Accounts Receivable at Talented Recruitment Specialists

• An established company based in Umhlanga is seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Accounts Receivable Clerk to join their finance team.
• The successful candidate will manage an assigned debtor portfolio, ensuring the timely collection, allocation, reconciliation and administration of customer accounts.

Key Responsibilities:
Debtor Portfolio Management:

• Manage an allocated debtor portfolio.
• Maintain accurate customer account records.
• Ensure accounts remain within approved trading terms.
• Reduce overdue debt and improve debtor days.
• Review customer payment behaviour.
• Escalate high-risk accounts.
• Conduct regular reconciliations of customer accounts to ensure accuracy and completeness of financial records.
• Investigate and resolve any discrepancies or issues related to payments and account balances.
• Process the required daily and monthly journals for rebates, deductions, and discounts to the applicable group of customers, or portfolio.

Cash Receipting & Allocations:

• Daily import and posting of receipts onto the accounting system (e.g., Pastel).
• Ensure accurate and timely allocation of receipts to respective customer accounts.
• Compile daily Ikhokha Schedules and process bank charges journals for cashbook batch processing.
• Submit COD payment updates to internal sales three times a day to confirm orders.
• Allocate payments to specific invoices or outstanding balances based on customer remittances and account information.
• Verify payment details and reconcile discrepancies between payments received and amounts owed.

Collections & Credit Control:

• Develop collection strategies to reduce overdue debt within the assigned portfolio
• Contact customers proactively before accounts become overdue.
• Negotiate payment arrangements where appropriate, and on approval from Management
• Escalate accounts requiring legal action or possible loss to the company in advance
• Manage debt collector handovers.
• Monitor payment promises.

Credit Administration:

• Validate all credit requests against Company Policy.
• Prepare and process upliftment / credit requests and internal credits upon request accurately and promptly, for approved returns, discounts, or adjustments.
• Ensure all necessary information is included on credit notes, such as customer details, reason for credit, and approval signatures.
• Verify the validity of credit requests and ensure compliance with company policies and procedures.
• Maintain thorough documentation and records of all credit notes issued for auditing purposes.
• Collaborate with relevant departments, such as sales and customer service, to resolve any discrepancies or issues related to credit notes.
• Communicate effectively with customers regarding the status of their credit requests and provide timely resolutions.
• Identify recurring credit trends and recommend process improvements to reduce credit note values.

Applications of New Accounts:
These are either for COD Accounts or Account customers, and is dependent on the portfolio assigned to you:
COD Accounts:

• Process applications for new COD (Cash on Delivery) accounts efficiently and accurately.
• Verify the information provided on COD account applications, including customer details, billing address, and contact information.
• Coordinate with sales representatives and internal teams to gather necessary documentation and approvals for new COD accounts.
• Ensure all required documents, such as credit application forms and supporting financial documents, are completed and filed accurately.
• Communicate approval or rejection of COD account applications to applicants in a timely and professional manner.
• Set up approved COD accounts in the accounting system (e.g., Pastel) and provide necessary information to relevant departments for order processing and billing.

Account Customers:

• Process applications for new account customers (credit customers) with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Review and verify the information provided on account customer applications, including business details, financial statements, and trade references.
• Conduct comprehensive credit assessments for account customer applicants, considering factors such as credit history, payment behavior, and financial stability.
• Determine appropriate credit terms and credit limits for account customers based on credit assessments and risk analysis.
• Collaborate with sales representatives and internal teams to gather required documentation and approvals for new account customer applications.
• Ensure all necessary documents, such as credit application forms, financial statements, and trade references, are completed accurately and submitted for review.
• Communicate approval or rejection of account customer applications to applicants promptly and professionally, providing clear explanations for decisions.
• Set up approved account customers in the accounting system (e.g., Pastel) and ensure all relevant information is entered accurately for billing and credit management purposes.
• Monitor the performance and payment behavior of new account customers during the initial credit period, proactively addressing any issues or concerns that may arise.
• Provide ongoing support and assistance to account customers, addressing inquiries, resolving issues, and facilitating smooth transactions.
• Perform annual customer account reviews to review credit limits based on purchasing trends recommend increases/decreases accordingly.

Debt Management:

• Monitor overdue accounts and follow up with customers to secure payment of outstanding invoices.
• Implement debt recovery strategies, including phone calls, emails, and letters, to collect overdue payments.
• Prepare late payment and overdue schedules for review and action.
• Negotiate payment plans with customers and escalate unresolved issues to management as needed.
• Manage the hand over process with the debt collection agency assigned. Compile handover list to debt collectors when necessary, usually for accounts over 60 days overdue.
• Devise measures to reduce bad debt overall and enhance customer’s adherence to their account terms.
• Reconcile all debtor accounts, including special arrangements, and email monthly schedules to key stakeholders.
• Follow up on credit requests, claims, and outstanding payments on a daily basis.

Customer Communication:

• Maintain professional and courteous communication with customers regarding outstanding balances, payment reminders, and account inquiries.
• Provide timely and accurate responses to customer queries and requests for account information.
• Build professional relationships with customers.
• Resolve account queries promptly.
• Partner with Sales Representatives to resolve payment disputes.
• Maintain excellent customer service while enforcing company credit policy.

Reporting and Analysis:

• Generate monthly statements and age analysis breakdown for cash flow forecasting.
• Generate reports on accounts receivable aging, cash receipts, and collection activities.
• Analyze trends in receivables data to identify potential risks and opportunities for process improvement.
• Conduct weekly analysis of COD schedules and compile monthly customer query schedules for sales reps to assist with debt collections.

Collaboration:

• Collaborate with internal teams, including sales, customer service, and finance, to resolve customer issues and improve payment processes.
• Work closely with the collections team to coordinate debt recovery efforts and escalate high-risk accounts.

General Administration and Filing:

• Compile documents for refund requests as required throughout the month.
• Provide trade references as required throughout the month.
• Prepare BEE letters annually as required throughout the month.
• Issue acknowledgment of account terms to customers as needed throughout the month.
• Maintain purchase order history for credit applications as required throughout the month.
• Prepare letter formats for all correspondence as needed.
• Complete inward payment forms for export customers as required throughout the month.
• Request SAD500/clearing documents for VAT audits as required throughout the month.
• Review credit limits/customer accounts on an ongoing basis to ensure that purchases align with approved credit limits. In addition, at the beginning of each year a full audit is done on all credit limits and purchases to align as necessary.
• Ensure training is arranged and attended as needed with all Mass Retail Groups ie. Makro/Massbuild/Takealot as needed.
• Ensure that all customer portals for the groups are maintained ie. portal maintenance, reset passwords, etc., as required.

Requirements: 

• Matric / Grade 12 with Accounting or Mathematics.
• A recognised certificate, diploma or degree in Accounting, Finance, Credit Management, Bookkeeping or a related field is preferred.
• Minimum of 3–5 years’ practical experience in Accounts Receivable, debtors, credit control or a similar finance role.
• Proven experience managing an allocated debtor portfolio and collecting overdue accounts.
• Strong working knowledge of accounting and ERP systems. Experience using Pastel is highly advantageous.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including filters, lookups, formulas, reconciliations and data analysis.
• Ability to extract, interpret and report on age analyses, customer statements, cash receipts and collection trends.
• Demonstrate ownership and accountability for the assigned debtor portfolio.
• Be proactive rather than waiting for accounts to become significantly overdue.
• Follow up consistently and maintain clear records of all collection activity.
• Escalate risks, disputes and broken payment arrangements without delay.
• Communicate regularly with management and provide accurate progress updates.
• Maintain strict confidentiality when handling financial and customer information.
• Work collaboratively with Sales, Customer Service, Finance and Management.