Senior accounts payable specialist vs accounts payable technician

The differences between senior accounts payable specialists and accounts payable technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior accounts payable specialist, becoming an accounts payable technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior accounts payable specialist has an average salary of $60,557, which is higher than the $47,325 average annual salary of an accounts payable technician.

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 technician are FAA, A/P, and powerplant.

Senior accounts payable specialist vs accounts payable technician overview

	Senior Accounts Payable Specialist	Accounts Payable Technician
Yearly salary	$60,557	$47,325
Hourly rate	$29.11	$22.75
Growth rate	-5%	6%
Number of jobs	31,611	23,079
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	51	40
Years of experience	6	4

What does a senior accounts payable specialist do?

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.

What does an accounts payable technician do?

An Accounts Payable Technician performs the day-to-day processing of accounts payable transactions. They prepare and process invoices and other financial documents manually or by using specialized automated software.

Senior accounts payable specialist vs accounts payable technician salary

Senior accounts payable specialists and accounts payable technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Accounts Payable Specialist	Accounts Payable Technician
Average salary	$60,557	$47,325
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $83,000	Between $33,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Juneau, AK
Highest paying state	Delaware	Alaska
Best paying company	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC	Baptist Health Care
Best paying industry	Finance	Manufacturing

Differences between senior accounts payable specialist and accounts payable technician education

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

	Senior Accounts Payable Specialist	Accounts Payable Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 51%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Accounting	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY Farmingdale

Senior accounts payable specialist vs accounts payable technician demographics

Here are the differences between senior accounts payable specialists' and accounts payable technicians' demographics:

	Senior Accounts Payable Specialist	Accounts Payable Technician
Average age	51	40
Gender ratio	Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8%	Male, 55.0% Female, 45.0%
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, 9.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	2%

Differences between senior accounts payable specialist and accounts payable technician duties and responsibilities

Senior accounts payable specialist example responsibilities.

Manage payroll garnishments to accurately comply with applicable state and municipal laws.
Prepare, process, and submit check files, wire transfers, ACH payments, and positive pay.
Maintain W9 forms for all vendors in the system.
Verify if all vendors W9's are on file.
Analyze and prepare the monthly/quarterly payments to IRS for FICA/FUTA taxes.
Train new staff on ERP software, AP policy and procedures, and customer service.

Accounts payable technician example responsibilities.

Manage the FOD prevention program to reduce costly repairs and increase the participation in FOD awareness and FOD walk downs.
Utilize technical data to troubleshoot maintenance issues.
Obtain practical experience on the Garrett TPE-331 powerplant.
Maintain catalog of store A/P, A/R source documents.
Enter all invoices into a/p software, assigns g/l account numbers & appropriate cost centers.
Obtain practical experience on the TFE-731 Garrett powerplant and hot section inspection experience on the Pratt and Whitney PT6.

Senior accounts payable specialist vs accounts payable technician skills

Common senior accounts payable specialist skills

Vendor Statements, 10%
Expense Reports, 7%
Purchase Orders, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Accruals, 5%
Reconciliations, 5%

Common accounts payable technician skills

FAA, 13%
A/P, 9%
Powerplant, 9%
Airframe, 8%
Troubleshoot, 7%
Hand Tools, 5%

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Senior Accounts Payable Specialist
Senior Accounts Payable Specialist vs Accounts Payable Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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