We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Commercial & Finance Manager to take ownership of the financial and commercial management of our business.
The role combines finance, accounts, commercial management, job costing and Quantity Surveying (QS)-style responsibilities, overseeing projects from initial quotation through to completion, final invoicing and payment.
Experience within machinery movement, machinery installation, engineering, heavy haulage, construction, plant/crane hire or a similar project-based industry would be advantageous, but is not essential.
Formal Quantity Surveyor qualifications are not required. We are primarily looking for strong practical experience, commercial awareness and financial capability.
The role requires being in the office Monday-Friday, 8am till 4pm.
Core Responsibilities
- Manage the day-to-day finance and accounts function, maintaining accurate financial records and taking ownership of the company's accounts using Xero.
- Prepare, review and issue quotations and estimates, ensuring labour, transport, equipment, hire, subcontractor and other project costs are accurately captured and appropriate margins are applied.
- Manage project/job costing, comparing quoted and budgeted costs against actual expenditure throughout each project.
- Carry out QS-style commercial management, including cost planning, cost/value reconciliation, valuations, variations, applications for payment and final account support where applicable.
- Monitor project profitability and margins, identifying cost overruns, unexpected expenditure, margin erosion and other commercial issues requiring management attention.
- Manage variations and additional works, ensuring changes in scope and additional chargeable work are identified, recorded, priced, agreed and invoiced.
- Raise and manage customer invoices, ensuring completed work, variations and all other chargeable items are invoiced accurately and promptly.
- Manage accounts receivable and credit control, monitoring outstanding balances, chasing overdue payments and resolving customer invoice queries.
- Manage the purchase ledger and supplier accounts, including processing and checking supplier/subcontractor invoices against agreed quotations, purchase orders and project costs.
- Take responsibility for VAT, including VAT reconciliations, preparation and submission of VAT returns and maintaining accurate supporting records.
- Take responsibility for payroll, ensuring wages/salaries, overtime, deductions, pensions and other payroll information are processed accurately and on time.
- Manage month-end accounting procedures, including bank and ledger reconciliations, journals, accruals/prepayments where applicable, debtors, creditors and work-in-progress reviews.
- Produce financial and commercial management information, including project profitability, gross margins, outstanding debtors/creditors, work in progress, uninvoiced work and cash-flow-related information.
- Review customer purchase orders, scopes of work and commercial terms, identifying discrepancies or potentially unfavourable conditions and escalating these to management where appropriate.
- Review and control subcontractor and supplier costs, checking quotations, agreed rates, applications and invoices and investigating discrepancies where required.
- Financially review completed projects before close-out, ensuring all labour, equipment, transport, subcontractor and other costs have been captured and all chargeable work has been invoiced.
- Liaise closely with management, operations, customers, suppliers and subcontractors to obtain missing information, resolve commercial/accounting queries and ensure projects progress smoothly from quotation to payment.
- Maintain strong financial and commercial controls, identifying incorrect charges, duplicate costs, missing documentation, uninvoiced works and other discrepancies that could affect profitability.
- Improve internal commercial and financial processes, particularly around quotations, purchase orders, job costing, variation tracking, invoicing and the flow of information between operations and accounts.
- Provide commercial and financial support to management, using accurate financial information and project performance data to assist with pricing, decision-making and future profitability.
Experience & Skills
The successful candidate should have strong practical experience within accounts, finance, commercial management, project costing or a similar role, together with excellent attention to detail and commercial awareness.
Experience with Xero, VAT, payroll, month-end accounts, invoicing, job costing and Microsoft Excel is highly desirable.
Previous experience carrying out Quantity Surveying or QS-style commercial responsibilities would be advantageous; however, formal Quantity Surveyor qualifications are not required.
Experience within the machinery movement, engineering, heavy haulage, construction, plant/crane hire, logistics or industrial services sectors would be beneficial but is not essential.
Pay: £60,000.00-£83,827.96 per year
Work Location: In person
