Finance & Accounting
An accounts receivable specialist invoices customers, applies incoming payments and follows up on open balances. The role keeps cash coming in on schedule and gives management an accurate picture of what customers owe.
Median pay
$50,670a year
Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks, U.S. BLS, May 2025
The role
Companies hire one when customer invoices increase, when days sales outstanding creeps up, or when billing and cash application fall behind.
Typical responsibilities
Core skills
Tools and systems
Related titles
Typical background
Typically two to four years in accounts receivable or billing; an accounting or business degree is common but not always required.
At a glance
The essentials for planning the hire: level, background, how you can hire and what the role typically pays.
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FAQ
Straight answers to the questions employers and candidates ask about this role.
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An accounts receivable specialist invoices customers, applies incoming payments and follows up on open balances. The role keeps cash coming in on schedule and gives management an accurate picture of what customers owe. Typical responsibilities include: apply customer payments to open invoices and clear unapplied cash; send invoices and statements to customers on schedule; follow up on past-due balances by phone and email.
Look for cash application, AR aging analysis, customer communication, dispute resolution, account reconciliations and credit memos. Experience with NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP, Excel and Tipalti is common in this role.
Yes. An accounts receivable specialist is one of the roles employers most often hire on contract, for projects, busy periods, leave cover and vacancies. Contract-to-hire is also an option if you want to work together before making a permanent offer.
In smaller companies one person often does both, and it works when volume is modest. As past-due balances grow, a separate collections specialist usually collects faster because cash application and collection calls pull in different directions.
Look for someone who can explain how they reduced unapplied cash or aged balances in a previous role. Ask how they handle a disputed invoice with a large customer. Concrete process answers beat general statements about being detail oriented.
Related roles
Every role in the practice is recruited by the same specialist team.
