Accounts Receivable Specialist

SUMMARY: Responsible for performing accounts receivable functions, including customer cash application, invoice creation, sales order posting, customer account reconciliation, collection support, credit monitoring, month-end close activities, audit support, and process improvement. Ensures customer transactions are recorded accurately and promptly while maintaining compliance with company policies, internal controls, and applicable accounting standards. Provides responsive support to customers and internal stakeholders and helps maintain complete, accurate, and current receivable records. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Apply customer cash receipts accurately and timely using remittance information, bank activity, and customer account details.
• Research and resolve unapplied cash, on-account payments, short payments, overpayments, deductions, chargebacks, and misapplied receipts.
• Create, review, and issue customer invoices, debit memos, credit memos, and approved billing adjustments with complete supporting documentation.
• Review and post sales orders in the ERP system after verifying customer, pricing, payment terms, tax, shipping, credit, and supporting documentation requirements.
• Coordinate with Sales, Customer Service, Shipping, and Finance to resolve sales order, billing, pricing, shipment, and account discrepancies.
• Reconcile customer accounts and payment activity; investigate variances and maintain clear documentation of corrections and open items.
• Review accounts receivable aging and customer account status; support collection follow-up on past-due balances and document customer commitments and next actions.
• Monitor credit limits, overdue balances, payment trends, and credit hold status; communicate relevant account information for hold and release decisions.
• Respond to customer inquiries regarding invoices, statements, payments, credits, account balances, and supporting documentation in a professional and timely manner.
• Prepare and distribute customer statements, invoice copies, account reconciliations, and other requested account documentation.
• Maintain accurate customer master data and request or process approved updates to billing addresses, contacts, payment terms, tax status, and other account information.
• Support the tracking, billing, reconciliation, and collection of outstanding core returns and core charges, including coordination with Customer Service and other departments.
• Assist with month-end and year-end closing activities, including cash and account reconciliations, aging review, journal entry support, and analysis of receivable balances.
• Prepare accounts receivable reports, identify exceptions or aging concerns, and communicate items requiring resolution or escalation.
• Support bad debt review, allowance analysis, audit requests, and internal control testing by providing complete and accurate documentation.
• Maintain accounts receivable records in accordance with company record retention policies, internal control requirements, and applicable regulations.
• Assist with implementation, testing, documentation, and continuous improvement of accounts receivable systems, workflows, and procedures.
• Identify opportunities to improve billing accuracy, cash application efficiency, account visibility, customer service, and internal controls.
• Provide cross-training and backup support for other accounting and finance functions as assigned.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met. EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE Associate's degree (A.A.) or equivalent from a two-year college or technical school required; Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration preferred. Minimum of three (3) years of accounts receivable, billing, cash application, credit and collections, order processing, or general accounting experience, preferably in a manufacturing or distribution environment, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience with ERP systems, high-volume transaction processing, customer account reconciliation, and month-end close activities preferred. LANGUAGE SKILLS Ability to read, analyze, and interpret business correspondence, customer account records, invoices, sales orders, remittance documents, financial reports, contracts, and procedures. Ability to prepare professional correspondence and effectively communicate with customers, management, auditors, and employees at all organizational levels. Ability to explain account activity clearly, request required information, and respond professionally to questions and disputes. MATHEMATICAL SKILLS Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, sales taxes, payment differences, and financial variances. Ability to apply accounting principles and perform reconciliation and analysis of customer and financial data with a high degree of accuracy. REASONING ABILITY Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where standardized procedures may not exist. Ability to analyze customer transactions, identify root causes of billing and payment discrepancies, organize competing priorities, and recommend effective solutions while exercising sound judgment and maintaining confidentiality. COMPUTER To perform this job successfully, an individual should have working knowledge of the following software and/or systems: NetSuite ERP, Windows, Microsoft Office Suite with strong proficiency in Excel, Microsoft Word and Outlook. Experience with customer portals, electronic payment and remittance platforms, and accounts receivable reporting tools preferred.