AR & Credit Control Specialist-1

Crane Company; Leicester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Crane Company is seeking an experienced credit risk and accounts receivable specialist in Leicester. You will assess creditworthiness, manage collections, and perform SAP-based cash application across multiple currencies. Close collaboration with Sales, Customer Care, Operations and Legal is expected.

Ideal candidates have a Bachelor’s in Accounting/Finance and at least six years in credit, collections, and AR within a high-volume environment. This is a full-time, on-site role based in the UK.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 6 years' experience in credit, collections and accounts receivable.

Responsibilities

• Assess and analyse the creditworthiness of customers.
• Review and propose credit limit changes with approvals per authority levels.
• Obtain and evaluate credit references as required.
• Manage high-volume AR across multiple countries and currencies.
• Perform cash application in SAP and reconcile unapplied cash.
• Collaborate with Sales, Customer Care, Finance and Legal to resolve issues.
• Support month-end reporting and process improvements.

Skills

Credit risk

Collections

Accounts receivable

Excel

Multi-currency

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance

Tools

SAP FI/AR

Excel

Job description

Key Responsibilities

Credit Risk Management

• Assess and analyse the creditworthiness of new and existing customers
• Review and propose credit limit changes, ensuring approvals are obtained in line with delegated authority levels
• Obtain and evaluate credit and bank references where required
• Recommend credit decisions based on risk assessment
• Work with Sales and Customer Care to identify alternative solutions where credit terms cannot be extended
• Ensure adherence to company policies and delegated authority levels, seeking approvals in a timely manner

Collections & Accounts Receivable

• Manage a high-volume portfolio of customer accounts to ensure timely collections
• Manage accounts across multiple countries and currencies
• Carry out structured collection activities, including follow-ups and escalation of overdue balances
• Investigate and resolve invoice disputes, deductions, and short payments
• Support the reduction of aged debt and improvement of collection performance
• Support month-end reporting requirements

Cash Application & Reconciliation

• Perform timely and accurate cash application within SAP
• Allocate payments and ensure correct matching to customer accounts
• Reconcile unapplied cash and investigate discrepancies
• Maintain accuracy of the accounts receivable subledger and support month-end close

Stakeholder Management

• Work closely with Sales, Customer Care, Operations, Finance, and Legal teams to resolve issues
• Engage with customers to address payment queries and escalations
• Work with external credit agencies to support the assessment and determination of customer credit worthiness

Reporting & Process Improvement

• Use SAP and collections systems to monitor AR ageing and account activity
• Support the preparation of AR and collections reporting
• Identify and support process improvements to increase efficiency and control
• Support ad hoc credit, treasury, or cross-functional projects as required

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or related field (or equivalent experience)
• Minimum 6 years' experience of credit, collections, and accounts receivable within a high-volume environment

Skills & Competencies

• Strong attention to detail and accuracy, combined with a proactive, hands-on approach
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a high-volume environment
• Experience working in a multi-entity and multi-currency environment
• Strong SAP experience (FI/AR module) in an Accounts Receivable / Order-to-Cash environment
• Experience with collections or receivables management systems
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups, data reconciliation & large dataset analysis)
• Solid understanding of accounts receivable processes, including collections, cash application and reconciliation
• Experience allocating cash, resolving unapplied cash and investigating discrepancies, including variance analysis
• Experience managing customer collections and resolving payment issues
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
• Understanding of credit risk principles
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills