries and concerns regarding their paychecks and resolve billing discrepancies that they may have. A senior account payable specialist must have excellent knowledge of the accounting principles to generate payments accurately and maintain an organized record of the financial filing system.
An accounts payable administrator is an individual who reviews and verifies the invoices of suppliers and grants payment requests. Accounts payable administrators must prepare invoice batches and input them in the accounts payable module of the financial information system every day to ensure that payments meet weekly and monthly deadlines. When warranted, they seek clarifications or explanations from submitters and responds to inquiries from suppliers, consultants, and clients regarding the status of their payments. Accounts payable administrators must also ensure that reimbursements are properly approved.
Senior accounts payable specialists and accounts payable administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Accounts Payable Administrator | |
| Average salary | $60,557 | $41,860 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $83,000 | Between $32,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | New York |
| Best paying company | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | Ducommun |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior accounts payable specialist and an accounts payable administrator in terms of educational background:
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Accounts Payable Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior accounts payable specialists' and accounts payable administrators' demographics:
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Accounts Payable Administrator | |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8% | Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |