Account receivable clerks are most often referred to simply as accounts receivables. The accounts receivable job description usually involves ensuring that the company of employment receives payments for the goods and services it offers. They also have to correctly keep records of all the day’s transactions. Without any further ado, you can read below all about what the accounts receivable job description implies.
Job Overview: What Does an Accounts Receivable Professional Do?
Accounts receivables generally perform a wide array of tasks. They usually handle accountant and collections duties, such as establishing procedures and policies, keeping in contact with vendors, clients, attorneys, and other staff. As well as observe the confidentiality of the firm and client matters.
Accounts Receivable Job Duties
Depending on the type of accounts receivable job description, the responsibilities of someone aspiring for the position can vary drastically. For example, the accounts receivable specialist job description will be different than the accounts payable, administrator, supervisor, or assistant job descriptions. The most common responsibilities seen by most people with the accounts receivable job description are as follows:
- Maintaining up-to-date billing systems and carrying out billing duties;
- Generating and sending out invoices;
- Allocating, following up, and collecting payments;
- Reporting all daily work-related activities;
- Following very specific and strict deadlines;
- Performing account reconciliations and monitoring the customers’ account details;
- Being on the look-out for delayed or missed payments and other such irregularities;
- Researching and resolving payment discrepancies;
- Reviewing account statuses and generating age analyses;
- Ensuring compliance with the company’s procedures;
- Investigating and solving customer complaints and queries;
- Processing account and company adjustments;
- Keeping business up to date with all policy changes;
- Developing or following an already established recovery system;
- Communicating with customers through means such as phone, email, or face to face;
- Assisting with closing at the end of every month and preparing monthly metrics and statistics;
- Using various pieces of software to keep track of data;
- Supervising and keeping track of trust accounts, payment reversals, and write-offs.
Accounts Receivable Job Essential Skills
Since the accounts receivable job description can be very stressful at times, not many people can handle the responsibilities without a certain number of skills and personal qualities. These can range from skills picked up in grade school to talents that have always been with the interested employee.
Communication Skills. This professional must possess excellent verbal and written communication skills in order to be able to properly work with customers. A high level of flexibility is also necessary when working with people, as well as excellent interpersonal skills.
Computer Skills. Advanced 10-key calculator skills are mandatory for doing this job. Also, basic to moderate computer operating skills help the accounts receivable tackle his daily duties.
Math Skills. A mind for mathematics and numbers is the basis of the account receivable job. In order for this professional to be able to fulfill his tasks properly, he must have mathematics knowledge and skills.
Organizational Skills. The accounts receivable job description includes great organizational skills as well as the ability to multitask efficiently. It is also important to have a superior attention to detail, problem-solving and analysis skills.
Becoming an Accounts Receivable Professional
Most employers ask for at least some experience working in accounting before even considering someone for the accounts receivable job. The most common experience requirement is for the aspiring employee to already have worked one to three years as an accounts receivable. General accounting experience is also accepted on occasion.
Qualifications and Training
As mentioned before, there are different educational requirements for different types of account receivables. While account receivable clerks usually only need a high school diploma or a GED, other positions also require several college courses and diplomas. The most common option for which people go is a two-year degree in accounting, which can also help your chances of snagging the accounts receivable clerk job.
While at least some experience is demanded by most employers, on-the-job training is also a very common practice. New employees are usually considered to be in training for the first two weeks of their job, during which they have to get accustomed to the company’s procedures and policies, as well as to learn the goings-on of the accounts receivable job.
Work Experience
To become an accounts receivable a person must fulfill a number of personal requirements, such as to be organized, communicative nature, as well as a gift for working with numbers. Despite this fact, many states only demand a high school diploma for accounts receivable clerks.
Meanwhile, the accounts receivable job description for a specialist such as medical or analyst accounts receivable clerk might have higher educational criteria, such as an associate degree in accounting.
Interestingly, despite the fact that account receivable clerks have to work with large amounts of money, the educational prerequisites for the profession aren’t too demanding. Add to that the bonuses and the overtimes which can bring the accounts receivable a pretty nice overall salary.
Working Hours
The accounts receivable clerk works full time, with a standard 35 hours per week schedule. This job requires the regular Monday to Friday 9 AM to 5 PM hours, with the possibility of paid overtime hours for those that want to work 10 hours per day.
Job Outlook & Advancement Opportunities
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment rate for individuals with the accounts receivable job description is estimated to grow 11% by 2022. This is surprisingly strange given the tendency of such positions to be slowly eradicated by the advent of online banking.
But even if one does not want to keep on doing their job as an accounts receivable clerk, they can easily switch to different, better paid and better-regarded positions in the company. These positions include accounts receivable coordinator job description, the accounts receivable manager job description, or something even higher up in the organization.
Having one of the most stressful jobs in finance, account receivables have to be ready to communicate with clients and superiors all day long. They handle huge sums of money every single day, so responsibility and math skills are a must for the accounts receivable job description. Still, with an estimated median salary of $36,122 per year, the job outlook for the position is fairly optimistic.
Conclusion
The job satisfaction levels estimated for the profession are surprisingly high for a job in finance. Having to handle accounts and large sums of money day and day out, the accounts receivable job description can get fairly stressful. However, with the bonuses and the overtime which can bring the accounts receivable salary the job has a very optimistic job outlook.
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