Accounts Receivable Clerk

Bertelsmann; Colchester; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 22,000; Part time

Job summary

Bertelsmann Global Business Services Ltd (BGBS) in Frating, Essex, is hiring an Accounts Receivable Clerk for 25 hours per week. The role offers a GBP-based salary circa £20,000 with bonus/benefits, and involves invoicing, cash allocations, and data maintenance to support the UK Bertelsmann group companies.

Essential experience includes Accounts Receivable, strong Excel skills, and clear communication. SAP experience is preferred. Interviews planned for the week starting 19 October.

Qualifications

• Relevant experience in Accounts Receivable or client invoicing.
• Strong IT and Excel skills, with ability to manipulate data.
• Excellent written and oral communication, able to influence colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Raising customer invoices following established procedures for BGBS clients.
• Handle invoice inquiries and resolve discrepancies with customers.
• Maintain master data for customers in line with Bertelsmann policies.
• Allocate cash receipts promptly and keep AR ledgers accurate.
• Reconcile ledgers timely and follow up on discrepancies.
• Apply group accounting policies and controls correctly.
• Collaborate with internal teams and the Compliance Accountant as needed.
• Support other General Accounting tasks under the Finance team lead.

Skills

Accounts Receivable

Excel

Communication

Tools

SAP

Job description

Job Description

We have an exciting opportunity for an Accounts Receivable Clerk to join our Bertelsmann Global Business Services (BGBS) team based in Frating, Essex.

This is an excellent opportunity to develop your finance career within a collaborative and supportive environment, where your contributions will directly support the financial success of the business.

Bertelsmann Global Business Services Ltd (BGBS) is an accounting shared service centre established in 2018 to provide accounting functions for Bertelsmann group companies in the UK. Comprising of a team of over 50 and based at the Penguin Random House distribution centre on the outskirts of Colchester, the group companies served by BGBS include Penguin Random House, Dorling Kindersley, BMG, Arvato SCM and Little Tiger. The services provided by BGBS include Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Banking and General Accounting (general ledger, fixed assets, tax, financial reporting etc.).

This is a part-time opportunity at 25 hours per week. For those candidates shortlisted, we will be seeking to hold interviews week commencing 19th October.

Key responsibilities:

• Raising customer invoices based on accounting procedures on behalf of BGBS clients.
• Handling customer inquiries regarding invoices and resolving any discrepancies.
• Master data management – ensuring that all relevant information held for customers is up to date, in line with Bertelsmann policies.
• Allocation of cash receipts on a timely basis, ensuring that the accounts receivable ledger is accurate and up to date.
• Timely reconciliation of appropriate ledgers, following up on any discrepancies.
• Ensure the correct application of group accounting policies and controls.
• Liaise with internal teams and Compliance Accountant on any relevant internal audits.
• Deliver any other appropriate departmental tasks required within the General Accounting team under the direction of the [Senior] Financial Accountant.

What you’ll bring

Essential criteria:

• Relevant experience working in Accounts Receivable
• Strong IT and systems skills, including Excel.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, with the ability to influence a wide range of people.

Preferred criteria:

• Experience using SAP

Salary

Circa £20,000 (based on 25 hours per week) dependent on how your skills and experience align to the role, plus bonus and benefits.

Use of AI tools

Here at Penguin, we believe in the power of authenticity and human creativity. When you apply for a position, we want to encourage you to showcase your unique voice. Throughout our recruitment process, please share your own thoughts, experiences, and skills. This helps us get a true sense of who you are and what you might bring to our team.
We celebrate creativity and diverse perspectives, so please be yourself! While we recognise AI tools can be helpful, we recommend using them thoughtfully to ensure your responses reflect you.

Disability Confident

As a Disability Confident Committed organisation, we offer interviews to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role, and opt-in on their application form. The essential criteria for this role are listed as part of the ‘What you’ll bring’ section. There may be times when the volume of applications means we cannot take all eligible candidates to interview.

We encourage you to tell us about any reasonable adjustments you may need by emailing [e-mail]. Remember, you only need to share what you are comfortable with, for us to support your request.

Hybrid working

While our offices across the UK are places to connect, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues, we recognise that flexibility around where you work is just as important. For this role we expect that you will work from our office in Frating, Essex, two days per week. There may also be occasional travel to London required.

Additional Information

Disclosure requirements pertaining to the collection of your personal data:

Responsible for processing the information provided in your application is the company specified in the job advertisement, with its registered office as indicated. The company processes your data for the purpose of establishing an employment relationship on the basis of Art. 6 (1) b GDPR / Section 26 (1) sentence 1 BDSG.

The retention period for your data is determined by the statutory time limits applicable in the respective country, beginning upon completion of the recruitment process. You can find these here.

You can contact the company’s Data Protection Officer at the above-mentioned postal address.

Further information on data protection and your rights can be found here.