Skills and abilities that an accounting clerk needs

• Must be good with numbers and good mathematical background is necessary.
• Knowledge of computers and software account packages could be an advantage.
• Good communication skills both, verbal and written are also required.
• They require a good sense of order, must be careful and detail oriented.
• Must also have the ability not to make any errors, and at the same time find the errors made by others.
• They should have a high sense of honesty and trustworthiness and have the ability to be discreet as they come across many confidential matters.

Educational background required for an accounting clerk

• For an entry level position of an accounting clerk a high school degree is a must.
• Most employers look for candidates who have some post secondary education or an associate’s degree in accounting or business.
• Rarely does an employer look for a candidate with a bachelor’s degree in accounting or business but candidates might take up these jobs with an eye for advancement in the company.
• On the job training to learn the company procedures and policies are generally under the tutelage of a senior or supervisor.
• Some classroom training may also be offered in the computer software package used by the company.

Duties and responsibilities of an accounting clerk

Accounting clerks work in various settings in an industry such as banking or manufacture or financial and these settings have their own typical duties.

These duties vary too according to their type of employer and what particular section of the accounts department they work in.

But irrespective of these factors accounting clerks have some common duties and responsibilities which have been enumerated below.

• Make journal entries such as debits and credits in the company’s sub or general ledger.
• Check these journal entries and verify the balances for accuracy by checking against vendor’s bills and customer invoices.
• Reconcile the bank statements on a monthly basis against various cash balances in the company accounts which should in turn tally with the cash ledger.
• Any discrepancies found have to be taken up with the bank staff.
• They assist in the monthly closing under the guidance of senior accountants.
• They also assist the internal and external auditors by taking out any accounting statements that they want and confirming the ledger balances.
• If they are working in the tax department they would have to compute tax returns according to the instructions of the senior professionals.
• They may also have to analyze and evaluate the sales tax collected from customers and file the sales tax returns with the competent authorities in the state and local revenue services.

About Accounting Clerks

Every business even if it be a non-profit organization has to deal with money in one form or the other, and to keep a track and record of this money a person who is qualified and knowledgeable about the principles of accountancy is hired. At the lower rung of accounts department, an accounting clerk is employed who updates and maintains all the account records, right from receipts, expenditure, accounts payable, account receivable and the profit and loss account. They take care of the total bookkeeping in a company or they may take care of a specific task, but whatever they do there is a lot of calculation involved and for that they make use of computers and also maintain records.

In smaller companies an accounting clerk would perform many functions and make postings in the general ledger. In the general ledger they post all the debits or expenditure and credits or income. They also bank all the cash, cheques and any other form of payments received from the cashier, at the same time balancing and verifying it against receipts. They prepare summaries and reports for all the financial transactions and present them to the supervisors or managers. They might be also asked to take up additional jobs such as keeping payroll records, take care of the purchases, make invoices and keep track of the accounts which have become overdue.

In large organizations they may have specific jobs to perform as the work load of the accounts department is distributed amongst various accounting clerks. At the entry level they may perform basic accounting duties such as posting details of transactions, totalling the daily accounts, calculating interest, monitoring loans and ensuring that the payments have been received. As they gain experience they may have to perform more advanced accounting functions such as taking care of the complete billing cycle of totalling, balancing and reconciling billing vouchers, reconciling bank accounts, take care of the asset register, etc.

Now more and more companies have already computerized their financial records and these accounting clerks use sophisticated accounting software to post the daily transactions and keeping of the financial records. With the advent of the computers these accounting clerks have more time on their hands to assist in payroll accounting, purchasing and billing transactions. They have to acquire additional skills for these jobs such as writing letters and making calls to clients and customers.

Salary and Remuneration for an accounting clerk

The salary or earnings of an accounting clerk are dependent on various factors such as the number of years experience they have gained, the setting of the industry that they work in, the type of employer that they work for and the city or region that they work in amongst other reasons.

A brief description of the kind of salary an accounting clerk would receive when working under different conditions.

• Years of Experience

• An Accounting clerk with experience which is less than one year earns $ 23,866 and $ 41,382 and between $ 8.98 and $ 16.81 as an hourly rate range.
• An Accounting clerk with experience which is between one to four years the salary range is between $ 24,551 and $ 43,366 and between $ 9.98 and $ 17.28 as an hourly rate range.
• An Accounting clerk with experience which is between five to nine years the salary range is between $ 24,589 and $ 48,081 and between $ 11.32 and $ 18.53 as an hourly rate range.
• An Accounting clerk with experience which is between ten to nineteen years the salary range is between $ 25,474 and $ 50,233 and between $ 11.57 and $ 20.01 as hourly rate range.
• An Accounting clerk with experience which is more than twenty years the salary range is between $ 26,576 and $ 53,044 and between $ 11.33 and $ 21.73 as hourly rate range.

• Industry
  • An accounting clerk working in healthcare gets an annual salary range between $ 24,406 and $ 49,493 and the hourly wage range is between $ 10.47 and $ 19.57.
  • An accounting clerk working in accounting auditing and tax services gets an annual salary range between $ 22,073 and $ 50,050 and the hourly wage range is between $ 9.75 and $ 18.63.
  • An accounting clerk working in manufacturing and distribution gets an annual salary range between $ 26,086 and $ 42,227 and the hourly wage range is between $ 11.65 and $ 17.84.
  • An accounting clerk working in insurance gets an annual salary range between $ 26,664 and $ 56,522.
  • An accounting clerk working in banking gets an annual salary range between $ 24,581 and $ 40,929 and the hourly wage range is between $ 9.87 and $ 16.46.
  • An accounting clerk working in education college or university gets an annual salary range between $ 22,235 and $ 40,104
  • An accounting clerk working in information technology (IT) services gets an annual salary range between $ 25,073 and $ 47,171.
  • An accounting clerk working in retail gets an hourly wage range between $ 8.94 and $ 17.81.
  • An accounting clerk working in auto or car dealership gets an hourly wage range between $ 9.90 and $ 17.52.
  • An accounting clerk working in hotel and hospitality management gets an hourly wage range between $ 9.81 and $ 17.70.

• Employer Type

• An accounting clerk working for a company gets an annual salary range between $ 25,288 and $ 46,809 and an hourly wage rate between $ 10.24 and $ 18.48.
• An accounting clerk working for a non profit organization gets an annual salary range between $ 24,922 and $ 44,843 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 10.02 and $ 18.89.
• An accounting clerk working for a government – state and local gets an annual salary range between $ 22,943 and $ 43,763 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 10.47 and $ 20.87.
• An accounting clerk working for a private practice or firm gets an annual salary range between $ 26,519 and $ 50,790 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 9.98 and $ 20.43.
• An accounting clerk working for other organization gets an annual salary range between $ 23,833 and $ 45,508 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 10.82 and $ 19.03.
• An accounting clerk working for a college or university gets an annual salary range between $ 22,468 and $ 38,282 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 9.21 and $ 18.46.
• An accounting clerk working for a government – federal gets an annual salary range between $ 23,978 and $ 70,469 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 10.52 and $ 22.15.
• An accounting clerk working for a hospital gets an annual salary range between $ 24,910 and $ 49,665 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 9.86 and $ 18.00.
• An accounting clerk who is self employed gets an annual salary range between $ 21,128 and $ 44,219 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 8.70 and $ 17.52.
• An accounting clerk working for a franchise gets an annual salary range between $ 28,277 and $ 35,553 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 9.17 and $ 16.91.
• An accounting clerk working for a contract gets an annual salary range between $ 29,500 and $ 42,850 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 10.85 and $ 19.19.

• City

• An accounting clerk working in New York, New York gets an annual salary range between $ 28,408 and $ 46,311.
• An accounting clerk working in Houston, Texas gets an annual salary range between $ 27,469 and $ 43,278 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 11.15 and $ 19.59.
• An accounting clerk working in Chicago, Illinois gets an annual salary range between $ 27,397 and $ 44,871 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 8.36 and $ 24.83.
• An accounting clerk working in Austin, Texas gets an annual salary range between $ 28,084 and $ 60,820 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 11.03 and $ 18.05.
• An accounting clerk working in Los Angeles, California gets an annual salary range between $ 28,406 and $ 50,876 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 11.25 and $ 22.13.
• An accounting clerk working in Dallas, Texas gets an annual salary range between $ 29,141 and $ 46,269 and an hourly wage rate is between $ 10.04 and $ 18.05.
• An accounting clerk working in Minneapolis, Minnesota gets an annual salary range between $ 26,167 and $ 51,064.

Certification and licensure for an accounting clerk

• There is no licensure requirement for an accounting clerk.
• Certification is purely voluntary for an accounting clerk, but it would be beneficial for advancement in their career if they had one.
• They can opt to obtain the Certified Bookkeeper (CB) credential offered by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeeper as this certification shows that the person has gained the requisite skills and knowledge to perform all the bookkeeping tasks which includes balancing accounts, payroll accounts according to the accepted norms of accountancy.
• For gaining this qualification the candidate has to have worked in the bookkeeping field for two years and have to pass a four part examination along with adhering to code of ethics.
• To maintain certification they have to meet a three year continuing education requirement.