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The differences between senior accounts payable specialists and bookkeepers 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 a bookkeeper. Additionally, a senior accounts payable specialist has an average salary of $60,557, which is higher than the $40,337 average annual salary of a bookkeeper.
The top three skills for a senior accounts payable specialist include vendor statements, expense reports and purchase orders. The most important skills for a bookkeeper are payroll tax returns, customer service, and reconciliations.
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Bookkeeper | |
| Yearly salary | $60,557 | $40,337 |
| Hourly rate | $29.11 | $19.39 |
| Growth rate | -5% | -5% |
| Number of jobs | 31,611 | 38,481 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | 5 |
| 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.
Bookkeepers are employees who are in charge of the company's general ledger. They are well-versed in basic accounting principles, and they apply these in their work. Bookkeepers manage the entry of items in the general ledger, assign items into their proper categories, and ensure that the entries are balanced. They also act as auditors by checking the accuracy and veracity of the receipts or vouchers in their possession before entering them into the system. Bookkeepers ensure that their files are up to date and free of errors.
Senior accounts payable specialists and bookkeepers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Bookkeeper | |
| Average salary | $60,557 | $40,337 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $83,000 | Between $30,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | New York |
| Best paying company | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | NTT Data International L.L.C. |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a senior accounts payable specialist and a bookkeeper in terms of educational background:
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Bookkeeper | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior accounts payable specialists' and bookkeepers' demographics:
| Senior Accounts Payable Specialist | Bookkeeper | |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.2% Female, 84.8% | Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6% |
| 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, 14.4% Asian, 6.6% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |