Accounting assistant to billing clerk
An accounting assistant already meets 37% of what the billing clerk role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.7/ 100
1 How much of what a billing clerk is expected to do is already part of an accounting assistant’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the billing clerk role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A billing clerk role treats 5 of its required skills as things an accounting assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- allocate bills
- follow up accounts receivables
- handle financial transactions
- maintain financial records
- use office systems
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A billing clerk role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an accounting assistant background worth leading with.
- already held follow up accounts receivables information skills
- already held allocate bills management skills
- already held prepare financial statements information skills
- already held use office systems management skills
- already held manage accounts management skills
- already held interpret financial statements information skills
All 8 carried skills, including the 5 the billing clerk role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn file documents required
- still to learn fill out forms required
- still to learn maintain credit history of clients required
- still to learn maintain customer records required
- optional, not held create a financial report optional
- optional, not held assess debtor's financial situation optional
- still to learn financial department processes required
- still to learn financial capability required
- still to learn organise business documents required
- optional, not held count money optional
- optional, not held handle petty cash optional
- optional, not held process payments optional
- optional, not held communicate by telephone optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held interview bank loanees optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a billing clerk role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 file documents practise this
- 02 financial department processes study this
- 03 fill out forms practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 8 skills that carry over
- already held allocate bills skill
- already held follow up accounts receivables skill
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held maintain financial records skill
- already held use office systems skill
- already held interpret financial statements skill
- already held manage accounts skill
- already held prepare financial statements skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create a financial report optional
- optional, not held assess debtor's financial situation optional
- optional, not held communicate by telephone optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held count money optional
- optional, not held handle petty cash optional
- optional, not held interview bank loanees optional
- optional, not held process payments optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
32 held skills the billing clerk role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role accounting entries knowledge
- not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions skill
- not needed by the target role banking activities knowledge
- not needed by the target role bookkeeping regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role calculate tax skill
- not needed by the target role check accounting records skill
- not needed by the target role company policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role consumer goods industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role depreciation knowledge
- not needed by the target role disseminate information on tax legislation skill
- not needed by the target role financial statements knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow the statutory obligations skill
- not needed by the target role identify accounting errors skill
- not needed by the target role issue sales invoices skill
- not needed by the target role labour legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain register of shareholders skill
- not needed by the target role maintain statutory books skill
- not needed by the target role manage cash desk skill
- not needed by the target role manage corporate bank accounts skill
- not needed by the target role manage payroll reports skill
- not needed by the target role manage the general ledger skill
- not needed by the target role perform account allocation skill
- not needed by the target role perform business research skill
- not needed by the target role perform cost accounting activities skill
- not needed by the target role perform dunning activities skill
- not needed by the target role prepare tax returns forms skill
- not needed by the target role prepare trial accounting balances skill
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role tax legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role use accounting systems skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn financial department processes required
- still to learn financial capability required
Other moves recorded from accounting assistant
Common questions about this move
Can an accounting assistant become a billing clerk?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An accounting assistant already covers 37% of what a billing clerk is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 5 of which the billing clerk role treats as required.
What skills does an accounting assistant need to become a billing clerk?
7 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is file documents.
How hard is the move from accounting assistant to billing clerk?
Its learning distance is 56.7 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.