What an accounts payable and receivable clerk does
An accounts payable and receivable clerk manages the money your business owes and the money it is owed. On the payables side, that means matching invoices to purchase orders and receipts, coding and entering bills, preparing cheque and electronic payment runs and reconciling vendor statements. On the receivables side, it includes issuing invoices, applying customer payments, following up on overdue accounts and preparing aging reports. Some roles focus on one side, while others cover both.
Errors here affect cash directly. Duplicate payments, missed early-payment discounts and slow collections all cost money, and weak controls on payables can expose a business to fraud. Finch screens for accuracy, experience with three-way matching and collections, and skill with your accounting system or ERP. We also check references for reliability and integrity, since these clerks often have access to vendor banking details and payment processing.
Typical responsibilities
- Match invoices to purchase orders and receiving documents
- Code and enter vendor bills, and prepare cheque and EFT payment runs
- Reconcile vendor statements and resolve discrepancies
- Issue customer invoices and apply incoming payments
- Follow up on overdue accounts and prepare aging reports
- Support month-end with accruals, reports and reconciliations
Qualifications and credentials
- A college diploma or courses in accounting or business
- Previous AP, AR or full-cycle accounting clerk experience
- Experience with an accounting system or ERP such as Sage, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics or QuickBooks
- Strong Excel skills, including lookups and pivot tables
- Understanding of HST on purchases and sales
- Professional, persistent communication for collections calls
Who hires an accounts payable and receivable clerk
- Distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers
- Construction and property management companies
- Retail and e-commerce head offices
- Transportation and logistics firms
- Health care and non-profit organizations
Where we recruit accounts payable and receivable clerk candidates
We fill accounts payable and receivable clerk roles for employers across Toronto and the GTA, including North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Oshawa and Pickering, and for employers across Canada. GTA employers can meet us at our North York office by appointment.
What Finch checks before you meet a candidate
- Accuracy on invoice matching and data entry
- Experience with your ERP or a comparable system
- Collections approach, assessed with a realistic scenario
- Understanding of payment controls and fraud prevention
- References that confirm reliability and integrity
Interview questions to ask
- What steps do you take before releasing a payment run?
- How do you approach a long-standing customer who is consistently paying late?
- A vendor emails to change their banking details. What do you do?