Accounts Officer

The Accounts Officer provides accounting services, including managing accounts payable/receivable, invoicing, reconciliations, and financial reporting. This role is a permanent opportunity that ensures smooth financial operations while supporting the Finance Manager and collaborating with the team based in Edinburgh 5 days a week.

Key Responsibilities:

Debtor Management:

• Process debtor credit applications, including obtaining trade references and collating information for management approval.
• Establish new debtors in the system and maintain current accounts, including pricing updates.
• Manage debtor payments by receipting bank transactions, allocating payments based on remittance advice or oldest invoices (ensuring reconciliation), and addressing discrepancies.
• Update daily debtor arrears reports, send reminders via email or phone, investigate arrear-related queries, and follow up on overdue payments.
• Ensure orders are invoiced promptly by liaising with dispatch centers for confirmation of dispatch. Send monthly statements to debtors and resolve invoice/statement-related queries. (Note: Transactional processing of sales orders and debtor invoicing is handled by our team of Virtual Assistants based in the Philippines.)
• Maintain and process rebates on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual basis, while addressing rebate-related queries with relevant parties.

Creditor Management:

• Complete application forms for new creditors, establish them in the system, and maintain current accounts.
• Collate payment data for Director approval, upload payments to the bank account, allocate payments to creditors, and send payment remittances.
• Investigate payment queries and correspond with creditors regarding discrepancies or arrears.
• Assess invoices received from creditors, liaise with colleagues if needed, enter invoices for payment when warranted, and reconcile creditor statements received. (Note: 80–90% of creditor invoice processing and statement reconciliation is completed by our team of Virtual Assistants based in the Philippines.)

Other Financial Tasks:

• Process monthly agent commissions, ensure approvals are obtained from relevant parties, and confirm timely payment of commissions.
• Assess staff reimbursement requests, liaise with approving parties as necessary, upload payments to the bank account, and send reminders for payment advice if required. Maintain float balances as needed.
• Perform monthly bank reconciliations for all accounts (including credit cards), ensuring all transactions are entered accurately. Investigate transaction queries with relevant team members to ensure proper reconciliation.

General Support:

• Provide assistance to the Sales Orders team when required to ensure seamless operations across departments.

Skills & Qualifications:

To excel in this role, candidates should possess:

• Strong attention to detail and accuracy in financial processes.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Proficiency in accounting software systems and Microsoft Office Suite (particularly Excel).
• Effective communication skills for liaising with internal teams, external stakeholders, debtors, and creditors.
• A proactive approach to problem-solving and resolving discrepancies efficiently.