Staff Accountant

Harris Technology Services; West Chester (Chester County); On-site; USD 68,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision coverage

401(k)

Paid time off and holidays

Direct mentorship from Controller

Job summary

Harris Technology Services is a West Chester, PA-based provider of security and technology systems. The Staff Accountant will support cash receipts, accounts payable, invoicing, expense reports, and payroll tax across multiple jurisdictions.

You will work with service, project, and procurement teams to ensure accurate recording and timely billing, with direct access to the Controller and leadership for visibility.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of accounting experience in a Staff Accountant, Accounting Specialist, or similar role.
• Working knowledge of accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash application, customer billing, and expense report processing.
• Solid understanding of basic accounting principles and the general ledger.
• Familiarity with sales tax and payroll tax concepts and filing requirements.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills (lookups, pivot tables, reconciling large data sets).
• Demonstrated ability to identify, research, and resolve discrepancies independently and see them through to closure.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills - this role talks directly to customers, vendors, internal teams, and tax agencies.
• High attention to detail, strong organization, and the ability to hold a daily processing rhythm while absorbing research work.

Responsibilities

• Post daily cash receipts and keep cash records accurate and current, including applying customer payments against invoices and purchase orders.
• Process and record accounts payable invoices daily, ensuring proper GL coding, supporting documentation, approval, and timely processing.
• Match vendor invoices to purchase orders and receipts, and work with Procurement to resolve discrepancies before they age.
• Assist with vendor onboarding, W-9 collection, and annual 1099 preparation.
• Prepare and process customer invoices for service tickets, projects, product sales orders, and recurring agreements.
• Review billing for accuracy and completeness - labor, materials, agreement coverage, freight, and tax - and coordinate with Service, Project Management, and Sales to resolve discrepancies before invoices are released.
• Support collections by researching customer disputes, reissuing documentation, and submitting invoices through customer AP portals where required.
• Maintain accurate customer billing records, including PO tracking and remaining PO balances.
• Process employee expense reports: review receipts, verify approvals, confirm accurate coding against the correct job or department, and ensure timely reimbursement.
• Reconcile company credit card activity and follow up on missing receipts and unsubmitted reports.
• Research and resolve sales and use tax issues, including taxability questions on labor versus materials, multi-state and local rate discrepancies, customer exemption certificates, and notices from state and local tax authorities.
• Maintain the exemption certificate file and confirm certificates are current before invoices are released.
• Support monthly and quarterly sales tax filings across the jurisdictions in which we operate.
• Research and resolve payroll tax issues, including state and local registrations for employees in new jurisdictions, agency notices and reconciliation of payroll tax liabilities to the general ledger.
• Maintain accurate accounting records and complete supporting documentation.
• Prepare assigned balance sheet account reconciliations and research reconciling items to resolution.
• Support month-end and year-end close activities as assigned.
• Assist with audit, insurance, and licensing information requests.
• Perform other accounting duties and special projects as needed.

Job description

About Harris Technology Services

Harris Technology Services designs, installs, and supports physical security and technology systems - video surveillance, access control, intrusion, and the networks behind them - for customers across the country. We hold alarm contracting licenses in 31 states, the District of Columbia, and Alberta, and we run our own network operations center, field service organization, and project delivery teams.

Our accounting function is small and hands-on. You will not own one narrow slice of the cycle - you will see cash come in, invoices go out, and the tax and reconciliation work that ties it together. If you want a role where your work is visible and you have direct access to the Controller and leadership, this is it.

Position Summary

The Staff Accountant supports day-to-day accounting operations with a primary focus on cash receipts, accounts payable, customer invoicing, expense report processing, and sales and payroll tax matters. Because we operate and hold licenses across more than thirty jurisdictions, this role carries real multi-state tax exposure - registrations, filings, exemption certificates, and nexus-driven questions are a routine part of the work, not an annual exception.

You will work across our service, project, and procurement teams to make sure transactions are recorded accurately and on time, and that billing reaches the customer clean the first time.

Key Responsibilities

Cash and Accounts Payable

• Post daily cash receipts and keep cash records accurate and current, including applying customer payments against the correct invoices and purchase orders.
• Process and record accounts payable invoices daily, ensuring proper GL coding, supporting documentation, approval, and timely processing.
• Match vendor invoices to purchase orders and receipts, and work with Procurement to resolve quantity, pricing, and receiving discrepancies before they age.
• Assist with vendor onboarding, W-9 collection, and annual 1099 preparation.

Customer Billing and Accounts Receivable

• Prepare and process customer invoices for service tickets, projects, product sales orders, and recurring agreements.
• Review billing for accuracy and completeness - labor, materials, agreement coverage, freight, and tax - and coordinate with Service, Project Management, and Sales to resolve discrepancies before invoices are released.
• Support collections by researching customer disputes, reissuing documentation, and submitting invoices through customer AP portals where required.
• Maintain accurate customer billing records, including PO tracking and remaining PO balances.

Expense Reports

• Process employee expense reports: review receipts, verify approvals, confirm accurate coding against the correct job or department, and ensure timely reimbursement.
• Reconcile company credit card activity and follow up on missing receipts and unsubmitted reports.

Sales and Payroll Tax

• Research and resolve sales and use tax issues, including taxability questions on labor versus materials, multi-state and local rate discrepancies, customer exemption certificates, and notices from state and local tax authorities.
• Maintain the exemption certificate file and confirm certificates are current before invoices are released.
• Support monthly and quarterly sales tax filings across the jurisdictions in which we operate.
• Research and resolve payroll tax issues, including state and local registrations for employees in new jurisdictions, agency notices and reconciliation of payroll tax liabilities to the general ledger.

Records, Reconciliation, and Close

• Maintain accurate accounting records and complete supporting documentation.
• Prepare assigned balance sheet account reconciliations and research reconciling items to resolution.
• Support month-end and year-end close activities as assigned.
• Assist with audit, insurance, and licensing information requests.
• Perform other accounting duties and special projects as needed.

Qualifications

Required

• 2+ years of accounting experience in a Staff Accountant, Accounting Specialist, or similar role.
• Working knowledge of accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash application, customer billing, and expense report processing.
• Solid understanding of basic accounting principles and the general ledger.
• Familiarity with sales tax and payroll tax concepts and filing requirements.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills (lookups, pivot tables, reconciling large data sets).
• Demonstrated ability to identify, research, and resolve discrepancies independently and see them through to closure.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills - this role talks directly to customers, vendors, internal teams, and tax agencies.
• High attention to detail, strong organization, and the ability to hold a daily processing rhythm while absorbing research work.

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Experience with multi-state sales and use tax, exemption certificate management, or multi-state payroll tax registrations.
• Experience in a project-based, field services, construction, or technology integration business, including job costing, progress billing, or percentage-of-completion concepts.
• Experience with QuickBooks Online and with a PSA or ERP system such as ConnectWise, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Vantagepoint, or similar.
• Exposure to a sales tax engine such as Avalara.

Core Competencies

• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Organization and time management
• Problem solving and analytical thinking
• Accounting and financial reporting knowledge
• Tax compliance awareness
• Communication and collaboration
• Ability to prioritize daily responsibilities and meet deadlines
• Ownership - closes the loop without being chased

What Success Looks Like

• First 30 days: You are posting daily cash receipts and AP independently and know our chart of accounts, our service and project billing types, and who to go to in each department.
• First 90 days: You own the daily AP, cash, and expense report cycle end to end; customer invoices go out on schedule with materially fewer billing corrections; you are researching sales tax questions and clearing agency notices with limited direction.
• First 6 months: Your assigned reconciliations are current and clean at close, exemption certificates are in order, and the Controller relies on you for the transactional cycle without re-checking it.

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary range: $68,000 - $85,000 per year, depending on experience
• Health, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k)
• Paid time off and paid holidays
• Direct mentorship from the Controller and exposure to the full accounting cycle in a growing, multi-state company

Location

On-site at our West Chester, PA headquarters (991 S Bolmar Street, Suite G, West Chester, PA 19382).

Harris Technology Services is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.