ACCOUNTS MANAGER – ACCA QUALIFIED
Electrical Contracting | Buy-to-Let Property Portfolio | Student Accommodation
Salary: £40,000+ per annum, dependent on experience and capability
Employment Type: Full-Time
Location: Unit 5, Enterprise Way, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 7YJ
Department: Finance & Accounts
Reporting To: Directors
Full UK Driving Licence – Essential
ACCA Qualification – Essential
Minimum 1 Year Relevant Accounting Experience – Essential
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced, commercially aware and highly organised ACCA-qualified Accounts Manager to manage the day-to-day accounting and financial operations across three related companies, with activities spanning Electrical Contracting, a substantial Buy-to-Let Property Portfolio, and Student Accommodation.
This is a varied, hands-on position suited to an accounting professional with at least one year of relevant professional accounting experience who is comfortable managing multiple companies, properties and projects simultaneously.
The successful candidate will combine strong technical accounting knowledge with a practical, commercial approach. You will be responsible for maintaining accurate accounting records, managing sales and purchase ledgers, property and project accounting, reviewing mortgages and finance arrangements, CIS and VAT compliance, cash-flow management, management reporting and supporting the year-end accounts process.
Working closely with the Directors, you will also be expected to go beyond transactional accounting by analysing financial performance, identifying financial risks and discrepancies, challenging unnecessary expenditure, improving financial controls, identifying cost-saving opportunities and highlighting areas where profitability and financial efficiency can be improved.
This role is particularly suited to an ACCA professional who wants direct responsibility for the financial performance and accounting operations of several interconnected businesses rather than a purely transactional accounting position.
Key Responsibilities1. Aspects Electrical Limited – Core Accounting ResponsibilitiesSales Ledger & Customer Accounts
- Raise and issue customer invoices accurately and on time.
- Review contracts, quotations, purchase orders and completed works before invoicing.
- Monitor outstanding customer balances and carry out regular credit control.
- Follow up overdue invoices by telephone and email.
- Allocate customer payments and maintain accurate customer accounts.
- Investigate and resolve invoice and payment queries.
- Prepare aged debtor reports for management.
- Monitor customer payment terms and escalate significant overdue accounts to Directors.
- Prepare credit notes where authorised.
- Maintain strong professional relationships with customers.
Purchase Ledger & Supplier Accounts
- Process supplier invoices and credit notes.
- Match invoices against purchase orders, quotations and delivery documentation.
- Ensure invoices are correctly coded and authorised.
- Reconcile supplier statements.
- Prepare supplier payment schedules.
- Monitor supplier balances and payment terms.
- Deal with supplier queries and resolve discrepancies.
- Maintain accurate supplier records.
- Ensure duplicate or incorrect invoices are identified before payment.
Construction & Electrical Contracting Accounts
- Maintain accurate financial records for individual projects and contracts.
- Monitor project costs against budgets.
- Review labour, materials, subcontractor and other project costs.
- Assist management in monitoring project profitability.
- Track variations, additional works and customer approvals.
- Ensure completed works are invoiced promptly.
- Monitor work-in-progress and outstanding billing.
- Liaise with Project Managers regarding costs, purchase orders and billing.
- Assist Directors with project-level financial reporting.
- Identify significant cost overruns, adverse variances or profitability concerns and bring these to management's attention.
CIS & Subcontractors
- Manage the company's CIS processes.
- Check subcontractor information and documentation.
- Verify subcontractors with HMRC where required.
- Ensure correct CIS deductions are applied.
- Prepare and submit CIS returns within HMRC deadlines.
- Maintain accurate subcontractor records.
- Reconcile CIS deductions and payments.
- Liaise with subcontractors regarding payment and deduction queries.
VAT
- Maintain accurate VAT records.
- Review VAT transactions for accuracy and appropriate treatment.
- Prepare VAT workings and support/submit VAT returns as required.
- Ensure VAT treatment is correctly applied to sales and purchases.
- Identify potential VAT errors and correct them promptly.
- Liaise with the company's external accountant/tax adviser where necessary.
- Maintain appropriate VAT documentation and records.
2. Buy-to-Let Property Portfolio
In addition to the core electrical contracting accounts, the Accounts Manager will maintain the accounting records for the company's buy-to-let property portfolio.
Responsibilities will include:
- Maintain accurate accounting records for the property company and individual properties.
- Maintain property-by-property income and expenditure records.
- Record and reconcile rental income against tenancy agreements and rental schedules.
- Monitor outstanding and overdue rent.
- Record and correctly allocate property expenditure, including:
- Repairs and maintenance
- Utilities
- Council tax
- Insurance
- Service charges
- Cleaning
- Contractor costs
- Property management fees
- Legal and professional fees
- Maintain tenant and property income schedules.
- Record property acquisition and disposal costs.
- Prepare property-level Profit & Loss information.
- Monitor rental yields and property profitability.
- Identify unusual, excessive or unexpected property expenditure.
- Assist the Directors with financial analysis relating to new property acquisitions, refurbishments and disposals.
Mortgages & Property Finance
- Maintain an up-to-date mortgage and loan schedule for the property portfolio.
- Review mortgage balances, interest rates, monthly payments and repayment terms.
- Reconcile mortgage statements against accounting records.
- Monitor fixed-rate expiry dates, maturity dates and refinancing requirements.
- Ensure mortgage interest and capital repayments are correctly recorded.
- Review mortgage arrangement fees and other finance costs.
- Monitor the impact of borrowing costs on property profitability.
- Highlight unusual charges or changes in mortgage payments.
- Provide advance reminders regarding mortgage renewals, refinancing and fixed-rate expiry dates.
- Assist the Directors with financial information required for refinancing or future property investments.
3. Bricross Trading Limited – Student Accommodation
The Accounts Manager will also maintain the accounting and financial records relating to the company's student accommodation operations.
Responsibilities will include:
- Maintain accurate accounting records relating to student accommodation.
- Monitor student rental income and payment schedules.
- Reconcile accommodation income against tenancy agreements.
- Monitor deposits and other tenant-related payments.
- Monitor outstanding accommodation payments and investigate discrepancies.
- Track accommodation operating expenditure.
- Ensure expenditure is correctly recorded and allocated.
- Monitor occupancy and rental income performance.
- Prepare income, expenditure and profitability information.
- Work with the relevant property/accommodation team to resolve financial queries.
- Provide the Directors with clear information regarding accommodation income, costs and overall financial performance.
4. Bank Reconciliations & Cash-Flow Management
Across the three businesses, responsibilities will include:
- Complete regular bank reconciliations.
- Reconcile credit cards and other company financial accounts.
- Investigate discrepancies and unidentified transactions.
- Ensure transactions are correctly allocated to the appropriate company, property, project or account.
- Reconcile mortgage and loan accounts where applicable.
- Monitor company cash balances.
- Prepare short-term and medium-term cash-flow forecasts.
- Monitor expected customer and rental receipts.
- Monitor upcoming supplier payments, mortgage payments and significant expenditure.
- Identify potential cash-flow requirements or shortages in advance.
- Provide cash-flow information and updates to the Directors.
5. Management Accounts & Financial Reporting
Prepare regular financial and management information for the Directors across the businesses, including:
- Monthly management accounts.
- Company Profit & Loss reports.
- Property-by-property Profit & Loss reports.
- Project-level Profit & Loss reports.
- Balance sheet reconciliations.
- Rental income and arrears reports.
- Aged debtor and creditor reports.
- Cash-flow reports and forecasts.
- Mortgage and loan schedules.
- Property expense analysis.
- Budget versus actual expenditure.
- Property profitability and rental yields.
- Student accommodation performance.
- Electrical project profitability.
The Accounts Manager must be able to understand, analyse and explain the figures rather than simply produce reports. You will be expected to investigate significant variances, identify financial risks and opportunities, and communicate relevant findings clearly to the Directors.
The successful candidate should be comfortable applying their ACCA-level accounting knowledge to management reporting, financial controls, cash-flow management, profitability analysis and commercial decision-making.
6. Payroll & Staff Costs
- Work with the payroll provider/accountant to ensure payroll information is accurate.
- Review payroll journals and payments where required.
- Reconcile payroll-related transactions.
- Monitor PAYE, National Insurance and pension liabilities.
- Ensure payroll-related accounting records are maintained correctly.
- Assist with payroll-related accounting queries where required.
7. Budgeting & Financial Analysis
- Assist with company, property and project budgets.
- Compare actual results against budgets.
- Investigate and explain significant variances.
- Analyse operating costs and identify unusual or excessive expenditure.
- Monitor electrical project profitability.
- Analyse property profitability, rental yields and cash returns.
- Review student accommodation income and operating costs.
- Prepare financial forecasts where required.
- Identify opportunities to improve profitability or reduce unnecessary expenditure.
- Assess financial risks and highlight potential issues before they materially affect the businesses.
- Provide clear financial information and commercially relevant analysis to support Directors' decision-making.
8. Accounting Software & Systems
Experience with some or all of the following is desirable:
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Sage
- Microsoft Excel
- Property management/accounting software
Responsibilities include:
- Maintaining the chart of accounts.
- Ensuring transactions are correctly coded.
- Maintaining digital accounting records and supporting documentation.
- Maintaining clear audit trails.
- Improving accounting procedures and processes.
- Identifying opportunities for automation and greater efficiency.
- Ensuring financial information is accurate, complete and readily accessible.
9. Financial Controls & General Responsibilities
- Maintain strict confidentiality of company and financial information.
- Ensure appropriate financial controls are followed.
- Monitor financial deadlines and ensure submissions are completed on time.
- Maintain organised digital and financial records.
- Identify accounting errors, financial risks and control weaknesses.
- Strengthen accounting processes and internal financial controls where appropriate.
- Report significant financial issues promptly to the Directors.
- Support the Directors with financial and commercial decision-making.
- Work collaboratively with property managers, project managers, suppliers, customers, contractors, mortgage brokers, lenders and external accountants.
- Support external accountants with year-end accounts, schedules, reconciliations and supporting information.
- Carry out other reasonable accounting and financial duties required by the Directors.
Essential Requirements
To be considered for this position, candidates must have:
- ACCA qualification – essential.
- At least 1 year of relevant professional accounting experience, ideally as an Accounts Manager, Senior Accountant, Management Accountant or similar.
- Strong technical bookkeeping and financial accounting knowledge.
- Experience working with UK accounting practices.
- Good working knowledge of VAT and accounting compliance.
- Strong understanding of management accounts and balance sheet reconciliations.
- Experience managing purchase and sales ledgers.
- Strong bank reconciliation and cash-flow management skills.
- Strong Microsoft Excel skills.
- Ability to prepare, analyse and interpret financial information.
- Ability to identify discrepancies, financial risks and unusual expenditure.
- Ability to understand business performance and communicate meaningful financial insights to management.
- Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
- Ability to manage accounting responsibilities across multiple companies and business activities.
- Ability to work independently, take ownership of the finance function and meet deadlines.
- Strong communication and organisational skills.
- Confidence communicating financial information to Directors and senior management.
- Full UK Driving Licence – Essential.
- Willingness and ability to travel between company offices, properties and project locations when required.
Desirable Experience
Candidates with experience in one or more of the following areas will be particularly attractive:
- Electrical contracting or construction accounting.
- CIS and subcontractor accounting.
- Buy-to-let property or property investment accounting.
- Property-level Profit & Loss and rental-yield analysis.
- Mortgage, loan and refinancing accounting.
- Student accommodation accounting.
- Multi-company or group accounting environments.
- Management accounts and financial reporting.
- Budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis.
- Cash-flow forecasting.
- Year-end accounts preparation and liaison with external accountants.
- QuickBooks Online, Xero and/or Sage.
- Improving financial controls, reporting processes or accounting systems.
What We Offer
- Salary of £32,000 – £40,000+ per annum, dependent on experience and capability.
- A varied and responsible accounting role across electrical contracting, property investment and student accommodation.
- Direct exposure to the Directors and involvement in commercial financial decision-making.
- Responsibility and ownership across multiple growing businesses.
- The opportunity to apply your ACCA knowledge in a practical commercial environment, with exposure beyond routine accounting.
- The opportunity to contribute directly to improvements in financial controls, reporting, cash-flow management, cost efficiency and profitability.
Application
Please submit your CV together with details of your relevant accounting experience.
We are particularly interested in hearing about your experience with management accounts, VAT, CIS, construction/electrical contracting, property accounting, student accommodation, multi-company accounting, cash-flow management and financial analysis.
Please clearly state your ACCA qualification/status and relevant accounting experience in your application.
You can also send your CV to: [email protected]
Pay: £40,000.00-£50,000.00 per year
Application question(s):
- Do you hold a valid full UK driving licence?
- Do you have access to your own vehicle and are you able to travel between company offices, properties and project locations when required?
- Are you ACCA qualified or currently studying towards an ACCA qualification? If yes, please state your current level/stage.
Work Location: In person
