Accounts Receivable Officer

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join The Dudley Group as a key part of our Accounts Receivable Department within the Finance Department based at Russells Hall Hospital.

Our Finance Department has recently received the Future Focussed Finance (FFF) Accreditation Level 1 and is currently working towards Level 2.

The Accounts Receivable Team is responsible for securing the clinical and non-clinical income for the Trust, its subsidiary company Dudley Clinical Services Limited and its charity Dudley Group NHS Charity by communicating with colleagues to ensure all information is obtained in a timely manner to enable prompt invoice raising for services provided. The Team also issue reminder letters and statements as well as resolving queries and enquires relating to sales invoices and debt recovery.

The post holder will play a key role managing their own customer portfolio and provide support to the Accounts Receivable Manager to play an integral part in the delivery of an excellent accounts receivable service.  As well as taking lead responsibility for a customer portfolio, the post holder will participate in initiatives to enhance the delivery of objectives for the team.

You should have experience in managing an accounts receivable portfolio and have excellent communication and organisational skills.

Main duties of the job

To deliver a high standard of accounts receivable portfolio management.

The post holders

• will support the Department’s responsibility for securing income receipt for the Trust, its subsidiary company Dudley Clinical Services Limited, and its charity Dudley Group NHS Charity through communication with external clients as well as internal colleagues from various departments within the Trust, ensuring that invoices are paid in a timely manner and to resolve credit queries.
• will be responsible for designated accounts receivable client portfolios including the provision of invoices, credit notes and debt recovery.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

• Responsible for designated accounts receivable client portfolios including the provision of invoices, credit notes and debt recovery.
• Uses the Sales Ledger, Cash Management Ledger, and Microsoft Office suite of software, and scanning facilities to ensure accurate electronic record keeping, workflow and time management.
• Respond promptly to correspondence (telephone calls, e-mails & letters), queries and enquiries relating to outstanding sales invoices, interrogating finance systems as required, ensuring good relationships with debtors and other external bodies e.g. other NHS organisations.
• Raise sales invoices and credit notes relating to specific organisations for whom the Trust has provided a service, promptly, and in accordance with Trust procedures.
• Participate in training from the Trust VAT Advisors to ensure that all invoices are raised in accordance with VAT legislation/guidelines.
• Ensure reminder letters and monthly statements are produced as required. Pursue outstanding debts following Trust procedures using appropriate systems.
• Participate in chasing individuals / departments for submission of invoices due to be raised.
• In liaison with the Head of Financial Services, set up instalment payment plans where this represents the only possibility of securing payment of a debt.
• Monitor existing instalment payment plans, ensuring all paperwork is completed and returned by the customer and alerting the Head of Financial Services and Accounts Receivable Manager to any break in agreed payments.
• In liaison with departments / divisions investigate queries relating to outstanding sales invoices, cancelling, reducing or crediting incorrect sales invoices as necessary.
• Participate in meetings with portfolio clients to secure settlement of outstanding debts.
• Completion of relevant documentation for debt escalation, and where relevant for court referral or write off, and preparation of adjustments to account for provision of irrecoverable debts.
• Provide support and information in an accurate and timely manner to Senior Managers.
• Responds to routine queries from staff, customers and patients as required, dealing with any contentious and sensitive issues in the appropriate manner.
• Ensures Trust policies & procedures, and financial timescales, are maintained.
• Plans own daily workload, with effective scheduling of priority tasks.
• Works with little direct supervision, referring more complex queries to the Accounts Receivable Manager.

Staff Management and Responsibilities

Communicates statutory financial regulations and NHS rules in a simplified form to finance and non-finance people, explaining any complicated financial matters concerning invoices raised.

Support for Trust Activities

• Take the lead role for the issue of invoices and credit notes from the Sales Ledger System.
• Set up new customers on the Sales Ledger as required.
• Take the lead role for debt recovery for the customer portfolio.
• Issue correspondence and calculate applicable interest due on outstanding debts.
• To provide monthly management reports and updates, and participate in the monthly debt review meetings with senior management.
• To provide weekly updates on the customer portfolio to the Accounts Receivable Manager in readiness for the Cash Meeting.
• To provide cover across other colleague’s customer portfolios as required.
• To provide support and assistance to the Accounts Receivable Manager as and when required.
• To be familiar with the organisation of the Hospitals within the Trust and in particular the duties of immediate colleagues, thus, enabling efficient and flexible administration by substituting and deputising within the Finance Directorate, as required, without compromising the Standing Financial Instructions.