Billing clerk to accounting assistant
A billing clerk already meets 20% of what the accounting assistant role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.
77.9/ 100
1 How much of what an accounting assistant is expected to do is already part of a billing clerk’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 accounting assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An accounting assistant role treats 4 of its required skills as things a billing clerk already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- allocate bills
- follow up accounts receivables
- maintain financial records
- use office systems
What stands in the way is 16 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. An accounting assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a billing clerk 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 4 the accounting assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 32 missing skills fall into 6 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 accounting department processes required
- still to learn depreciation required
- still to learn accounting entries required
- still to learn accounting techniques required
- still to learn bookkeeping regulations required
- still to learn tax legislation required
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- still to learn perform business research required
- still to learn check accounting records required
- still to learn identify accounting errors required
- still to learn perform account allocation required
- still to learn prepare trial accounting balances required
- optional, not held calculate tax optional
- optional, not held maintain register of shareholders optional
- optional, not held maintain statutory books optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held manage the general ledger optional
- optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
- still to learn issue sales invoices required
- still to learn attach accounting certificates to accounting transactions required
- still to learn manage corporate bank accounts required
- still to learn use accounting systems required
- optional, not held manage cash desk optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- still to learn follow the statutory obligations required
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an accounting assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 accounting department processes study this
- 02 depreciation study this
- 03 issue sales invoices 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 maintain financial records skill
- already held use office systems skill
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held interpret financial statements skill
- already held manage accounts skill
- already held prepare financial statements skill
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held manage cash desk optional
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held calculate tax optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held disseminate information on tax legislation optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- optional, not held maintain register of shareholders optional
- optional, not held maintain statutory books optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held manage the general ledger optional
- optional, not held perform cost accounting activities optional
- optional, not held perform dunning activities optional
- optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
16 held skills the accounting assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assess debtor's financial situation skill
- not needed by the target role communicate by telephone skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role count money skill
- not needed by the target role create a financial report skill
- not needed by the target role file documents skill
- not needed by the target role fill out forms skill
- not needed by the target role financial capability knowledge
- not needed by the target role financial department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle petty cash skill
- not needed by the target role interview bank loanees skill
- not needed by the target role maintain credit history of clients skill
- not needed by the target role maintain customer records skill
- not needed by the target role organise business documents skill
- not needed by the target role process payments skill
- not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
12 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 accounting department processes required
- still to learn depreciation required
- still to learn accounting entries required
- still to learn accounting techniques required
- still to learn bookkeeping regulations required
- still to learn tax legislation required
- optional, not held company policies optional
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held consumer goods industry optional
- optional, not held financial statements optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a billing clerk become an accounting assistant?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A billing clerk already covers 20% of what an accounting assistant is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 4 of which the accounting assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a billing clerk need to become an accounting assistant?
16 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is accounting department processes.
How hard is the move from billing clerk to accounting assistant?
Its learning distance is 77.9 out of 100, which is the career change 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.