Accounts Receivable Specialist

Overview

The organization is seeking an Accounts Receivable Specialist to manage the collection of outstanding customer balances, maintain accurate account records, and resolve billing disputes. This role serves as the finance-side liaison to the sales organization, acting as the primary point of contact for sales representatives regarding payment status, credit holds, and account-related issues.

Success in this position requires persistence, sound judgment, and the ability to balance cash-collection goals with customer relationship preservation.

Responsibilities

AR Collections

• Manage an assigned portfolio of customer accounts and drive collection of past-due balances by phone, email, and written correspondence.
• Monitor aging reports daily; prioritize outreach based on balance size, days past due, and collection risk.
• Research and resolve short payments, deductions, chargebacks, and unapplied cash.
• Reconcile customer accounts accurately.
• Negotiate payment plans within approved authority and document all commitments in the collection system.
• Recommend accounts for credit hold, third-party collection, or write-off, with supporting documentation.
• Prepare and issue statements, dunning letters, and demand notices per the established collection cycle.
• Maintain complete collection notes on every account contact.
• Report weekly on aging movement and at-risk accounts.

Sales Representative Support

• Act as the primary contact for sales representatives regarding issues with customer payment status, open balances, credit limits, and credit holds.
• Respond to sales representative inquiries within one business day and provide clear, documented answers rather than partial updates.
• Investigate complaints raised by sales representatives and drive each to written resolution.
• Coordinate with Billing, Order Management, Customer Service, and Credit to resolve the root cause of a disputed invoice rather than only the symptom.
• Escalate unresolved disputes to the Credit Manager or Treasury Director with a summary of the issue, actions taken, and recommended resolution.
• Mediate tension between collection activity and account relationships; explain collection decisions and the rationale behind them to sales in plain terms.
• Track recurring complaint themes and report patterns to management so upstream process defects can be corrected.
• Maintain a sales representative issues log capturing each reported issue or complaint, date received, requesting representative, customer and invoice affected, issue category, and current status.
• Investigate each logged item to root cause—reviewing invoices, purchase orders, pricing and rebate terms, shipping records, and payment applications—and record findings, corrective action, and resolution date in the log.
• Report on the issues log monthly, summarizing volume by category, average resolution time, aged open items, and recurring root causes, and distribute to the Credit Manager and sales leadership.
• Educate sales representatives on credit terms, the collection cycle, dispute-submission requirements, and their role in securing timely payment.
• Maintain a professional, solutions-oriented tone in all interactions with sales, including under pressure or when denying a request.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required; associate's or bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or business preferred.
• 2+ years of experience in accounts receivable, collections, or a comparable credit/billing role.
• Working knowledge of ERP and AR systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite) and intermediate Excel skills, including sorting, filtering, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and pivot tables.
• Understanding of the order-to-cash cycle, credit terms, and basic accounting principles.
• Hands-on experience with full-cycle AR: invoicing, cash application, account reconciliation, and aging analysis.
• Experience working an aging report and prioritizing accounts by balance, days past due, and collection risk.
• Experience researching and resolving billing disputes, short pays, deductions, and unapplied credits.
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate and to hold difficult conversations without damaging relationships.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to explain financial detail to non-financial audiences.
• High attention to detail, strong organization, and the ability to manage a high-volume portfolio against deadlines.
• Demonstrated history of contacting past-due customers by phone and email and bringing accounts current.

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate's or bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or business.

Compensation & Benefits

• Not specified.

Location

• Lenexa, Kansas

Additional Information

• Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE/AA): Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled.
• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• This job description does not cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties, or responsibilities that may be required.
• Drug-free workplace; pre-employment substance abuse testing and participation in E-Verify.