Bill and Account Collectors
Also called: Account Receivable Associate, Account Representative, Account Service Representative, Accounts Collector, Accounts Receivable Specialist (AR Specialist), Bad Credit Collector, Bilingual Collections Specialist, Bill Collector
Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visit to solicit payment.
What bill and account collectors do
Typical tasks
- 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.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Bill and Account Collectors salary
The median annual wage for bill and account collectors is $47,030 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $34,400 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $65,580. The mean annual wage is $49,060.
The mean hourly wage of $23.00 is 3.2× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Bill and Account Collectors (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $47,030 → in 3 years $49,200 → in 5 years $50,700 → in 10 years $54,600 (10-year range $46,900–$63,400). The model assumes pay growth of +1.5% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Bill and Account Collectors
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Bill and Account Collectors? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Bill and Account Collectors
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Bill and Account Collectors
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★☆☆☆ Fairly easy (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become bill and account collectors
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as bill and account collectors
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.