Accounts Receivable Specialist - Deductions

Central Garden & Pet; Boise (ID); Remote; USD 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401k with company match

Paid vacation and holidays

Sick time

Employee Assistance Program

Education Assistance

Referral Program with cash bonus

On-demand pay

Job summary

Central Garden & Pet is seeking an Accounts Receivable Specialist - Deductions to join its ITC team. This remote-friendly role focuses on deduction resolution, credit memo processing, and maintaining current customer receivables in a fast-paced environment.

You will collaborate across departments, support audits, and contribute to process improvements while meeting tight service level agreements. Training will occur in the corporate office before WFH options begin.

Qualifications

• 1-3 years of high-volume Accounts Receivable and deduction resolution experience
• WFH after training in corporate office
• Support internal and external audits as needed

Responsibilities

• Verifies the validity of invoicing discrepancies by researching customer claims with multiple departments and customers
• Disputes invalid deductions and follows up with customers to obtain documentation or repayment
• Provide updates to management on portfolio status, including aging reviews and past-due items
• Ensure claims are raised correctly for deductions to enable accurate reporting for business units
• Review open claims weekly for accuracy and alignment with reasons and amounts
• Navigate customer portals and communicate via phone or email for payment status

Skills

Analytical

Problem solving

Attention to detail

Verbal and written communication

Time management

ERP knowledge

SOX understanding

Cross-functional collaboration

Process improvement

Financial accounting basics

Tools

ERP Systems

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Outlook

Job description

Description

Work From Home positions available in the Boise, ID area. We are seeking an Accounts Receivable Specialist- Deductions to work in our Central Service Center. Looking for a high energy, metric driven candidate to fill a key role within the Invoice to Cash (ITC – Accounts Receivable) team to ensure that the customers’ receivables are kept current by working accounts to resolve deduction issues and assist with possible billing and payment issues as needed. This position is primarily responsible for the deduction resolution and processing of credit memos to customer accounts in a fast paced, goal oriented and metric driven department. Ability to support other team members or departments to meet company needs and demands.

Key Responsibilities

• Verifies the validity of invoicing discrepancies by means of researching customer claims by working with various departments within the company and directly with the customers.
  • Obtaining customer documentation from multiple potential sources (email, phone, portals, postal mail)
  • Researching claims by pulling shipping documents, liaising with multiple other departments, internally and externally, to include, but not limited to, customers, warehouses, sales, marketing, pricing, etc. for additional details/clarification when needed.
  • Adhere to documented complex matrix dependent on brand and reason for claim to obtain necessary validations and/or approvals to process a credit memo to resolve the invoicing discrepancy.
• Dispute invalid deductions to customers by multiple potential avenues (email, portals, etc.) and follow up with customers regularly to obtain either additional documentation to validate claim or obtain repayment on invalid deductions within defined department goals.
• Provide updates regularly and as needed to management team on status of account portfolio to include monthly aging meetings with detailed status on all past due line items on your customer base.
• Ensure claims are raised correctly for all deductions taken by customers to ensure accurate reporting for the business units.
• Review open claims weekly to ensure accuracy of claims for business unit, reason for claim, amount, etc.
• Navigate various customer portals and/or correspond by phone or email for invoice payment status (dependent on account base).
• Maintain weekly checklists for all tasks and ensure their completion, letting management know of any exceptions.
• Address inquiries within the 24-hour service level agreement.
• Provide support as needed for internal and external audit requirements.
• Attend and participate in monthly team meetings, monthly one on one meetings, and quarterly department meetings.

Qualifications

• Analytical, sound problem solver, detail oriented, organized, strong communicator (verbal and written), strong sense of urgency.
• Accountable and reliable
• Results driven and internally motivated to succeed.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office experience (primarily Excel and Outlook)
• Basic accounting knowledge (credits/debits, general ledger, profit centers/cost centers, etc.)
• ERP experience
• Consumer Products experience
• Basic understanding of internal controls including SOX requirements
• Ability to adapt to a changing environment and handle multiple priorities.
• Self-starter, ability to work independently and within a team environment.
• Experience in shared service environment
• Possess process improvement mindset with a desire to consistently look for ways to improve efficiency and service.
• Other – candidate should have the highest integrity and character and possess finance experience and business sense. Must be able to follow processes and collaborate cross-functionally.

Minimum Experience & Education

• 1-3 years of high-volume Accounts Receivable and deduction resolution experience

Working Conditions

• Corporate office environment or home office with frequent use of phone and PC
• New Employee training is held in the office. WFH is offered after training is complete.

Benefits Package & Employee Programs

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Free Life and Disability Insurance
• Health and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• 401k with 3% company match and annual employer discretionary contribution
• Paid vacation, holidays and sick time
• Employee Assistance Program
• Access to thousands of free online courses
• Discounts on cell phones, movie tickets, gym memberships, and more!
• Education Assistance (both college degrees and professional certifications)
• Referral Program with cash bonus
• Access to on-demand pay
• Paid parental leave

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) (NASDAQ: CENTA) understands that home is central to life and has proudly nurtured happy and healthy homes for over 40 years. With fiscal 2023 net sales of $3.3 billion, Central is on a mission to lead the future of the Pet and Garden industries. The Company’s innovative and trusted products are dedicated to helping lawns grow greener, gardens bloom bigger, pets live healthier and communities grow stronger. Central is home to a leading portfolio of more than 65 high-quality brands including Amdro®, Aqueon®, Cadet®, Farnam®, Ferry-Morse®, Four Paws®, Kaytee®, K&H®, Nylabone® and Pennington®, strong manufacturing and distribution capabilities and a passionate, entrepreneurial growth culture. Central is based in Walnut Creek, California and has 6,700 employees across North America and Europe. Visit www.central.com to learn more.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.