INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accounts Payable positions are at a -3% growth rate, which is negative. With that said, there are currently 1,620,000 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to decrease by -48,100 to 1,571,900 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Accounts Payable jobs was $42,410 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $27,050, and the highest 10% more than $63,900.
Our conclusion? The Accounts Payable job market is facing competition due to decreasing demand.
Top accounts payable sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write an accounts payable resume experience section
Accounts payable resume's job experience checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Accounts Payable resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- Improved my skills in SAP ERP.
- Gained experience in working with different nationalities on a daily basis.
- Deepened my skills of processing of invoices, reconciling accounts and other financial operations.
- Developed skills in working in accordance to the IFRS accounting principles.
- Developed skills in working in an international and dynamic environment.
- Gained experience with SAP software.
- Executed processing of invoices, reconciling accounts and other operations for Austria.
- Verify and process accounts payable documents
- Verified and processed employee expense reports
- Setting up vendor accounts and reconciling statement
- Resolve invoice discrepancies
- Contract managing
- Petty Cash Management , etc
- Ensure delivery of excellent customer service to all external and internal customers and provide clear and accurate responses in accordance with company's specified policies;
- Research and respond to issues or questions in the primary accounting;
- Communicate with Payments Processing and Accounts Receivable;
- Making payments on claims in relation to Energy, Marine and Financial Lines, communicating with service providers in relation to implementing policy coverage in accorrdance with British law regulations
- Working on a daily basis with issuing payments to United Kingdom and other countries, international bank transfers, system cheques, manual payments. Excellent knowledge of SAP and international bank regulations
- Provided trainings in Vilnius, Lithuania to AP Administrators and reporting agents
- Making payments on claims in relation to Energy, Marine and Financial Lines, communicating with service providers in relation to implementing policy coverage in accorrdance with British law regulations.
- Working on a daily basis with issuing payments to United Kingdom and other countries, international bank transfers,system cheques, manual payments.Excellent knowledge of SAP and international bank regulations
- Provided trainings in Vilnius, Lithuania to AP Administrators and reporting agents
- Management and entry of incoming payment requests, including invoices, contracts, sub-grants, and expense reimbursements.
- Review of field-entered accounting items for accuracy, correct coding, proper banking information, etc.
- Process domestic ACH, international wires, and foreign exchange payments daily through online banking interface.
- Preparation of 1099 forms, including review of all 2016 payments and company credit card purchases to determine transactions eligible for 1099 reporting.
- Perform anti-terrorist vetting in compliance with US and organization policy.
- Responsible for the timely and accurate payment of supplier invoices
- Paying suppliers, filing and archiving, clearing invoice entry
- Cooperating with Purchasing Department and Business Managers to resolve supplier queries
- Providing relevant information to ascertain vendor performance monitoring and approval
- Assuring invoice compliance with accountancy, legal and tax rules.
- Dealing with invoice exceptions.
- Providing sound data for the General ledger team by (i) posting transactions to different accounts and (ii) monitoring accounts to ensure payments on time.
- Liaising with internal and external partners.
- Creating guidelines and procedures to ensure the smooth information flow between the Invoice processors and the Exception handling specialists.
- Processing invoices, credit notes and debit notes through an integrated ERP system by: (i) ensuring accuracy of the documents according to internal accounting guidelines and tax laws and (ii) working under time pressure and prioritising invoices according to cash discount potential and payment terms.
- Ensuring that all reconciliations between the AP trade sub-ledger with the vendors’ Accounts receivable statements are performed in a timely and accurate manner by planning the reconciliations and coordinating their distribution and performance among the team members.
- Collaborating with the local country AP team (in Germany), the Purchasing Department and Vendor Debit Desk, Sales and Vendor Processing Team and company's vendors.
- In my role as a Senior Accounts Payable Administrator, I was performing day to day management of all payment cycle activities and providing efficient client service.
- I was keeping track, processing and reconciling payments and expenditures, including payroll, purchase orders, invoices, statements, cheques, refund requisitions etc, in compliance with financial policies and procedures.
- I was identifying unrecognised income and expenditure, creating and posting journals.
- Developed current work processes to improve the efficiency of the department; training of temporary staff.
- Running, maintaining and developing financial reports
- Identify areas of process improvement
- Ability to work in a fast-paced and high volume environment (about 600 invoices a day) with emphasis on accuracy and timeliness
- found a way to save 1/2 hour per day per person (a total of 10 working hours a day for the team)
- soft skills finance&accounting trainer at internal trainer program
- carry interviews in German with job applicants
- Developed new and more efficient methods to execute company procedures of resolving queries of invoices.
- Sustained positive relationships with clients, communicating in written and verbal means to resolve issues.
- Provided training to improve performance of coworkers.
- Month End Closure & Reporting (AP Module & Purchasing Module)
- AP support for team of 25 members
- Process audit
- Prepare and maintain high volume bi-weekly payment runs
- Reconciliation of GRNI accounts
- Reconcilations of Invoices On Hold Reports
- Maintaining healthy and efficient relationship with vendors and delivery partners
- Setting up offshore processes & Knowledge Transfers
- User Acceptance Testing for multiple projects for system & process improvements (including Oracle EBS, SAP ARIBA, DFM, WebADI, More4Apps, Tririga)
- Processing of high number of Invoice (up to 300 invoices per day)
- Liaise with Strategic Vendors (Telstra, Optus, Alcatel, Ericsson and more) for day to day queries
- Automation of Accounts Payable Processes (Design, Test, Production & Enhancements)
- User Acceptance Testing for system enhancement for payment automation
- Ad-hoc task to assist business with PO related issues
- Leading a team of 18 members
- Successfully coordinated the clearance of a 5K+ case backlog (approx. 600 production hours).
- Implemented a knowledge base platform that centralizes all training info, q&a and best practices of the process.
- Improved employee engagement, motivation, cultivated responsibility and pro-activity among team members which translated in quantifiable benefits for the business
- I was responsible for Finland's and Norway's purchase ledgers.
- My daily tasks included processing invoices, generating payment files and booking account transactions.
- In addition, I developed an Excel-macro to assist forecasting future payments and expenditures for Global Blue's 11 subcompanies.
- Manage a department of 12, processing $2 billion per year in a complex and highly automated environment
- Work closely with leadership on strategies for AP that include efficiencies, reduction of costs, and accountability/engagement
- Created system to earn the company an additional $200k per year in discounts
- Created process improvements for allocations, accruals, and payments for43 entities
- Communicate AP policies and changes to company with presentations and e-learning training
- Created a process to evaluate tax withholding for foreign entity payments reducing fees by $100k
- Accurately enters all invoices into Microsoft Navision on a daily basis.
- Matches invoices to appropriate packing slips and purchase orders.
- Verifies invoice approvals and routes for approval, if necessary.
- Handles vendor calls & emails. Provides timely responses to all AP inquiries. Maintains a positive relationship with all vendors.
- Collects vendor W-9 form and enters vendor data into system.
- Prepares yearly 1099 reporting.
- Conducts vendor account reconciliations.
- Prepares month-end accruals & posts to the GL.
- Reviews & processes employee expense reports. Initiates the check run. Prepares checks and mails to vendors and files documents into corresponding vendor files.
- Performs filing & file maintenance.
- Special/other projects as assigned by management.
PRO TIP
In writing your Accounts Payable resume, you will no doubt want to list your previous duties - as you should. But steer clear of just listing your duties, instead of your achievements. Make your resume stand out by communicating what you have done, and not merely what the job needed you to do.
Action verbs for your accounts payable resume
Recommended reads:
Accounts Payable Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume skills section checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top skills for your accounts payable resume
SAP
Excel
Access
Visio
Adonis
PowerPoint
Vensim
Microsoft Office
VBA-coding
Communication
Negotiation
Critical thinking
Problem solving
Collaboration
Flexibitly
Resilience
Dedication
Empathy
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
Recommended Reads:
Accounts payable resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your accounts payable resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Accounts Payable resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
Accounts payable resume summary best practices
Checklist: what to include in your accounts payable resume summary.
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
When writing a resume summary or objective, avoid first-person narrative.
Recommended reads:
Listing your education, certifications and courses
Resume education section checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top certifications for your accounts payable resume
Accounting 101: Accounts Payable Best Practices For 2022
Avoid common mistakes and pitfalls when it comes to Accounts Payable. No more fraud, incorrect payments or voided checks
QuickBooks Vendors And Accounts Payable
Learn Every Possible Vendor And Accounts Payable Situation In QuickBooks. Assure Correct Payable Result
Accounts Payable in SAP
Learn Accounts Payable sub-module of SAP FICO in this step-by-step training course. Become a successful SAP Consultant.
Accounting 201: Advanced Accounts Payable Concepts and Tools
Advanced Accounts Payable - Learn how to reduce expenditure and use time efficiently in your Accounts Payable department
Accounts Payable Processing Course
Why Account Payable is important, and how it adds value to your business
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
How to write an accounts payable resume
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Accounts Payable resume:
Accounts payable resume: how to make yours more creative & stand out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Accounts Payable resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What makes a great accounts payable resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
