WHAT DOES AN AR DO?

Published: May 16, 2025 - The Accounts Receivable Professional manages billing operations, monitors account balances, and ensures accurate application of payments. This role requires strong analytical abilities, attention to detail, and proficiency in financial systems to maintain efficient receivables processes. The individual contributes to reliable financial reporting by reconciling transactions and reducing outstanding accounts.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Accounts Receivable

1. AR Accountant Duties

  • Invoice Processing: Issue the invoice, and input the invoice details into the accounting software
  • Invoice Reconciliation: Prepare invoice amendment minutes for the incorrect invoice, and reconcile the AR balance with the client's
  • Bad Debt Provision: Calculate provision for bad debts and retention, and classify aging
  • Litigation Coordination: Follow up with the contract manager, the court and lawyers in litigious cases
  • Payment Communication: Contact with the client about payment schedules and inform the BOD manager of the payment status and cash-in plan
  • Receivable Reporting: Prepare receivable plan reports
  • AR Reporting: Update DSO (Days Sales Outstanding report), AR-New Project File, Inventory Breakdown (relevant to AR part), Over/ Under-Billing, and Advance Payment from clients
  • Guarantee Preparation: Preparing all the required documents for issuing a bank guarantee
  • Client Negotiation: Contact and negotiate client/ CFO/bank to get final approval for the wordings
  • ERP Update: Updated all issued and received warranties on the ERP system and sent reports related to bank guarantees
  • Guarantee Monitoring: Following the deadline for guarantees and informing others of the renewal processing
  • Off-Balance Reporting: Update off-balance sheet information quarterly

2. Accounts Receivable (AR) Accountant Details

  • AR Management: Responsible for the accounts receivable function and AR collections
  • Invoice Verification: Verifies and processes all AR invoices
  • Document Matching: Ensure all supporting documents are matched with the appropriate receipt and properly approved
  • Collections Handling: Handles day-to-day AR collections and checks bank transactions
  • Bank Recording: Updates the accounting record and bank book balance
  • Journal Entry Preparation: Prepares accounting entries and data input into the finance system
  • Note Reconciliation: Handles rechargeable debit/credit notes and AR-related balance sheet accounts reconciliations
  • Bank Reconciliation: Support monthly closing and reconciles for bank accounts
  • Record Maintenance: Maintains proper accounting records and turns over tax filings
  • Budget Assistance: Assists in budget preparation
  • System Support: Support SOP/ projects/system upgrade

3. AR Accountant Responsibilities

  • Claim Processing: Process billing and customer claims
  • Rebate Validation: Understand sales rebate policy and procedure to validate and process customer claims
  • Tax Monitoring: Monitor/handle VAT-Out, withholding tax, and other taxation requirements
  • Hedge Reporting: Provide information for the hedge
  • Report Reconciliation: Reconcile accurately and timely for the aging report, shipping details, and OCRM to meet the closing schedule
  • Audit Support: Assist with OX 404 documentation and internal/external audit testing
  • Cross-Functional Coordination: Work closely with colleagues in the controllership team and FP&A to be familiar with the company's business and daily accounting operations
  • Internal Collaboration: Build strong relationships with internal customers such as Supply Chain, Sales, and Sales Operations to enable world-class processes and performance
  • Regional Exposure: Exposure to regional projects and multi-country task management
  • Team Backup: Backup for other team members and handle ad hoc affairs

4. AR Clerk Job Summary

  • Payment Processing: Process all Customer payments including check deposits and credit card posting
  • Payment Reconciliation: Analyze, process and accurately reconcile and post payments
  • Billing Compliance: Monitor billing activity every week to confirm compliance or obtain action to remediate non-compliance
  • Invoice Correction: Maintain invoicing and collaborate with the sales team for invoice corrections
  • Customer Relations: Forming and maintaining customer relationships
  • Confidentiality Compliance: Protects the organization's value by keeping information confidential
  • Task Completion: Accomplishes accounting and organization mission by completing related tasks
  • High-Volume Invoicing: Generate a high volume of invoices for customer billing
  • Sales Verification: Run the projected sales analysis report to verify and confirm the time and materials related to the project to ensure accuracy in billing
  • Invoice Fulfillment: Invoice processing, posting, printing, and ensuring customer documentation requests
  • Package Assembly: Assemble invoicing packages as per individual customer requirements
  • Portal Entry: Enter invoices into the customer's preferred sites
  • Invoicing Confirmation: Contact customers to confirm invoicing details and request purchase order numbers
  • Discrepancy Resolution: Investigate and resolve billing discrepancies or misapplied cash transactions promptly
  • Account Monitoring: Continuously monitors customer accounts and performs month-end reconciliations
  • Performance Support: Work closely with the Controller to achieve invoicing goals and general A/R performance levels
  • Team Communication: Communicate with customers and Division Managers to complete job duties
  • Record Filing: Maintain records by filing jobs, invoices, debits, and credits
  • WIP Entry: Determine and enter WIP account numbers for non-standard job setups

5. AR Clerk Accountabilities

  • Payment Entry: Enter customer payments received by cash, cheques and EFT into the property management program
  • Record Maintenance: Verify and maintain client/customer records
  • Bank Deposits: Prepare and run deposits to the bank
  • Bank Reporting: Pull monthly online banking reports for monthly deposits
  • Payment Assistance: Communicate and assist clients/customers with various payment matters
  • Collections Support: Collect on accounts by sending late reminders and client/customer ledgers
  • Billing System: Maintains an up-to-date billing system, customer documents and records
  • Account Reconciliation: Assists with the reconciliation of accounts

6. Accounts Receivable Manager Functions

  • Cash Collection: Maintain strong cash flow through efficient collection techniques
  • Debt Control: Control bad debt exposure and highlight client concerns
  • Portfolio Monitoring: Monitoring portfolio to identify trends and warning signs
  • Credit Support: Provide support and assist credit controllers in the decision-making that will reduce the risk of bad debts
  • Billing Accuracy: Maintaining controls over the accuracy of billing to facilitate the prompt collection of receivables
  • Risk Prevention: Implement procedures and audit checks to minimise the risk of loss of income
  • Team Leadership: Lead the AR/ Billing and Credit Team in line with the company values and behaviours
  • Performance Discussion: Actively discusses individual performance at 1-2-1 monthly meetings
  • Invoicing Ownership: Ownership and delivery of the invoicing cycle process
  • People Management: Responsible for executing cyclical people activity
  • Training Oversight: Performance reviews, mandatory training and other people-related activities
  • Process Improvement: Working with the wider management team, champion and embed new ways of working across the team and foster a high-performance, continuous improvement culture

7. AR Manager Job Description

  • Staff Management: Manage Accounts Receivable staff, dealing with any questions, problems, or situations
  • Balance Reduction: Reduce the Accounts Receivable past-due outstanding balances
  • Customer Setup: Review and approve the setup of new customers and changes to existing customers
  • Collection Enforcement: Enforce the Company's collection procedures and modify such procedures
  • Aging Reconciliation: Reconcile the A/R aging monthly
  • Billing Closure: Month-end closing of the billing group information
  • Revenue Reporting: Maintain and run monthly revenue reports
  • Billing Tracking: Provide regular MI to track and inform on billing status

8. AR Manager Overview

  • Resident Interaction: Daily interaction with residents and responsible parties on a range of billing matters
  • Revenue Oversight: Assume ultimate responsibility for Billing and revenue days outstanding
  • Team Training: Provide the team with training and assistance to maintain a consistent quality of work
  • Process Improvement: Ensure adherence to established procedures and identify areas for process automation or improvement
  • Department Communication: Facilitate open communication within the department while maintaining a service excellence culture
  • Relationship Management: Establish and maintain effective working relationships with customers, coworkers and the public
  • Issue Resolution: Resolve complex billing issues
  • Client Onboarding: Oversee the onboarding process for all new clients
  • Team Mentorship: Mentor and develop team members to deliver excellent customer service

9. AR Specialist Details and Accountabilities

  • Contract Review: Review LATAM business revenue contracts, especially financial terms
  • Refund Compliance: Review the process of refunds, top-ups, etc., to ensure financial compliance
  • Debt Management: Establish a debt collection management system and business data report management
  • System Optimization: Propose corresponding system optimization requirements in response to the changes in business development
  • AR Tasks: Perform Collection, Invoicing and other tasks related to AR
  • Process Building: Build/optimize processes, specifications, related templates, etc
  • Finance Support: Support the headquarters finance team
  • Business Assistance: Provide relevant support to the business department

10. AR Specialist Tasks

  • AR Management: Manage daily AR tasks, including invoicing, collections, and contract approval
  • Client Relationships: Build and maintain trusted relationships with clients and business partners
  • Account Portfolio: Manage a portfolio of customer accounts
  • Payment Allocation: Allocate customer payments to invoices, along with posting deductions taken to reconcile to remittance and payment received
  • Dedication Analysis: Research and provide deduction backup and/or data analysis for further processing of credits or chargebacks of deductions
  • Balance Reconciliation: Constant reconciliation of company aging balances with balances per customer, identifying and resolving discrepancies
  • Collections Follow-Up: Contact past due customers and address slow pay customers to correct late payment issues
  • Order Review: Review orders requested to release, compared to aging status and credit limit, to determine if release is allowed
  • Credit File Management: Manage customer credit files, updating and reviewing based on credit policies to minimize risk and exposure
  • Credit Compliance: Ensure the customer is in tolerance of approved credit limits and terms extended
  • Process Improvement: Undertake projects and direct to improvement of credit department processes and procedures
  • AR Reporting: Assist in monthly department reporting and various reporting of accounts receivable
  • Interdepartmental Coordination: Work internally with customer service, sales and other departments to identify and correct recurring customer payment issues and ensure smooth workflow

11. AR Specialist Roles

  • Inbox Monitoring: Monitor and maintain team email inboxes per the assignment schedule
  • Invoice Processing: Process pipeline invoices daily
  • Order Finalization: Finalize orders to create invoices once the pricing review is complete and approval is obtained
  • Invoice Delivery: Ensure final invoices are sent to customers in a timely fashion
  • Inquiry Response: Research and respond to daily inquiries
  • Data Maintenance: Set up and maintenance of invoice presentation data for customers
  • Credit Processing: Process credit and rebill requests including miscellaneous credits and consolidated billing
  • Portal Billing: Primary point of contact for Web Portal Billing for customers and coordinates reconciliation of these accounts to ensure that all items are captured
  • Audit Participation: Participate in quarterly audit work paper accumulation
  • Collections Coordination: Daily interaction with the Credit Department on collection efforts
  • SOP Maintenance: Maintain and update standard operating procedures (SOP)

12. AR Supervisor Additional Details

  • Task Management: Prioritizes, assigns, and reviews the daily tasks of the department
  • Performance Evaluation: Prepares performance evaluations and employee development
  • Team Leadership: Lead the AR Corrections team to achieve service goals for various processes or programs including invoice audits and adjustments, Overcharge Claims, Disputes and Mass Re-rates
  • Cost Optimization: Identify opportunities for cost savings and process improvements
  • Process Creation: Partner with internal stakeholders to create processes that reduce errors in customer onboarding and increase data set up integrity
  • Policy Enhancement: Proactively recommends and implements process, procedural and policy enhancements
  • Cross-Functional Communication: Forges strong relationships and fosters effective communication with other functional teams, customers and employees
  • Training Development: Develops a training strategy to ensure that employees are cross-trained on job responsibilities
  • Report Preparation: Prepare production reports (daily, weekly, monthly and yearly) to review with management
  • Process Improvement: Maintain a continuous improvement in business processes and employee development
  • Culture Building: Collaborates with peers to drive culture, performance and employee engagement
  • Procedure Documentation: Creates documentation of processes and procedures to create standardization

13. Accounts Receivable (AR) Supervisor Essential Functions

  • Customer Contact: Contact customers to determine the cause and ensure payment
  • Account Escalation: Highlight problem accounts for management review and action
  • Credit Review: Review requests for credits to ensure they follow proper policies and procedures
  • Journal Entry: Complete monthly journal entries
  • Report Preparation: Prepare selected reports and summary information to support corporate goals
  • Account Creation: Assist in the creation of new accounts
  • Statement Delivery: Prepare and send customer statements
  • Transaction Processing: Process customer credits, customer debit memos, manual invoices, and other transactions in AR
  • Invoice Communication: Process the daily invoicing batch and communicate invoices to customers
  • Invoice Matching: Match customer transactions in the accounts receivable system to clear invoices that have been satisfied
  • Team Oversight: Oversee a small team of Accounts Receivable Team Members, ensuring efficiency, productivity, and solving problems
Relevant Information
What Does An AR Manager Do?
What Does An AR Specialist Do?