AR - AP Analyst - Finance & Accounts

Arboreal; Lucknow; On-site; INR 350,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

Arboreal is seeking an AR/AP Analyst to manage day‑to‑day Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable, ensuring timely collections and accurate payables. You will coordinate with Sales, Procurement, and Finance to strengthen cash flow and working capital.

The role requires 3–6 years in AR/AP/finance ops, with ERP and Excel proficiency, and a Commerce/Accounting background. We offer growth opportunities within Arboreal's finance function.

Qualifications

• 3–6 years of relevant experience in AR/AP/Finance Operations.
• B2B manufacturing, distribution, FMCG or nutraceutical exposure preferred.
• Strong Excel/Sheets proficiency with lookups and pivots.
• Commerce/Accounting education alignment with finance fundamentals.

Responsibilities

• Manage AR/AP end-to-end, including ledgers, ageing and reconciliations.
• Coordinate with Sales/Procurement to ensure cash flow and terms adherence.
• Process invoices, vendor payments and enforce controls.
• Perform month-end closures and MIS reporting.
• Maintain accurate customer and vendor records and reconciliations.

Skills

Accounts receivable

Accounts payable

ERP knowledge

Excel/Sheets

Attention to detail

Closure orientation

Communication with customers/suppliers

Problem solving

Multitasking

Ownership

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s in Commerce/Accounting/Finance

CA Inter / CMA Inter (advantage)

Tools

ERP software

Spreadsheet tools

Job description

About Arboreal

Arboreal is an award-winning ingredients technology company specialising in the development of innovative and functional food and nutraceutical ingredients.

Our mission is to enable pioneering brands with differentiated ingredient solutions that improve taste, texture, nutrition and functionality. We work closely with leading and emerging food, nutraceutical and Better-for-You brands to develop, launch and scale category-defining products.

Our ingredient platforms span alternative proteins, sugar reduction and sweetening solutions, cacao-based ingredients, collagen, functional nutrition and specialty food ingredients.

Arboreal is co‑founded and led by Swati Pandey (IIT, Imperial College London), Manish Chauhan (BITS Pilani, London Business School) and Suresh Chander (University of Helsinki, Anna University).

For our pioneering work, Arboreal has been recognised through the National Startup Award – Food Processing (2021), BIRAC Grant from the Department of Biotechnology, Cartier Women’s Initiative Award – APAC, and Women Transforming India Award by NITI Aayog, amongst others.

As Arboreal scales rapidly across customers, suppliers and manufacturing operations, we are looking for a highly disciplined and detail‑oriented AR / AP Analyst to strengthen our finance operations and ensure accurate, timely and well‑controlled management of receivables and payables.

Role Description

The AR - AP Analyst - Finance & Accounts will support and manage day‑to‑day activities across Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable, including customer collections, vendor payments, reconciliations, ageing analysis, invoice matching and month‑end closure.

The role sits at the intersection of Finance, Sales, Procurement, Supply Chain and Operations and will be responsible for ensuring that money owed to Arboreal is collected on time and amounts payable by Arboreal are accurate, properly authorised and paid as per agreed terms.

This is not simply a bookkeeping role.

We are looking for someone who understands that strong AR/AP management directly affects cash flow, working capital, supplier relationships, customer relationships and financial controls.

The successful candidate should be exceptionally organised, comfortable with numbers and persistent about closing open items.

Key Responsibilities

1. Accounts Receivable Management

Maintain accurate customer ledgers and monitor all outstanding receivables.

Track:

• Customer invoices
• Due dates
• Payments received
• Credit notes
• Debit notes
• Deductions
• Short payments
• Unapplied receipts
• Overdue balances

Ensure customer balances are accurate and updated on a timely basis.

2. Collections & Customer Follow‑Up

Work closely with Sales and customer finance teams to drive timely collections.

Responsibilities include:

• Preparing customer‑wise ageing reports
• Following up on due and overdue invoices
• Sharing invoices and supporting documents
• Resolving payment‑related queries
• Tracking customer payment commitments
• Escalating significant overdue accounts

Maintain a professional but disciplined approach to collections.

3. Customer Reconciliations

Perform regular customer ledger reconciliations.

Investigate discrepancies arising from:

• Short payments
• Customer deductions
• TDS deductions
• Debit notes
• Unrecorded payments
• Invoice disputes
• Pricing differences

Ensure open reconciliation items are followed through to closure.

4. Cash Application

Accurately record and apply incoming customer payments against relevant invoices.

Identify and resolve:

• Unidentified receipts
• Partial payments
• Advance payments
• Customer on‑account balances

Ensure bank receipts and customer ledgers remain properly reconciled.

5. AR Ageing & Credit Control

Prepare and monitor ageing reports across buckets such as:

• Current
• 1–30 days
• 31–60 days
• 61–90 days
• 90+ days

Identify emerging credit risks and upscale overdue accounts.

Work with Sales and Finance leadership to ensure credit terms and limits are adhered to.

6. Accounts Payable Management

Process and account for vendor invoices and expenses accurately.

Ensure invoices are matched against appropriate supporting documents, including:

Purchase Order → GRN / Service Confirmation → Vendor Invoice

Validate:

• Supplier details
• GSTIN
• Invoice number and date
• Quantity
• Rate
• Tax
• Purchase terms
• Payment terms

Identify discrepancies before invoices are posted or paid.

7. Vendor Payments

Prepare periodic vendor payment schedules based on:

• Due dates
• Payment terms
• Approvals
• Cash‑flow priorities
• Supplier criticality

Ensure payments are made only against properly approved and validated invoices.

Maintain visibility into upcoming payment obligations.

8. Vendor Reconciliation

Perform periodic supplier ledger reconciliations.

Identify and resolve:

• Missing invoices
• Unrecorded credit notes
• Payment differences
• Advances
• Debit balances
• Duplicate invoices
• Outstanding GRN‑related issues

Ensure vendor statements and company ledgers remain aligned.

9. Employee & Business Expenses

Support processing and reconciliation of:

• Employee reimbursements
• Travel expenses
• Business expenses
• Petty cash
• Corporate card expenses where applicable

Ensure expenses comply with approved policies and contain appropriate documentation.

10. GST & TDS Support

Ensure appropriate accounting and documentation around:

• Input GST
• Output GST‑related receivable adjustments
• TDS deductions
• TDS receivable certificates
• TDS payable
• Vendor GST compliance

Work with the Taxation / Finance team to resolve mismatches and ensure accurate reporting.

11. Bank Reconciliation

Perform regular bank reconciliations.

Identify and resolve:

• Unrecorded receipts
• Unrecorded payments
• Bank charges
• Returned payments
• Unidentified transactions

Ensure banking records and accounting ledgers are aligned.

12. Working Capital Management

Support Finance leadership with visibility into working‑capital performance.

Track metrics such as:

• DSO – Days Sales Outstanding
• Debtor ageing
• Collection efficiency
• Overdue receivables
• Creditor days
• Upcoming payment obligations

Identify opportunities to improve cash conversion and working‑capital discipline.

13. Month‑End Closure

Support monthly and year‑end financial closure.

Ensure timely completion of:

• Customer ledger reconciliations
• Vendor ledger reconciliations
• Bank reconciliations
• Accruals
• Advances
• Outstanding expenses
• Unapplied receipts
• AR/AP ageing

Provide accurate schedules to the Finance team within defined closing timelines.

14. AR / AP MIS & Reporting

Prepare regular dashboards and reports covering:

• Total receivables
• Overdue receivables
• Customer‑wise ageing
• Collection performance
• Total payables
• Vendor‑wise ageing
• Upcoming payments
• Cash collection forecasts
• DSO / creditor days

Highlight exceptions rather than merely reporting numbers.

15. Documentation & Audit Support

Maintain complete supporting documentation for AR/AP transactions.

Support:

• Statutory audits
• Internal audits
• GST audits
• Financial due diligence
• Bank / lender reviews

Ensure transactions can be traced quickly to the appropriate supporting documentation.

16. Process Improvement

Continuously improve finance operations through:

• Better reconciliations
• Reduced manual entries
• Improved ERP utilisation
• Automated ageing reports
• Stronger maker‑checker controls
• Better exception reporting
• Improved collection tracking

The objective is to build an AR/AP function that is accurate, scalable and highly disciplined.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have

1. 3–6 years of relevant experience in Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Finance Operations, Accounting or related roles.
2. Prior experience in a B2B manufacturing, distribution, FMCG, food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, chemical or industrial organisation would be strongly preferred.
3. Strong practical understanding of:
   • Accounts Receivable
   • Accounts Payable
   • Customer ageing
   • Vendor ageing
   • Bank reconciliation
   • Customer reconciliation
   • Vendor reconciliation
   • GST
   • TDS
4. Good understanding of accounting fundamentals, including debits, credits, provisions, advances and ledger reconciliation.
5. Experience working with ERP / accounting software.
6. Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel / Google Sheets, including lookups, pivot tables and reconciliation work.
7. Excellent numerical accuracy and attention to detail.
8. Strong follow‑up and closure orientation.
9. Ability to communicate professionally with customers and suppliers regarding financial matters.
10. Ability to independently investigate differences and resolve open items rather than simply carrying them forward month after month.
11. Strong organisational skills and ability to manage multiple deadlines.
12. High ownership, integrity and a strong bias for closure.
13. Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Commerce, Accounting or Finance.

B.Com / M.Com candidates with strong relevant experience would be well suited to the role. CA Inter / CMA Inter would be an advantage but is not essential.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means that Arboreal has clear and reliable visibility into every rupee receivable and payable.

We would expect:

• High accuracy of customer and vendor ledgers
• Consistent reduction in overdue receivables
• Strong collection follow‑up discipline
• Faster resolution of customer deductions and disputes
• Timely vendor payments without unnecessary early payment
• Minimal unreconciled balances
• No duplicate or unsupported vendor payments
• Accurate cash application
• Clean bank reconciliations
• Faster month‑end closure
• Reliable AR/AP ageing
• Improved working‑capital visibility

The role should enable management to answer three questions at any point:

Who owes us money? Whom do we owe money to? And when is each amount due?

What We Offer

1. Broad Finance Exposure

You will work across customers, suppliers, Sales, Procurement, Supply Chain and Finance, providing strong exposure to the commercial side of accounting.

2. High Ownership

AR and AP have a direct impact on Arboreal’s cash flow and working capital.

The role therefore has significantly greater business impact than routine accounting processing.

3. Opportunity to Build Systems

As Arboreal scales, you will have the opportunity to improve finance processes, ERP systems, automation, reconciliations and controls.

4. Competitive Compensation & Growth

We offer competitive compensation based on experience, capability and track record.

We do not follow conventional industry norms of linear compensation growth. Arboreal provides disproportionate professional and financial growth opportunities to exceptional performers.

Strong performers can progressively grow into roles across Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Treasury, Commercial Finance, Controllership or Finance Operations.

We are highly selective about the people we hire.

For this role, we are looking for someone who combines accounting discipline, numerical accuracy, persistence, commercial awareness and relentless follow‑through.

If seeing an unreconciled balance on a ledger bothers you until you understand exactly what it represents and how it will be closed, we would particularly like to hear from you.