What Does an Accounts Receivable Specialist Do?
An accounts receivable specialist manages the money customers owe a company, from the invoice going out to the cash arriving and posting correctly. The role owns the aging report, applies incoming payments, resolves short pays and disputes, makes collection calls on past-due accounts, and reconciles the AR subledger to the general ledger. AR specialists work in distribution, manufacturing, healthcare, professional services, and any business that bills customers on terms. Most employers require a high school diploma or an associate degree in accounting and 2 or more years of accounts receivable, billing, or collections experience.
Four similar roles share parts of this job. An accounts receivable clerk posts payments and enters invoices but does not own the aging or call customers; the specialist does both. A billing specialist creates the invoices and fixes billing errors but usually stops once the invoice is correct. A collections specialist works only the past-due accounts, often at 60 days and beyond. An accounts payable specialist handles the opposite side of the ledger, paying vendors instead of collecting from customers.
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Hiring an Accounts Receivable Specialist: What to Expect
AR specialist candidates come from AR clerk and cash application roles, from billing and collections desks, from customer service in companies that bill on terms, and from medical billing offices. Screen for ownership of an aging, not familiarity with one. Ask what their DSO or past-due percentage was when they started a role and what it was when they left, and ask them to describe a dispute they resolved where the customer was partly right. The answer should include the root cause (a pricing error, a short shipment, a missing PO) and who they worked with to fix it.
AR specialist postings tend to list cash posting and invoice entry and nothing else, which describes an AR clerk and attracts clerk-level applicants at clerk-level expectations. If the person will own the aging, call customers, and resolve disputes, say so in the first 2 lines, and state the number of accounts, the monthly invoice volume, and the ERP.
A posting for this role should name the ERP and any cash application tool in use, such as HighRadius, Billtrust, Versapay, or the ERP’s auto-cash module. It should also say how payments arrive (check, ACH, card, lockbox, or portal) and how many customer accounts the person will manage, because a 300-account B2B aging and a 30,000-account consumer aging are different jobs.
On accounting and finance searches, 4 Corner Resources submits qualified candidates in an average of 4.5 days, clients interview an average of 1.46 candidates per hire, and we submit 1.82 candidates per hire.
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Accounts Receivable Specialist Core Responsibilities
- Apply customer payments received by check, ACH, credit card, lockbox, and portal to open invoices in the ERP
- Review auto-match results from the cash application tool, such as HighRadius, Billtrust, or Versapay, and clear the exceptions it cannot match
- Research and resolve unapplied cash, short pays, overpayments, and unidentified remittances within the week they arrive
- Review the AR aging weekly and prioritize past-due accounts for follow-up
- Make collection calls and send dunning notices on accounts past terms, and document every contact in the system
- Set up and monitor automated dunning emails and payment portal reminders in the AR platform
- Use AI tools in the AR platform or Microsoft Copilot to draft collection emails and dispute summaries, and check every amount and invoice number before sending
- Resolve customer disputes on pricing, quantity, freight, and tax by working with sales, shipping, and billing
- Process credit memos, write-offs, and adjustments within approval limits and route larger ones for sign-off
- Reconcile the AR subledger to the general ledger at month-end and explain any difference
- Prepare weekly cash receipts and aging reports for the controller and the sales team
- Maintain customer master records, including billing contacts, terms, and tax exemption certificates
- Place and release credit holds in coordination with the credit analyst or credit manager
- Respond to customer statement requests and W-9 requests, and complete supplier setups in customer portals such as SAP Ariba and Coupa
Required Skills and Qualifications
Hard skills
- Full-cycle accounts receivable experience, including cash application, aging management, and collections
- Experience with an ERP or accounting system such as NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Sage, or QuickBooks
- Cash application experience with lockbox files, ACH remittances, and AI-assisted auto-cash tools such as HighRadius, Billtrust, or Versapay, including exception handling
- Intermediate Excel, including pivot tables and XLOOKUP for aging analysis and reconciliations
- Experience with customer AP portals such as SAP Ariba, Coupa, and Tungsten Network for invoice submission and status
- Familiarity with electronic payment formats, including CCD+ and CTX ACH remittances and virtual card payments
- Understanding of credit memos, debit memos, and the approval process for adjustments
- Knowledge of sales tax exemption certificates and basic sales tax rules
- Ability to reconcile a subledger to the general ledger
Soft skills
- Comfortable making a collection call and keeping the customer relationship intact
- Organized across hundreds of open items without losing the oldest ones
- Persistent with internal departments whose errors created the dispute
- Accurate with cash, since a misapplied payment creates 2 problems
- Writes a clear note on every contact so the next person can pick up the account
Education
- High school diploma or GED required
- Associate or bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or business preferred
Certifications
- None required
- NACM Credit Business Associate (CBA) or IOFM Accounts Receivable Specialist certification is a plus for senior roles
Preferred Qualifications
- 3 or more years of B2B accounts receivable experience in a company with at least 500 customer accounts
- Experience configuring matching rules in an auto-cash or AR automation platform
- Experience in the employer’s industry, such as distribution, manufacturing, healthcare, or professional services
- Experience with Salesforce or another CRM for logging customer contact
- Bilingual English and Spanish where the customer base requires it
- Experience supporting an audit with AR confirmations and aging support
How Much Does an Accounts Receivable Specialist Make?
Typical national range: $35,719 to $56,139, with a national average of $43,780. Salary data reviewed October 2026 by 4 Corner Resources.
Accounts receivable specialist salaries vary by experience, industry, organization size, and geography. Click below to explore salaries by local market.
The average national salary for an Accounts Receivable Specialist is:
$43,780
Sample Job Description Templates for Accounts Receivable Specialists
Accounts Receivable Specialist (B2B)
Position Overview
We are hiring an Accounts Receivable Specialist to own the aging for about 800 commercial customer accounts at a regional distributor. You will apply cash from lockbox and ACH, work past-due accounts by phone and email, resolve disputes with our sales and shipping teams, and report weekly on collections. The position reports to the Accounting Manager and works closely with the Credit Analyst.
Responsibilities
- Apply daily lockbox, ACH, and card payments in NetSuite and clear the payments auto-match cannot apply
- Work the aging weekly and contact accounts past 30 days
- Resolve short pays and disputes with sales, shipping, and billing
- Process credit memos and adjustments within approval limits
- Submit invoices and check status in customer AP portals
- Prepare the weekly cash and aging report for the Accounting Manager
Requirements
Hard skills
- 2 or more years of B2B accounts receivable experience
- NetSuite or similar ERP experience
- Cash application experience with lockbox and ACH
- Intermediate Excel, including pivot tables and XLOOKUP
Soft skills
- Professional and persistent on collection calls
- Organized across a large aging
- Documents every customer contact
Education
- High school diploma or GED; associate degree preferred
Preferred qualifications
- Experience with SAP Ariba, Coupa, or other customer AP portals
- Experience with an AR automation tool such as Versapay or Billtrust
Accounts Receivable Specialist, Healthcare
Position Overview
Our multi-specialty medical group is seeking an Accounts Receivable Specialist to follow up on insurance claims and patient balances for 12 providers. You will work denials and underpayments by payer, post insurance and patient payments, appeal denied claims, and set up patient payment plans. The role reports to the Revenue Cycle Manager and works in athenahealth and Waystar.
Responsibilities
- Work the insurance aging by payer and follow up on claims unpaid past 30 days
- Post insurance remittances and patient payments and reconcile to the daily deposit
- Research denials and underpayments and file appeals with supporting documentation
- Review AI-suggested denial reasons and draft appeal letters in the revenue cycle system and correct them before submission
- Contact patients on outstanding balances and set up payment plans
- Review contractual adjustments against payer fee schedules
- Report monthly on days in AR, denial rate, and collections by payer
Requirements
Hard skills
- 2 or more years of medical accounts receivable or billing experience
- Experience with a practice management system such as athenahealth, Epic, eClinicalWorks, or NextGen
- Knowledge of CPT, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS, and payer claim rules
- Experience with a clearinghouse such as Waystar or Availity
Soft skills
- Patient and clear with patients who do not understand their bill
- Persistent with payers that deny claims on the first submission
- Careful with protected health information
Education
- High school diploma or GED; medical billing and coding certificate preferred
Certifications
- CPB (Certified Professional Biller) or CRCR preferred
Cash Application Specialist (High Volume)
Position Overview
We are hiring a Cash Application Specialist for a shared services center that applies about 15,000 payments per month across 4 business units. You will manage lockbox and ACH files in HighRadius, clear exceptions the auto-match cannot resolve, research unapplied cash, and keep the unapplied balance under target. The position reports to the Cash Applications Supervisor.
Responsibilities
- Process daily lockbox, ACH, and wire files through HighRadius auto-cash
- Clear exception queues by matching remittances to open invoices
- Research and resolve unapplied and unidentified cash within 5 business days
- Contact customers for missing remittance detail
- Reconcile daily cash posted to bank deposits
- Track and report unapplied cash and auto-match rates by business unit
- Recommend new matching rules in HighRadius when the same customer’s remittances keep failing
Requirements
Hard skills
- 2 or more years of cash application experience in a high-volume environment
- Experience with HighRadius, Billtrust, or a similar auto-cash tool
- SAP S/4HANA or Oracle Fusion Cloud experience
- Strong Excel for remittance analysis
Soft skills
- Fast and accurate with repetitive matching work
- Spots a pattern when the same customer’s remittances keep failing
- Meets daily cutoffs without exception
Education
- High school diploma or GED
Senior Accounts Receivable Specialist
Position Overview
Our company is seeking a Senior Accounts Receivable Specialist to manage our largest national accounts, lead the month-end AR close, and guide 2 AR clerks. You will own the aging for 40 of our largest customers with complex billing requirements, resolve escalated disputes with their AP departments, reconcile the subledger, and prepare the bad debt reserve analysis. The role reports to the Controller.
Responsibilities
- Manage the aging and collections for the top 40 national accounts
- Resolve escalated disputes and chargebacks with customer AP and procurement teams
- Manage deductions through retailer portals such as Walmart Retail Link and Amazon Vendor Central
- Reconcile the AR subledger to the general ledger at month-end
- Prepare the monthly bad debt reserve analysis and recommend write-offs
- Review and approve the clerks’ cash application and adjustments
- Lead the AR portion of the annual audit, including customer confirmations
Requirements
Hard skills
- 5 or more years of accounts receivable experience, with national account or major account responsibility
- Experience with chargebacks, deductions, and retailer compliance programs
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, Business Central, or similar ERP experience
- Advanced Excel for reserve analysis and reconciliations
Soft skills
- Diplomatic with large customers who pay on their own schedule
- Guides clerks without doing their work for them
- Direct with the controller about accounts that will not pay
Education
- Associate or bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance
Certifications
- NACM CBA or CBF preferred
Preferred qualifications
- Experience with retailer deduction programs (Walmart, Target, Amazon)
- Experience training or supervising AR staff