What Does it Take to Be a Bill and Account Collector?
Career Description 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.
Life As a Bill Collector
- 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.
- Persuade customers to pay amounts due on credit accounts, damage claims, or nonpayable checks, or to return merchandise.
- Contact insurance companies to check on status of claims payments and write appeal letters for denial on claims.
- Answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts.
- Notify credit departments, order merchandise repossession or service disconnection, and turn over account records to attorneys when customers fail to respond to collection attempts.
- Perform various administrative functions for assigned accounts, such as recording address changes and purging the records of deceased customers.
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Bill Collector Needed Skills
Bill and Account Collectors state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Related Job Titles
- Account Receivable Associate
- Collector
- Credit Collections Manager
- Bad Credit Collector
- Credit Coordinator
Are There Job Opportunities for Bill and Account Collectors?
There were about 305,700 jobs for Bill and Account Collector in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Bill and Account Collector. The BLS estimates 30,200 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Bill Collector are Utah, Maryland, and Tennessee. Watch out if you plan on working in Illinois, Maine, or Alabama. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Average Bill and Account Collectors Salary
The typical yearly salary for Bill and Account Collectors is somewhere between $24,620 and $55,360.

Bill and Account Collectors who work in District of Columbia, Alaska, or Massachusetts, make the highest salaries.
How much do Bill and Account Collectors make in each U.S. state?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $35,570 |
Alaska | $45,540 |
Arizona | $36,430 |
Arkansas | $32,120 |
California | $44,340 |
Colorado | $40,730 |
Connecticut | $45,360 |
Delaware | $39,190 |
District of Columbia | $64,210 |
Florida | $36,070 |
Georgia | $37,180 |
Hawaii | $41,540 |
Idaho | $36,270 |
Illinois | $38,610 |
Indiana | $35,230 |
Iowa | $35,450 |
Kansas | $33,640 |
Kentucky | $36,650 |
Louisiana | $33,170 |
Maine | $36,330 |
Maryland | $42,950 |
Massachusetts | $45,810 |
Michigan | $39,800 |
Minnesota | $39,780 |
Mississippi | $33,440 |
Missouri | $35,150 |
Montana | $35,570 |
Nebraska | $34,990 |
Nevada | $36,710 |
New Hampshire | $37,410 |
New Jersey | $45,260 |
New Mexico | $37,350 |
New York | $42,310 |
North Carolina | $35,970 |
North Dakota | $43,090 |
Ohio | $35,900 |
Oklahoma | $35,420 |
Oregon | $39,130 |
Pennsylvania | $37,340 |
Rhode Island | $43,100 |
South Carolina | $35,700 |
South Dakota | $32,570 |
Tennessee | $33,940 |
Texas | $36,590 |
Utah | $33,500 |
Vermont | $42,350 |
Virginia | $41,060 |
Washington | $40,400 |
West Virginia | $33,350 |
Wisconsin | $38,400 |
Wyoming | $37,850 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Bill and Account Collectors
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Bill and Account Collectors:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Web browser software
- Word processing software
- SAP
- Spreadsheet software
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Intuit QuickBooks
- MEDITECH software
- Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne
- LexisNexis
- Medical procedure coding software
- Microsoft Dynamics GP
- Sage 50 Accounting
- Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
- NetSuite ERP
- Medical condition coding software
How do I Become a Bill Collector?
What education or degrees do I need to become a Bill and Account Collector?

What work experience do I need to become a Bill Collector?

Bill and Account Collectors Sector

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Related Careers
Career changers with experience as a Bill and Account Collector sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
References:
Image Credit: Dave Dugdale via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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