Credit Controller

My client is looking for an experienced and proactive Credit Controller to join our Finance Department. The successful candidate will take responsibility for managing customer accounts, controlling credit exposure, collecting outstanding debts and ensuring customer accounts and payment allocations are accurate and up to date. The role requires close coordination with the Billing Department and regular reporting to the Finance Manager and Finance Director on collections and expected cash receipts for cash-flow planning.

Main Duties

• Proactively manage the sales ledger and collect outstanding customer debts by telephone and email.
• Monitor live customer balances, credit limits and credit utilisation daily.
• Contact customers approaching their credit limits and provide statements where required.
• Place customers exceeding their approved credit limit or payment terms on stop, and remove accounts from stop promptly once payment has been received and allocated.
• Communicate account stop/release information to the relevant operational departments.
• Contact customers before invoices become due to confirm invoices have been received, are correct and are approved for payment.
• Work closely with the Billing Department to resolve missing invoices, invoice queries and disputes promptly so that payments are not unnecessarily delayed.
• Maintain accurate expected payment dates and collection notes and provide the Finance Manager and Finance Director with regular updates on collections and expected cash receipts.
• Maintain and regularly review the aged debtor report, identifying overdue, disputed and high-risk accounts.
• Allocate customer receipts accurately to Sage, including BACS, cheque and credit-card payments.
• Reconcile daily credit-card transactions and receipts against payment-provider reports, the invoicing system and bank receipts.
• Maintain credit-card reconciliation records and investigate any differences promptly.
• Process and reconcile non-account/customer card transactions and related invoices, ensuring payments and invoices are correctly matched and recorded.
• Produce and issue customer statements and overdue-payment correspondence.
• Process credit-note requests, ensuring the correct supporting information and approval is obtained before credit notes are raised and issued.
• Record disputed invoices accurately and coordinate with Billing to ensure disputes are investigated and resolved.
• Evaluate new credit applications and carry out credit checks using Credit Reference Agencies.
• Maintain approved customer credit limits and payment terms.
• Complete regular reconciliations between Sage 50 Accounts Professional, Waste Logic and other relevant payment/invoicing systems.
• Deal promptly with customer account queries and manage the Credit Control mailbox.
• Ensure customer accounts, payment allocations, credit-control notes and supporting records remain accurate and fully up to date.

Experience & Skills

The successful candidate should have strong previous Credit Control experience and be confident managing a busy debtor ledger, chasing payments and dealing directly with customers. Experience of payment allocation, credit-card reconciliation, aged debt management, credit limits, account stops, customer reconciliations and invoice disputes is important.

The candidate must be proactive, organised and confident communicating with customers and internal departments. Strong attention to detail and reconciliation skills are essential. Experience using Sage 50 Accounts Professional is highly desirable, and experience with Waste Logic or similar waste-management/invoicing software would be an advantage. Previous experience within the construction, recycling, waste management or haulage industry would also be advantageous.