Billing and Posting Clerks
43-3021.00
Updated 2024

Compile, compute, and record billing, accounting, statistical, and other numerical data for billing purposes. Prepare billing invoices for services rendered or for delivery or shipment of goods.

Sample of reported job titles: Account Services Representative (Accounts Services Rep), Biller, Billing Clerk, Billing Coordinator, Item Processing Clerk (IP Clerk), Medical Biller, Pre-Audit Clerk, Statement Clerk, Statement Distribution Clerk, Statement Services Representative (Statement Services Rep)

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • Verify accuracy of billing data and revise any errors.
  • Resolve discrepancies in accounting records.
  • Prepare itemized statements, bills, or invoices and record amounts due for items purchased or services rendered.
  • Operate typing, adding, calculating, or billing machines.
  • Post stop-payment notices to prevent payment of protested checks.
  • Verify signatures and required information on checks.
  • Keep records of invoices and support documents.
  • Perform bookkeeping work, including posting data or keeping other records concerning costs of goods or services or the shipment of goods.
  • Contact customers to obtain or relay account information.
  • Route statements for mailing or over-the-counter delivery to customers.
  • Monitor equipment to ensure proper operation.
  • Fix minor problems, such as equipment jams, and notify repair personnel of major equipment problems.
  • Review documents, such as purchase orders, sales tickets, charge slips, or hospital records, to compute fees or charges due.
  • Track accumulated hours and dollar amounts charged to each client job to calculate client fees for professional services, such as legal or accounting services.
  • Weigh envelopes containing statements to determine correct postage and affix postage, using stamps or metering equipment.
  • Consult sources, such as rate books, manuals, or insurance company representatives, to determine specific charges or information such as rules, regulations, or government tax and tariff information.
  • Compare previously prepared bank statements with canceled checks and reconcile discrepancies.
  • Take orders for imprinted checks.
  • Encode and cancel checks, using bank machines.
  • Load machines with statements, cancelled checks, or envelopes to prepare statements for distribution to customers or stuff envelopes by hand.
  • Compute credit terms, discounts, shipment charges, or rates for goods or services to complete billing documents.
  • Update manuals when rates, rules, or regulations are amended.
  • Review compiled data on operating costs and revenues to set rates.
  • Answer inquiries regarding rates, routing, or procedures.
  • Compile reports of cost factors, such as labor, production, storage, and equipment.
  • Create billing documents, shipping labels, credit memorandums, or credit forms.
  • Perform general administrative tasks, such as answering telephones, scheduling appointments, and ordering supplies or equipment.
  • Return checks to customers or retrieve checks returned to customers in error, adjusting accounts and answering inquiries about errors as necessary.
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Technology Skills

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In demand
In Demand skills are frequently included in employer job postings for this occupation.

Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Working with Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Communicating with People Outside the Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
  • Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

  • Electronic Mail — 89% responded “Every day.”
  • Telephone — 77% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Sitting — 78% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — 54% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Contact With Others — 45% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 53% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Structured versus Unstructured Work — 39% responded “A lot of freedom.”
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 78% responded “Every day.”
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — 55% responded “Some freedom.”
  • Work With Work Group or Team — 49% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Face-to-Face Discussions — 65% responded “Every day.”
  • Time Pressure — 40% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Letters and Memos — 41% responded “Every day.”
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 49% responded “Every day.”
  • Duration of Typical Work Week — 62% responded “40 hours.”
  • Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — 36% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 37% responded “Important results.”
  • Deal With External Customers — 36% responded “Very important.”
  • Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable — 34% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — 46% responded “Continually or almost continually.”

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
Education
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Related Experience
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Job Zone Examples
These occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include hydroelectric production managers, desktop publishers, electricians, agricultural technicians, barbers, court reporters and simultaneous captioners, and medical assistants.
SVP Range
(6.0 to < 7.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
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Certifications
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Apprenticeship Opportunities

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Worker Requirements

Skills

  • Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems.
  • Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  • Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Knowledge

  • Administrative — Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  • Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Economics and Accounting — Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  • Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 51%
     
    Some college, no degree required
  • 21%
     
    High school diploma or equivalent required
  • 17%
     
    Post-secondary certificate required

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Number Facility — The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Interests

Interest code: C
Want to discover your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler at My Next Move.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Work Values

  • Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
  • Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
  • Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Work Styles

  • Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical.
  • Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  • Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  • Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
  • Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
  • Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
  • Self-Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  • Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
  • Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
  • Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
  • Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
  • Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
  • Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
  • Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
  • Innovation — Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
  • Social Orientation — Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2023)
$21.92 hourly, $45,590 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2023)
449,000 employees
Projected growth (2023-2033)
Slower than average (1% to 2%)
Projected job openings (2023-2033)
45,300
State trends
Top industries (2023)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 wage data and 2023-2033 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2023-2033). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
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More Information

Professional Associations

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National Associations
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