Accounting Specialist

Accounting Specialist – Job Description

Position Title: Accounting Specialist
Department: Finance / Accounting
Reports To: Accounting Manager or General Manager
Location: San Jose, CA 95131

Position Summary

The Accounting Specialist is responsible for performing detailed financial calculations and maintaining accurate records related to labor costs, commissions, bonuses, and SPIFFs for a service-based organization. This role ensures timely and precise compensation-related processing, supports payroll accuracy, and contributes to the overall financial integrity of the company. The ideal candidate has strong analytical skills, high attention to detail, and experience working with compensation programs in a fast-paced environment.

Accounts Payable / Accounts Receivable (AP/AR) Specialist to support day-to-day accounting operations for a busy service business. This role focuses on invoice processing, customer billing support, payment application, record accuracy, and customer/vendor follow-up. The ideal person is detail-oriented, dependable, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.

Key Responsibilities

Compensation & Labor Calculations

• Calculate weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly labor costs, including regular hours, overtime, and job-cost labor allocations.
• Prepare and validate commission payouts for service technicians, sales personnel, and other eligible staff based on established compensation plans.
• Compute bonuses and SPIFFs according to company criteria, performance metrics, or promotional programs.
• Ensure all calculations comply with company policy, labor laws, and payroll requirements.
• Maintain accurate documentation, supporting schedules, and audit trails for all compensation calculations.

Payroll & Accounting Support

• Collaborate with the payroll team to ensure compensation data is submitted accurately and on time.
• Reconcile payroll reports with commission, labor, bonus, and SPIFF calculations each pay period.
• Assist with month-end closing activities related to labor accruals, commission expenses, and bonus liabilities.
• Support accrual entries, general ledger postings, and variance analysis.

Data Management & Reporting

• Maintain and update compensation trackers, spreadsheets, and databases.
• Produce regular and ad‑hoc reports on labor costs, commission trends, productivity, and payout accuracy.
• Identify discrepancies or anomalies in labor and compensation data and resolve issues proactively.
• Provide clear reporting to management to support informed operational and financial decisions.

Compliance & Process Improvement

• Ensure compliance with company policies, federal and state labor regulations, and audit standards.
• Recommend process improvements to streamline compensation calculations and increase accuracy.
• Assist with audits, both internal and external, by providing required documentation.

Accounts Receivable (AR)

• Support customer billing based on completed service work or project milestones
• Create and send invoices, statements, and supporting documentation as needed
• Apply payments (check, ACH, credit card) and resolve basic posting issues
• Assist with collections through friendly follow-ups on past-due accounts and escalation when needed
• Help with credit memos, refunds, and basic customer account maintenance

Accounts Payable

• Process vendor invoices, ensuring correct pricing, quantities, account coding, and proper approvals.
• Verify purchase orders, packing slips, and receipts for accuracy before posting invoices.
• Maintain vendor accounts, resolve discrepancies, and respond to inquiries in a timely manner.
• Assist with weekly check runs, ACH payments, and credit card reconciliations.
• Ensure AP files are organized, complete, and compliant with audit and retention policies.
• Reconcile vendor statements and resolve outstanding or aged items.

Qualifications

Required

• Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 2+ years of accounting, payroll, or financial analysis experience.
• Strong Excel skills (vlookups, pivot tables, formulas, etc.).
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage confidential information with professionalism.
• Experience with commissions, bonuses, or labor-related calculations.

Preferred

• Experience in a service industry (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, field services, etc.).
• Familiarity with payroll systems such as ADP, Paychex, QuickBooks, or similar.
• Understanding of job‑costing principles.
• Ability to interpret compensation plans and apply them consistently.