Job Description
Accounts Receivable Collector
The Accounts Receivable Collector is responsible for managing assigned customer accounts, maintaining timely collections, reducing past-due balances, and supporting healthy cash flow for American Leather. This position works closely with customers and internal departments to resolve payment issues, research account discrepancies, obtain payment commitments, and maintain accurate customer account information.
The ideal candidate is organized, professional, persistent, customer-focused, and comfortable balancing strong customer relationships with the responsibility of protecting American Leather's financial exposure.
Collections & Account Management
- Manage an assigned portfolio of customer accounts and actively monitor aging and past-due balances.
- Contact customers by email and phone regarding outstanding invoices and obtain payment status and firm payment commitments.
- Follow up consistently on overdue balances and document collection activity.
- Prioritize high-dollar, high-risk, and significantly past-due accounts.
- Work proactively to prevent balances from becoming severely delinquent.
- Escalate unresolved collection issues to the A/R Manager when appropriate.
- Assist in achieving departmental KPIs related to past-due A/R, collections, and cash flow.
Payment & Account Research
- Review customer accounts for unapplied payments, credits, short payments, deductions, chargebacks, and disputed invoices.
- Obtain remittance information from customers when needed.
- Partner with Cash Applications to ensure payments are applied correctly.
- Research discrepancies between customer records and American Leather's A/R records.
- Follow up on returned payments, NSF transactions, and other payment exceptions.
- Maintain clear and accurate notes regarding payment commitments and account activity.
Customer Communication
- Maintain professional and respectful communication while being firm regarding payment expectations.
- Provide customers with invoice copies, statements, payment instructions, and other A/R information when requested.
- Educate customers regarding available payment methods, including ACH, wire, check, and credit card.
- Establish relationships with customer Accounts Payable contacts to improve payment consistency.
- Respond promptly to customer inquiries and work toward timely resolution.
Internal Collaboration
- Partner closely with Cash Applications, Customer Experience, Billing, Sales/Brand Ambassadors Advisors, and other Accounting team members.
- Communicate disputed invoices and pricing-related issues to the appropriate department for resolution.
- Work with Customer Experience when credits or other customer account adjustments are required.
- Keep Sales and Brand Ambassadors informed when payment issues may affect customer orders.
- Support month-end A/R cleanup and reconciliation activities.
Key Performance Expectations
The A/R Collector is expected to:
- Reduce assigned past-due balances.
- Maintain consistent customer follow-up.
- Obtain and document reliable payment commitments.
- Escalate collection concerns promptly.
- Minimize unresolved account discrepancies.
- Maintain accurate account notes.
- Support departmental cash-flow goals.
- Provide excellent internal and external customer service.
- Help maintain accurate A/R aging and KPI reporting.
Required Skills & Competencies
- Strong collection and customer-service skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication.
- Professional persistence and confidence discussing overdue balances.
- Strong organizational and follow-up skills.
- Ability to prioritize a large portfolio of customer accounts.
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Strong problem-solving and research abilities.
- Ability to identify discrepancies and determine appropriate next steps.
- Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with the A/R team.
- Comfortable handling difficult customer conversations professionally.
- Strong sense of accountability and ownership.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, particularly during month-end.
Systems & Technical Skills
Experience with the following is preferred:
- Oracle ERP / Oracle Receivables
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Outlook
- Customer aging and A/R reporting
- Customer account statements
- Payment and remittance research
Education & Experience
- High school diploma or equivalent required; associate or bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field preferred.
- Previous Accounts Receivable, collections, credit, or accounting experience preferred.
- Experience working with commercial/B2B customer accounts strongly preferred.
- Experience managing high-dollar customer balances is a plus.
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