Accounts Receivable Assistant / Credit Controller

ITSS Recruitment Ltd; Greater London; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

ITSS Recruitment Ltd in Caterham is seeking an Accounts Receivable Assistant / Credit Controller to manage invoicing, VAT, and debt collection for the school's finance operations.

You will raise invoices, apply discounts, manage termly pupil fees via iSAMS, monitor debtors, perform monthly debt position reports, and support the Head of Finance with reconciliations and ad hoc tasks.

Responsibilities

• Raising invoices for all areas of the business and its subsidiaries.
• Termly fees for all pupils via the fee billing module on the student records system (iSAMS), ensuring the correct party is invoiced.
• Ensuring discounts, scholarships and bursaries are correctly applied.
• Ensuring any fees paid in advance are correctly shown on the invoice.
• Invoices for extras such as flexi-boarding, ad hoc boarding, transport charges, and recharges.
• Communicating with academic/pastoral staff to ensure correct recharge amounts are included.
• Ensuring VAT is correctly applied to each aspect of the invoice and correctly handled in the finance system.
• Creating one off invoices, e.g. deposits, composite fees and post results services charges directly from the finance system.
• Raising invoices for commercial activities based on the agreed contract, including events, residential stays, weddings and other activities.
• Posting invoices to the finance system as soon as they are issued.
• Carry out continuous credit control procedures, ensuring outstanding debt is chased in a timely manner by all possible means (phone calls, emails, statements).
• Maintaining the debtors' ledger, ensuring accounts are up-to-date and any communication with the debtor is recorded in notes or attached as a document.
• Importing bank receipts report into the finance system and allocate payments to the debtor accounts, daily.
• Processing the collection of fees by direct debit in accordance with agreements in force, both termly and monthly.
• Process Fee Plan collections in accordance with agreements in force.
• Process payments by debit card via Opayo/SagePay when requested to do so by parents.
• Raise any concern around the collectability of debt with the Head of Finance as soon as it arises.
• Work closely with the Head of Finance to review the outstanding debt and the steps taken for recovery, understand the escalation procedures and know when to highlight a debt for escalation.
• Produce regular (at least monthly) reports on the debt position.
• Preparation of fees in advance calculations, in response to parental enquiries and prepare draft quotation for the Head of Finance's review.
• Maintain a clear list of all fees in advance, by student, including the interest calculated in the quotation, and the release each term.
• Reconcile the amounts held on a termly basis.
• When notified by admissions, raise deposit invoices within the finance system, ensuring VAT is calculated correctly.
• Maintain a list of each student deposit held and reconcile termly to the funds held on the finance system and to the funds held per student on the student records system.
• Release deposits as appropriate on the final bill for each student, ensuring that all extras incurred have been billed before releasing the deposit.
• Reconcile student numbers to termly income to ensure correct billing.
• Analysis and reconciliation of allocated nominal ledger control accounts either monthly or termly as required.
• Provide ad hoc reports and analysis of any areas within remit, as required from time to time.
• Work with other members of the finance team to understand relevant processes and provide support as and when required.
• To undertake any other accounting related tasks as may reasonably be required by the Head of Finance or Director of Finance & Operations.

Job description

Role: Accounts Receivable Assistant / Credit Controller

Location: Caterham

Salary: £34-37k

Specific Responsibilities;

• Raising invoices for all areas of the business and its subsidiaries.
• Termly fees for all pupils via the fee billing module on the student records system (iSAMS), being aware of contractual relationships to ensure the correct party(ies) are invoiced.
• Ensuring all discounts, scholarships and bursaries are correctly applied.
• Ensuring any fees paid in advance are correctly shown on the invoice.
• Invoices for extras such as flexi-boarding, ad hoc boarding, transport charges, and recharges.
• Communicating with academic/pastoral staff to ensure correct recharge amounts are included.
• Ensuring VAT is correctly applied to each aspect of the invoice and correctly handled in the finance system.
• Creating one off invoices, e.g. deposits, composite fees and post results services charges directly from the finance system.
• Raising invoices for commercial activities based on the agreed contract, including events, residential stays, weddings and other activities.
• Posting invoices to the finance system as soon as they are issued.

Debt collection and credit control;

• Carry out continuous credit control procedures, ensuring outstanding debt is chased in a timely manner by all possible means (phone calls, emails, statements).
• Maintaining the debtors' ledger, ensuring accounts are up-to-date and any communication with the debtor is recorded in notes or attached as a document.
• Importing bank receipts report into the finance system and allocate payments to the debtor accounts, daily.
• Processing the collection of fees by direct debit in accordance with agreements in force, both termly and monthly.
• Process Fee Plan collections in accordance with agreements in force.
• Process payments by debit card via Opayo/SagePay when requested to do so by parents.
• Raise any concern around the collectability of debt with the Head of Finance as soon as it arises.
• Work closely with the Head of Finance to review the outstanding debt and the steps taken for recovery, understand the escalation procedures and know when to highlight a debt for escalation.
• Produce regular (at least monthly) reports on the debt position.

Other fee related tasks;

• Preparation of fees in advance calculations, in response to parental enquiries and prepare draft quotation for the Head of Finance's review.
• Maintain a clear list of all fees in advance, by student, including the interest calculated in the quotation, and the release each term. Reconcile the amounts held on a termly basis.
• When notified by admissions, raise deposit invoices within the finance system, ensuring VAT is calculated correctly.
• Maintain a list of each student deposit held and reconcile termly to the funds held on the finance system and to the funds held per student on the student records system.
• Release deposits as appropriate on the final bill for each student, ensuring that all extras incurred have been billed before releasing the deposit.

General finance tasks;

• Reconcile student numbers to termly income to ensure correct billing.
• Analysis and reconciliation of allocated nominal ledger control accounts either monthly or termly as required.
• Provide ad hoc reports and analysis of any areas within remit, as required from time to time.
• Work with other members of the finance team to understand relevant processes and provide support as and when required.
• To undertake any other accounting related tasks as may reasonably be required by the Head of Finance or Director of Finance & Operations.