Career as an Accounts Payable Clerk


An Accounts Payable Clerk pays a company's bills on time and makes sure the company is being billed the proper amounts. Accounts payable clerks usually receive, open and log invoices, as well as get approval to pay invoices from department heads when necessary. They typically have knowledge of general accounting and budgeting.

Accounts Payable Clerks generally work for accounting firms or organizations' accounting departments, coordinating various accounts payable functions on behalf of their organization. Their duties include, among others, performing data entry, handling customer inquiries, preparing financial statements and performing vendor maintenance. In all tasks, these clerks must maintain a high degree of accuracy.

Employers often encourage accounting clerks to make process improvements to make their job more efficient, and these clerks must follow their company's procedures and guidelines, as well as generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). They also need to follow internal audit controls and work closely with internal auditors. Accounts payable clerks must keep up to date with best practices in their field, and they may be required to train new accounts payable clerks.

Accounts payable clerks should be proficient with basic computer programs such as the Microsoft Office suite and any necessary accounting software. These clerks should have good interpersonal and communication skills, and they should be able to meet deadlines and pay close attention to detail.

The duties of Accounts Payables Clerk includes to issue stop-payments or purchase order amendments, record, code, and process all invoices for payment. They also prepare, enter and maintain filing of Accounts Payable and perform timely account reconciliation by verifying entries and comparing to balances.

Work Environment

This job operates in a clerical, office setting. These workers are responsible for entering vendor invoices, managing vendor databases, scheduling payments according to invoice terms, preparing checks for signature and mailing payments. Higher-level clerks may perform tasks like coding bills and verifying transaction accuracy.

Entry Level Education

Bachelor’s / Master’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, or other related fields.
