what does an accounts payable clerk do?
Asked by Raine
Can you please give me a detailed description of what an accounts payable person does? is it considered as a good job?

Best Answer:
You must be a stickler for detail. Usually you match up the purchase order that someone else has completed within the company to the packing list from the company which proves receipt of the item(s) ordered. This information is usually put together to await an invoice from the company that the item was ordered and received from. When the invoice comes in it is matched to the purchase order and the packing list. You should check to make certain that the pricing, quantity, terms, etc. that is on the purchase order is the same as what you were invoiced. If not then you will have to contact the company that your ordered/received it from and if so then you may enter this into a payable system to track when the bill is due so you know when to write th check. This could be done by a computer system such as Money Counts, Quicken, Quickbooks, etc. or by hand in a folder that has 1-31 designated (for the days of the month) so you know when the bill is to be paid. You then rotate the monthly bills due, by their due date, and write the check appropriately to the correct company, with the correct amount, etc. making sure to either attach a copy of the check and/or stub to the payable packette for your records or at the very least write the check #, amount and date the check was written in hand on the packet to be filed in a filing system by vendor. The check then gets mailed to the vendor with either an invoice stub or a copy of the invoice so you can assure that it will be applied correctly. You may or may not have to pay taxes and do payroll - dependent upon how large the company is. It could be good job - depending again, on what you like to do and what you are looking for. I, myself, was a corporate compliance officer in my hay-day, but now that I work part-time, due to the kids, I love my A/P job! Good Luck!

Reviews invoices and statements from vendors and cuts checks to pay thme. It is an entry-level accounting job. Not what I would consider good. But from there you could move into an office manager or controller position. Of course these would probably depend on you having an accounting degree.
Answered by Rick B