Job Title: Accounts Receivable Manager
Reports To: Finance Manager
Location: Poole
Role Type: Full-time, Permanent, Onsite, Monday to Friday
Salary: £38,000–£42,000 per annum, depending on experience
About Us
Our group of companies specialises in housing solutions, supporting organisations with complex accommodation needs across the corporate, healthcare, construction and insurance sectors. Backed by over 20 years of experience, the group delivers tailored accommodation strategies, combining short and long-term housing, property management and bespoke client support.
The business is growing quickly and operates across multiple trading entities, with a developing finance function, a new property management system and increasing focus on process improvement, automation, working capital control and management reporting.
About the Role
We are looking for an experienced Accounts Receivable Manager to lead and develop the Accounts Receivable function across the group.
This is a hands-on management role suited to someone who is confident owning the sales ledger, customer billing, cash collection, debtor reporting and invoice finance processes in a fast-paced SME environment. The role will be responsible for ensuring invoices are raised accurately and promptly, cash is collected in line with agreed terms, customer accounts are well controlled, and debtor risks are clearly reported and escalated.
The successful candidate will play a key role in improving cashflow visibility, strengthening controls, supporting automation of billing processes through the property management system, and providing leadership and guidance to the Accounts Receivable Executive and wider finance support team.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys combining operational finance delivery with process improvement and team leadership.
Key Responsibilities
Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:
Accounts Receivable Management
- Own the end-to-end Accounts Receivable process across the group.
- Oversee the accurate and timely raising of customer invoices and credit notes.
- Ensure customer accounts are maintained accurately across multiple group entities.
- Review and monitor the sales ledger to ensure balances are accurate, complete and up to date.
- Oversee cash allocation and ensure payments are posted correctly against customer accounts.
- Ensure customer queries are resolved promptly and professionally.
- Maintain clear records of billing issues, customer disputes and agreed actions.
Cash Collection and Credit Control
- Lead the cash collection process and ensure debtor balances are actively managed.
- Prepare and review aged debtor reports, identifying overdue balances, risks and required actions.
- Escalate significant overdue balances, customer disputes or cash collection risks to the Finance Manager.
- Maintain regular contact with key customer finance teams to support timely payment.
- Agree and monitor payment plans where appropriate.
- Support the business in maintaining strong working capital discipline.
Invoice Finance and Working Capital
- Manage the invoice finance process, including submissions, reconciliations and reporting.
- Ensure invoice finance records are accurate and aligned to customer accounts and bank receipts.
- Monitor the impact of debtor balances and customer payment terms on cashflow.
- Provide regular reporting on cash collection, aged debt, invoice finance availability and debtor risk.
- Work closely with the Finance Manager / CFO to support short-term cashflow forecasting.
Reporting and Controls
- Produce weekly and monthly Accounts Receivable reporting, including aged debt, cash collection performance, debtor movements and key risks.
- Support month-end close by ensuring AR reconciliations are completed accurately and on time.
- Review Accounts Receivable reconciliations and investigate discrepancies.
- Support VAT compliance by ensuring sales invoices and credit notes are correctly processed.
- Maintain appropriate controls over billing, credit notes, cash posting and customer account adjustments.
- Support audit and year-end processes as required.
Team Leadership
- Provide day-to-day guidance and supervision to the Accounts Receivable Executive.
- Allocate work across the AR function and ensure deadlines are met.
- Support training, development and performance management within the AR team.
- Promote a calm, organised and solutions-focused approach during periods of change.
- Work collaboratively with the wider finance team, operations team and customer-facing teams.
Systems and Process Improvement
- Support the implementation and optimisation of the property management system from an invoicing and AR perspective.
- Identify opportunities to reduce manual processes and improve billing accuracy.
- Help document AR processes, controls and responsibilities.
- Work with the Head of Finance / Financial Controller to improve reporting, workflows and finance team structure.
- Support the development of a scalable AR function suitable for a growing multi-entity group.
Skills and Experience
The successful candidate will ideally have:
- Strong experience in Accounts Receivable, credit control or sales ledger management.
- Previous experience supervising or managing at least one team member.
- Experience working in a fast-paced SME or multi-entity business.
- Strong understanding of invoicing, cash allocation, aged debt reporting and account reconciliations.
- Experience with invoice finance, debtor funding or working capital reporting would be highly beneficial.
- Strong Excel skills.
- Experience using Xero or similar accounting software.
- Experience supporting system or process improvements.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Strong attention to detail and a proactive approach to problem solving.
- Ability to manage competing priorities and work to deadlines.
- Confident escalating issues while maintaining positive customer relationships.
Qualifications
- AAT qualified, part-qualified accountant or qualified by experience.
- Strong practical Accounts Receivable and credit control experience is essential.
Experience Required
- Accounts Receivable / credit control: 5 years preferred.
- Team supervision or management: 1–2 years preferred.
- Xero or similar accounting software: 1 year preferred.
- Microsoft Excel: 2 years preferred.
- Invoice finance or debtor funding experience: desirable.
Personal Attributes
- Organised and calm under pressure.
- Confident, professional and commercially aware.
- Strong communicator with internal and external stakeholders.
- Hands-on and willing to get involved in the detail.
- Able to bring structure and clarity to a busy finance environment.
- Positive, collaborative and solutions-focused.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £38,000.00-£42,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Additional leave
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Employee discount
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Life insurance
- Referral programme
Application question(s):
- Are you AAT qualified, part-qualified accountant or qualified by experience?
- Do you have 5 years accounts Receivable / credit control experience?
- Do you have 1-2 years team supervision or management experience?
- Are you able to work Monday to Friday onsite in Poole
Work Location: In person
