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Bill and Account Collectors
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.
Also Known As:
Account Representative
Accounts Receivable Specialist (AR Specialist)
Collection Agent
Collection Specialist
Collector
Debt Collector
Patient Access Specialist
Patient Account Representative
Telephone Collector
Wages
Annual wages for Bill and Account Collectors in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
149,400
-11% Change From 2024
Explore Bill and Account Collectors video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts.
- Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems.
- Advise customers of necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment.
- Persuade customers to pay amounts due on credit accounts, damage claims, or nonpayable checks, or to return merchandise.
- Arrange for debt repayment or establish repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations.
- Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts.
- Trace delinquent customers to new addresses by inquiring at post offices, telephone companies, credit bureaus, or through the questioning of neighbors.
- Negotiate credit extensions when necessary.
- Trace delinquent customers to new addresses by inquiring at post offices, telephone companies, credit bureaus, or through the questioning of neighbors.
- Perform various administrative functions for assigned accounts, such as recording address changes and purging the records of deceased customers.
- 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.
- Contact insurance companies to check on status of claims payments and write appeal letters for denial on claims.
- Sort and file correspondence and perform miscellaneous clerical duties, such as answering correspondence and writing reports.
- Receive payments and post amounts paid to customer accounts.
- Sort and file correspondence and perform miscellaneous clerical duties, such as answering correspondence and writing reports.
- 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.
- Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")