Bill and Account Collector

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.

On the job, you would:

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.

Important Qualities

Listening skills. Collectors must pay attention to what debtors say when trying to negotiate a repayment plan. Learning the particular situation of the debtors and how they fell into debt can help collectors suggest solutions.

Negotiating skills. The main aspects of a collector’s job are reconciling the differences between two parties (the debtor and the creditor) and offering a solution that is acceptable to both parties.

Speaking skills. Collectors must be able to speak to debtors to explain their options and ensure that they fully understand what is being said.

Personality

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Characteristics of this Career
		85%	Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
		84%	Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
		83%	Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
		83%	Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
		82%	Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
		81%	Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
		80%	Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
		79%	Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
		79%	Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
		77%	Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
		70%	Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
		63%	Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
		58%	Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
		56%	Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
		52%	Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Strengths
		95%	Conventional - Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
		78%	Enterprising - Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Values of the Work Environment
		56%	Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Aptitude

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Abilities \| Cognitive, Physical, Personality
		69%	Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
		69%	Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
		66%	Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
		66%	Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
		66%	Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
		63%	Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
		56%	Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Skills \| Cognitive, Physical, Personality
		52%	Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
		52%	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.
		52%	Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
		52%	Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

Job Details

Responsibilities

Respond to customer problems or complaints.

Collect deposits, payments or fees.

Monitor financial information.

Maintain financial or account records.

Provide notifications to customers or patrons.

Discuss account status or activity with customers or patrons.

Negotiate financial arrangements.

Sort mail.

Maintain medical records.

File documents or records.

Maintain financial or account records.

Negotiate financial arrangements.

Obtain personal or financial information about customers or applicants.

Interview employees, customers, or others to collect information.

Provide information to coworkers.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent
		98%	Contact With Others - How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
		96%	Indoors, Environmentally Controlled - How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
		91%	Spend Time Sitting - How much does this job require sitting?
		91%	Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People - How frequently does the worker have to deal with unpleasant, angry, or discourteous individuals as part of the job requirements?
		91%	Telephone - How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
		83%	Importance of Repeating Same Tasks - How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job?
		82%	Frequency of Decision Making - How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
		79%	Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results - What results do your decisions usually have on other people or the image or reputation or financial resources of your employer?
		76%	Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
		74%	Deal With External Customers - How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
		74%	Electronic Mail - How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
		73%	Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?
		70%	Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
		69%	Letters and Memos - How often does the job require written letters and memos?
		64%	Frequency of Conflict Situations - How often are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job?
		63%	Level of Competition - To what extent does this job require the worker to compete or to be aware of competitive pressures?
		63%	Work With Work Group or Team - How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
		59%	Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?
		59%	Coordinate or Lead Others - How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job?
		56%	Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
		53%	Consequence of Error - How serious would the result usually be if the worker made a mistake that was not readily correctable?
		52%	Duration of Typical Work Week - Number of hours typically worked in one week.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Tasks & Values
		79%	Working with Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
		74%	Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
		73%	Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
		73%	Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
		67%	Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others - Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
		66%	Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
		65%	Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
		62%	Performing Administrative Activities - Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
		61%	Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
		57%	Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
		55%	Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings - Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
		53%	Communicating with People Outside the Organization - Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
		53%	Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
		51%	Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

What Bill and Account Collectors Do

Collectors look up a person’s information on a computer while speaking to them over the phone.

Bill and account collectors try to recover payment on overdue bills. They negotiate repayment plans with debtors and help them find solutions to make paying their overdue bills easier.

Duties

Bill and account collectors typically do the following:

Find consumers and businesses who have overdue bills
Track down consumers who have an out-of-date address by using the Internet, post office, credit bureaus, or neighbors—a process called “skip tracing”
Inform debtors that they have an overdue bill and try to negotiate a payment
Explain the terms of sale or contract with the debtor, when necessary
Learn the reasons for the overdue bills, which can help with the negotiations
Offer credit advice or refer a consumer to a debt counselor, when appropriate

Bill and account collectors generally contact debtors by phone, although sometimes they do so by mail. They use computer systems to update contact information and record past collection attempts with a particular debtor. Keeping these records can help collectors with future negotiations.

The main job of bill and account collectors is finding a solution that is acceptable to the debtor and maximizes payment to the creditor. Listening to the debtor and paying attention to his or her concerns can help the collector negotiate a solution.

After the collector and debtor agree on a repayment plan, the collector regularly checks to ensure that the debtor pays on time. If the debtor does not pay, the collector submits a statement to the creditor, who can take legal action. In extreme cases, this legal action may include taking back goods or disconnecting service.

Collectors must follow federal and state laws that govern debt collection. These laws require that collectors make sure they are talking with the debtor before announcing that the purpose of the call is to collect a debt. A collector also must give a statement, called “mini-Miranda,” which informs the account holder that they are speaking with a bill or debt collector.

Collectors usually have goals they are expected to meet. Typically, these include calls per hour and success rates.

Work Environment

Bill and account collectors held about 209,700 jobs in 2022. The largest employers of bill and account collectors were as follows:

Business support services	26%
Credit intermediation and related activities	19
Healthcare and social assistance	9
Professional, scientific, and technical services	8
Management of companies and enterprises	7

Many collectors work in a call center for a third-party collection agency rather than the original creditor. In all industries, they spend most of their time on the phone tracking down or negotiating with debtors. They also use computers and databases to update information and record the results of their calls.

Collectors’ work can be stressful because some people become angry and confrontational when pressed about their debts. Collectors often face resistance while trying to do their job duties. Successful collectors must face regular rejection and still be ready to make the next call in a polite and positive voice. Fortunately, some consumers appreciate help in resolving their outstanding debts and can be quite grateful.

Work Schedules

Most bill and account collectors work full time. Some collectors work flexible schedules, often calling people on weekends or during the evenings as they learn the best times to call.

Getting Started

Education:

48%

High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)

27%

Some College Courses

How to Become a Bill and Account Collector

Collectors are trained on the job.

Collectors usually must have a high school diploma. A few months of on-the-job training is common.

Education

Most bill and account collectors are required to have a high school diploma, although some employers prefer applicants who have taken some college courses. Communications, accounting, and basic computer courses are examples of classes that are helpful for entering this occupation.

Training

Collectors usually receive on-the-job training after being hired. Training includes learning how to use computer software, and instruction on federal debt-collection laws (in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) and state debt-collection regulations. Collectors also may be trained in negotiation techniques.

Job Outlook

Employment of bill and account collectors is projected to decline 10 percent from 2022 to 2032.

Despite declining employment, about 19,200 openings for bill and account collectors are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

Continued use of enhanced software and automated calling systems is expected to increase productivity and allow collectors to handle more accounts. This technology will allow more collections work to be done with fewer employees. However, the need to collect various types of debt, including student, credit card, and mortgage debt, should create some demand for bill and account collectors.

Contacts for More Information

For more information about bill and account collectors, visit

ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collections Professionals

Similar Occupations

This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of bill and account collectors.

Occupation	Job Duties	Entry-Level Education	Median Annual Pay, May 2022
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks	Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks produce financial records for organizations and check financial records for accuracy.	Some college, no degree	$45,860
Customer Service Representatives	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and answer questions.	High school diploma or equivalent	$37,780
Financial Clerks	Financial clerks do administrative work, help customers, and carry out transactions that involve money.	High school diploma or equivalent	$45,570
Information Clerks	Information clerks perform routine clerical duties, maintain records, collect data, and provide information to customers.	See How to Become One	$38,710
Loan Officers	Loan officers evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of loan applications.	Bachelor's degree	$65,740
Private Detectives and Investigators	Private detectives and investigators search for information about legal, financial, and personal matters.	High school diploma or equivalent	$52,120

Bill and Account Collector

What they do: