Bill and Account Collectors

What the job really is

Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visit to solicit payment. Duties include receiving payment and posting amount to customer's account, preparing statements to credit department if customer fails to respond, initiating repossession proceedings or service disconnection, and keeping records of collection and status of accounts.

At a glance

• Sector: Office & Administrative
• O*NET-SOC code: 43-3011
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts.
• Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment.
• Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems.
• Arrange for debt repayment or establish repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations.
• Advise customers of necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment.
• Answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts.
• Persuade customers to pay amounts due on credit accounts, damage claims, or nonpayable checks, or to return merchandise.
• Confer with customers by telephone or in person to determine reasons for overdue payments and to review the terms of sales, service, or credit contracts.
• Receive payments and post amounts paid to customer accounts.
• Trace delinquent customers to new addresses by inquiring at post offices, telephone companies, credit bureaus, or through the questioning of neighbors.
• Notify credit departments, order merchandise repossession or service disconnection, and turn over account records to attorneys when customers fail to respond to collection attempts.
• Sort and file correspondence and perform miscellaneous clerical duties, such as answering correspondence and writing reports.

Tools and technology

Accounting software, Intuit QuickBooks, MEDITECH software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, SAP software, ADP Drive DMS for Accounting, ADS Advantage, Adtec Agency Manager

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Credit Authorizers, Checkers, and Clerks
• Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents
• Customer Service Representatives
• Tellers
• Billing and Posting Clerks
• Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
• Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks
• Correspondence Clerks

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Bill and Account Collectors — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.