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What is the Salary of an Entry-Level Billing Specialist?
What is the Salary of an Entry-Level Billing Specialist?
Research what it takes to become an entry-level billing specialist. Learn about job duties, education requirements and average salary to find out if this is the career for you.
What Is a Billing Specialist?
Billing specialists, also known as billing clerks, are financial clerks who assist businesses and organizations in preparing, mailing and recording bills. Their specific duties typically depend on the industry in which they work. For instance, if they work at a medical facility, they review hospital records and send out bills to patients and insurance companies. If they work for a wholesale goods distributor, they evaluate purchase orders and issue bills to retail outlets. When they have questions about a particular account, they are responsible for contacting the client to verify account information.
The following chart provides an overview of the education requirements along with the job outlook and median salary for this field.
<table border="1"><tr><td><b>Degree Required</b></td><td>High school diploma or equivalent; associate's degree and certificate programs available</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Education Field of Study</b></td><td>Accounting, bookkeeping</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Key Responsibilities</b></td><td> Prepare invoices, record billings, data entry, update records</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Job Growth (2020-2030)</b></td><td>3% for all billing and posting clerks*</td></tr>
<tr><td><b> Median Salary (2021) </b></td><td>$45,915 for entry-level billing specialists**</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Sources: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; **PayScale.com</i>
</p><h3 id="section---HowMuchCanIEarnAsAnEntryLevelBillingSpecialist">How Much Can I Earn as an Entry-Level Billing Specialist?</h3><p>Billing specialists, also referred to as billing clerks, work in many types of companies and organizations. If you are interested in the field, you might find a position overseeing the billing for a healthcare facility, accounting firm or other type of business.
</p><p>As an entry-level billing specialist, you can reasonably expect to start off earning slightly more than minimum wage. According to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual salary for billing and posting clerks in 2020 was $41,610. The BLS also predicted slower than average job growth for billing and posting clerks between the years of 2020 and 2030. The median salary for entry-level billing specialists was $45,915 according to 2021 reports from <i>PayScale.com</i>.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatTrainingDoINeed">What Training Do I Need?</h3><p>To work as a billing clerk or specialist, you will likely need to be a high school graduate. As most of this work is done using accounting programs, employers may also be looking for you to have computer experience. In most cases, you will be trained on the job and will be overseen by an accounting supervisor. Ongoing updates to billing software may require you to complete occasional additional training. If you wish to advance in this field, you might choose to obtain a bookkeeping certificate or an associate's degree in accounting from a local community college or online.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatWillMyJobDutiesBe">What Will My Job Duties Be?</h3><p>As a billing specialist, you may gather and enter data into a computerized ledger system, prepare and mail out invoices, and keep records of work billed. Depending upon the field you are working in, you may be billing clients for services such as medical care; for products such as clothing or electronics; or for both, in the case of jobs involving labor and materials.
</p><p>Due to the nature of the information you may handle doing this work, you will not only need to be detail oriented, but also discreet. Employers often look for people with good communication and customer service skills to fill this type of job, as you may be called upon to respond to billing questions directly from clients.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatAreSomeRelatedAlternativeCareers">What Are Some Related Alternative Careers?</h3><p>Financial clerks may choose to specialize in an area other than billing. For example, it is possible to become a payroll clerk. In this job, you would be responsible for creating and issuing paychecks to employees based on the number of hours they worked, making adjustments when necessary. Payroll clerks need at least a high school diploma. Another option is a position as a brokerage clerk, which involves handling issues related to an organization's investments, such as stocks and bonds. The minimum educational requirement is a high school diploma, but advancement to a securities agent position is possible for those who earn a bachelor's degree and pass a licensure exam.</p>
