The job and salary of an Accounts Receivable Accountant 

What exactly does the role of Accounts Receivable Accountant entail?   

Robbe: "The Accounts Receivable Accountant is responsible for the customer part of the accounting department. Some of the main tasks here include processing invoices, following up on payments and answering customer queries. Because the invoicing process is largely automated today, the content of this position has changed and has become more insightful: for example, as an Accounts Receivable Accountant, you will also prepare analyses and reports for the Finance Manager."   

What education and skills do you need to become an Accounts Receivable Accountant?   

"A graduate or bachelor's degree in business management, business economics or accountancy & taxation is ideal to start in this role," says Robbe. "Given that many processes within accounting are digitised nowadays, knowledge of accounting programmes and digital skills are among the basic requirements. Starters therefore definitely have an added value to offer, as digital tools are nowadays included in the teaching packages of accountancy courses.   

Furthermore, as an Accounts Receivable Accountant, it is obviously important that you can work accurately and in a structured manner, and that you are able to analyse figures and process them into clear reports.   

As you are in daily contact with customers, communication skills and commercial feeling are also valuable skills. Many organisations have a multilingual customer base, so a thorough knowledge of Dutch, French and English is a big plus. Are you also helpful and solution-oriented? Then you will surely ace the role of Accounts Receivable Accountant!"  

What is the current demand for Accounts Receivable Accountants?  

Job security is guaranteed for this position, as there are always vacancies for Accounts Receivable Accountants.

"And that makes sense," says Robbe. "The invoicing process may be becoming more and more automated, but someone is always needed to follow up on collections and speak to customers. Moreover, it is still the case that traditionally few people graduate in accounting fields, which creates a continuous high demand for talent. Finally, we find that Accounts Receivable Accountants usually move on to the next position after a few years in the job, which again creates job opportunities."  

This leads us to our next question: what are the career opportunities as an Accounts Receivable Accountant?   

"Generally speaking, there are 2 possible paths you can take," says Robbe. "On the one hand, you can choose to specialise in customer accounting and grow into the role of Accounts Receivable Teamleader. Here, you will manage a team of Accounts Receivable Accountants and often take on the most difficult or largest customer dossiers. Alternatively, you can broaden your knowledge and evolve into the position of (assistant) accountant. From this role, you can possibly progress further to AZ Accountant, Chief Accountant and eventually even Finance Manager."  

How much does an Accounts Receivable Accountant earn?  

As an entry-level Accounts Receivable Accountant with 0 to 3 years' experience, you can expect to earn a gross monthly salary of 2300-2500 EUR. With 3 to 6 years' experience, you will earn a gross salary of EUR 2500-3100. If you have more than 6 years of experience, you could see your gross monthly salary rise to 3600 EUR or higher.   

"This salary is usually supplemented by a range of fringe benefits, for example meal vouchers, insurance, laptop, mobile phone and bicycle leasing. Flexible working hours and frequent days working from home are also almost always an option nowadays," Robbe concludes.

 

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