Accounts Payable Specialist – Skills, Responsibilities & Salary

Accounts payable is one of the most vital departments in any business. It is in charge of assessing and paying invoices owing to vendors, as well as tracking and monitoring a company’s outgoing cash and expenses. The accounts payable team’s tasks and responsibilities need to be well-defined given the crucial nature of this function in order to enable workers to perform their jobs effectively and efficiently.

Whether you work as a controller or an AP specialist, let us look at the detailed job description of Account payable specialist in this post.

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Who is Account Payable Specialist?

Accounts payable professionals manage and maintain financial records, with a focus on processing invoices and other obligations. They get all required approvals, check and balance invoices, and start the payment process. They maintain correct recordkeeping and expedite processing by utilising a range of AP software programmes and other technological technologies. They prepare tax forms such 1099s, year-end summaries, and statements. They carry out a variety of standard accounting and bookkeeping duties.

What’s in an Accounts Payable Specialist Job Description?

An Accounts Payable job description may include specifics about their work, such as handling accounts payable and receivable, an account payable salary, employment prerequisites (such as a high school graduation), and typical job activities. If you’re interested in learning what makes a normal job description for an accounts payable clerk, you can search for a template or look through available openings.

Accounts Payable Specialist Roles & Responsibilities

As an AP specialist, you have a lot of responsibilities. Some of the main responsibilities you will regularly oversee are listed below.

Cash management:

It is your duty as an AP specialist to make sure that vendors are paid on time. This can be done on the due day, or if it’s not practicable, after the due date, allowing funds to be held longer in the books. If a vendor offers early payment savings, you may choose to pay earlier. In this instance, the discount needs to be sufficient to cover the opportunity cost of not using the cash for a revenue-generating activity or the financing costs of the cash, if any. Delaying payments to suppliers who don’t charge late fees is another option available to you.

Data entry

Entering invoice information into financial systems is a common task. You’ll get in touch with accounting over the bills they haven’t received after doing this task. After that, the cost will be accumulated by your accounting department until an invoice is sent.

Research

Data discrepancies are common in the AP process because numerous parties are engaged. For example, an invoice can be received with inaccurate or missing information. It is your responsibility to locate the accurate data in that case and rectify the inaccuracy before it leads to more problems.

Reconciliation

You must routinely reconcile the company’s accounts payable in order to maintain accurate data and keep errors from affecting cash flow. This entails verifying that two or more sets of financial records match by comparing them.

Skills required for an Accounts Payable Specialist?

• Clear communication: You’ll need to communicate frequently with vendors about bills, payment terms, and your company’s service level agreements. In order to carry out the procedure, managing invoice approvals will require you to collaborate closely with staff members and other departments.
• Analytical abilities: You’ll need to comprehend and evaluate your organization’s overall financial commitments and goals. Examining financial records, invoice due dates, and other financial data will be necessary for this.
• Effective teamwork: Working successfully with teams such as buying and human resources will be required to process invoices and expense submissions.
• Attention to detail: Data entry and other similar tasks are common in accounts payable, thus it’s critical that you have this quality. Even a small typing error might result in overspending and wasted effort looking through documents to find the issue.
• Time management: is essential in all professional roles, but it’s crucial when managing the money of your company. Building stronger vendor connections can be achieved by making sure payments are made on schedule and approvals are handled effectively.
• Building and negotiating relationships: You must foster positive working connections with your vendors. By doing this, you can make sure that your company doesn’t end up with any outstanding debts. It is essential to be able to control the timing and flow of purchases as well as negotiate advantageous terms.

Accounts Payable Specialist where do they work?