Accounts Payable Vs Receivable: What is the right career for me?
Accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) roles continue to be key components of financial operations across the UK. Whether you’re helping a company meet financial obligations or supporting the timely collection of payments, both specialisms offer strong career paths for entry-level professionals and seasoned finance staff alike.
In a competitive hiring market, transactional finance professionals are in high demand. As our latest market insight and salary guide reveals, transactional finance roles are among the top areas of hiring growth. Candidates with experience in accounts payable and receivable are certainly sought after.
At Marks Sattin, our specialist financial consultants have deep expertise in even the most technical transactional roles. Whether you’re exploring your first finance position or planning your next move, we offer a tailored approach.
Learn about the similarities and differences between accounts payable and receivable and which of these two career paths would best suit you.
What is accounts payable?
Accounts payable professionals are responsible for managing and processing an organisation’s financial obligations to vendors and suppliers. This role involves expense tracking, timely payment of invoices, and stakeholder management with vendors and suppliers.
Typical responsibilities in accounts payable jobs include:
- Processing invoices and matching them with purchase orders
- Monitoring payment schedules and due dates
- Managing expense claims
- Liaising with procurement and suppliers
- Reconciling statements and investigating discrepancies
What is accounts receivable?
Accounts receivable professionals are responsible for collecting outstanding payments made on credit to the company. This role involves issuing and tracking invoices, recording payments received, following up on overdue payments and reconciling accounts.
Typical responsibilities of accounts receivable jobs include:
- Creating and sending invoices to clients
- Managing debtor ledgers and tracking due payments
- Following up with customers regarding overdue accounts
- Reconciling received payments
- Reporting on aged debt and payment trends
What are the key differences between accounts payable and receivable?
Essentially, accounts payable and receivable are two sides of the same coin. Here is why:
Types of transactions
Accounts payable: acts as a debtor for the company as it owes money to vendors or suppliers.
Accounts receivable: acts as a creditor for the company as it is owed money from customers.
Direction of cash flow
Accounts payable: cash flow is going out of the company as payments are made.
Accounts receivable: cash flow is coming into the company as payments are collected.
Handling of invoices
Accounts payable: review, verify, and process invoices from vendors or suppliers and reconcile purchase orders with these invoices.
Accounts receivable: issue new invoices to customers or clients for products or services bought.
Which accounting career path is right for you?
When choosing between accounts payable and receivable, there are a few things to consider. Finding the right subdiscipline at the early stages of your accounting career can seem like a challenge but if you consider the following factors, it can put things in perspective, in terms of your skills and interests, and career aspirations.
For example, accounts payable roles require attention to detail, and organisation whereas accounts receivable roles involve customer interaction which requires communication and interpersonal skills. If you assess your current skills, it can provide clarity on what role would better suit you.
You should also consider where you want your career to go, would accounts receivable open new opportunities in accounting and finance where you would also be customer-facing? Or do accounts payable roles have more opportunities to progress internally within one business to more senior roles? Think about the long term, and what your career aspirations are.
Still unsure about where to take your accounting career? Read this blog on how to get into the industry, what to expect from your employer, and potential career paths.
In our 2025 financial services market report and salary guide, we found that skills-based hiring is growing in popularity. Many hiring managers now prioritise transferable skills over direct experience. This means building core capabilities, like Excel proficiency or attention to detail, can help you easily pivot between AP and AR roles as your career evolves.
Explore accounts payable and receivable jobs with Marks Sattin
Our part-qualified and transactional division is one of our most established teams in the business. They have the in-depth market knowledge and expertise to place high-quality candidates across a variety of sectors including retail, FMCG, telecoms, media, technology, property, construction, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, legal, travel and tourism.
If you are looking to recruit or be hired as an accounts payable or receivable professional, then explore our finance and accounting division at Marks Sattin or download our 2025 financial services market report and salary guide to get an inside look into the hiring landscape.
