In this role, you will drive profitable sales by maximising revenue within the shortest possible timeframe while minimising bad debt risk. You will protect and optimise the company’s investment in accounts receivable, ensuring strong financial returns from working capital.
You will also deliver accurate, timely financial and administrative support, ensuring efficient management of customer accounts and prompt payment collection.
This position is based at our Witney offices in Oxfordshire, working 3 days a week in the office, working on a hybrid basis.
Collections
1. Develop and maintain effective working relationships with the sales organization and customers to enhance collection efforts while ensuring repeat business.
2. Reduce outside collection and bad debt expense through the effective collection's activity
3. Chasing debts by phone/email, speaking on behalf of the company requires good communication/diplomacy/tact/negotiation skills. In a manner which creates the optimum cash inflow while at the same time ensuring continuity of business.
4. Initiate contact with business units & customers, and follow up as needed to obtain commitments for payment or unfulfilled customer payments
5. Maintain open communication with customers and field personnel to promote future business opportunities.
6. Develop and maintain effective working relationships with the sales organization and customers to enhance collection activity
7. Monitoring and control of debt/Aged debt overview: ensuring agreed terms are adhered to by customers.
8. Provide management accurate and timely reports on the status of collection of collection activity
9. Maintain both physical and digital records to support collection activity. This will include but not limited to: Collection notes, emails, customer responses and follow-up activities
10. Document of customer commitments for payment
11. Document and communicate customer disputed items or complaints to appropriate SW personnel for resolution
12. Order release: ensuring conditions are met to confirm the release diligently requiring good judgement, following order release process flow.
13. Query management: to be addressed with customer service/sales and solved promptly to keep customer’s satisfaction and identify any root causes preventing reoccurrences
14. Month End Aged Debt reporting, including monthly review calls liaising with Finance Directors, Sales/Business Managers
15. Ad hoc duties as required
This role is mainly to support the collection team, and all related responsibilities. There might be other responsibilities asked to be supported for cash allocation or credit/audit management which are determined based on business needs and will be communicated to you, however, you will be required to perform the secondary functions as and when required.
Cash Allocation
16. Initiative to contact customers and other stakeholders to obtain clarification on payment information to resolve issues and apply payments accurately.
17. Timely and accurate cash application of payments.
18. Identify and properly code deductions / overpayments by customers.
19. Document of customer commitments for payment.
20. Keep records of all information.
21. Cash allocation: ensuring the cash is allocated daily and accurately to maintain up to date ledgers, requiring attention to detail for multiple currencies
22. Maintenance of the Sales ledger/Treasury/GL leader to ensure customer master file is up-to-date and accurate with adjustments (discount/bank charges/commissions/refunds/bad debt write offs) and payments/credit + debit notes requiring accounting skills (including rebates).
23. Ad hoc duties as required.
Credit Review / Audit Management
24. Establishment of credit terms and limits/Account Review/Customer Master Setups for new customers or increased business on existing accounts considering the risk involved and liaising closely with sales with for export credit knowledge of export documentation and other payment methods
25. Assessment of credit risk/Credit Risk Review: trying to find ways of accepting and controlling all business, including high risk opportunities. This involves the use of Credit Check Reports via a Credit Check Agency, the basic understanding of financial statements (Balance sheet, P&L) within approval limits requiring good numeracy skills
26. Ensures services delivered are compliant with SOX, Sherwin Williams policies, procedures, and all local statutory and regulatory requirements.
27. Works with Internal Audit and external auditors to support their activities.
28. Assessment of credit risk for customers: propose and analyze payment plans, identify and follow up ongoing legal procedures for customers
29. Processing of credit notes/debit notes and rebates once these have been authorized on the respective portals
30. Month End Aged Debt reporting preparation of the files.
31. Ad hoc duties as required
32. GCSE Math's/ English - A-C level would be preferable
33. 2 years Credit Control or Accounting background
34. Applying comprehensive credit principles and practices
35. Balancing and reconciling accounts
36. Working with other departments and groups
37. Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office based program – Outlook, Word, Excel
Preferred:
38. CICM, AAT studier, part qualified accountant or other relevant professional qualifications.
39. 2 years Customer Services background
40. Polish, French, Spanish, Portuguese or any Nordic languages (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish) – native or fluent an advantage
41. Experience in using Oracle in finance capacity
42. Experience in Sage, ABM, Proginov, JED, SAP, Oracle
This vacancy is advertised exclusively for internal candidates, with a closing date of Friday 29th May.
Interview dates: Proposed for week commencing 1st June. Successful candidates will be notified in advance, allowing time to prepare.
***Please be aware that you can apply for any internal job offer after minimum one year in current role having previously informed your manager.
Please read the guidelines before handing in your application
All internal employees when applying for a role are required to upload their updated and their last 2 appraisals (which can be retrieved from HR Cloud).