Accounts Receivable Manager

Description

Vortex is the leader in Doors/Security Products, Storefront Glass/Glazing, Access Controls and Material Handling Equipment for Commercial, Industrial and Retail Facilities. These products and services are in high demand for all private and public business sectors from Fortune 500 companies to small and emerging businesses. 

Due to our continued expansion and growth, we now have an opportunity for a skilled Accounts Receivable Manager.

Duties and Responsibilities  

The Accounts Receivable Manager is a critical operational and leadership role within our Finance & Accounting department, responsible for overseeing the company’s receivables function—including cash application, collections, credit risk management, and dispute resolution. This position serves as the central point of accountability for managing customer aging, optimizing Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), and driving working capital improvement across the organization.

We recently transitioned to Certinia, a modular cloud-based ERP built on the Salesforce platform. The ideal candidate will leverage this system as a foundation for process improvement, SOP development, and automation—bringing both the operational discipline and the strategic mindset to evolve our AR function in a fast-paced, field-service environment. This role requires a leader who can balance customer relationship sensitivity with rigorous credit risk management, while partnering closely with Sales, Finance, and Customer Success teams.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, develop, and retain a team of AR professionals; cultivate a culture of accountability, accuracy, and continuous improvement across cash application, collections, and credit functions.

• Provide ongoing coaching and mentorship to direct reports, including staff responsible for cash application, collections, billing, and credit review.

• Set clear performance expectations, delegate workload effectively, and hold team members accountable for meeting deadlines and quality standards.

• Monitor team capacity and productivity; proactively identify bottlenecks and redistribute work as needed to maintain service levels.

• Identify training needs and coordinate skills development opportunities, particularly around Certinia and evolving AR workflows.

Cash Application & Collections

• Oversee the end-to-end cash application process, ensuring timely and accurate posting of customer payments across all payment methods (check, ACH, wire, credit card).

• Direct the collections function, managing customer aging and establishing escalation protocols for past-due accounts to minimize bad debt exposure.

• Monitor and report on the Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI) and other key collection metrics; hold the team accountable for measurable improvement over time.

• Lead escalations with large or strategic customers, balancing relationship sensitivity with firm adherence to payment terms and credit policy.

• Partner with Customer Success and Sales to resolve payment disputes promptly, ensuring customer experience is preserved while protecting the company’s financial position.

Credit Risk & Policy Management

• Establish and maintain credit policies, credit limits, and approval thresholds across the customer base; periodically review and update policies in response to business conditions and risk appetite.

• Evaluate new customer credit applications and conduct ongoing credit reviews for existing accounts, using financial data, trade references, and credit bureau reporting.

• Proactively identify customers with elevated risk profiles and coordinate with Sales and Finance leadership on appropriate exposure management strategies.

• Ensure adherence to credit policy across all customer-facing teams; serve as the internal authority on credit decisions and escalations.

Billing & Invoicing

• Oversee the accurate and timely generation of customer invoices in accordance with contract terms, service delivery milestones, and billing schedules.

• Ensure invoice quality and completeness to minimize disputes and delay; partner with operations and field service teams to resolve billing discrepancies at the source.

• Monitor unbilled revenue and deferred billing items; coordinate with GL accounting to ensure proper revenue recognition and cut-off.

• Drive continuous improvement in billing accuracy and cycle time, with a focus on reducing days-to-invoice and downstream dispute volume.

Dispute Resolution

• Serve as the escalation point for billing disputes, short payments, and customer deductions; establish clear workflows and SLAs for dispute identification, documentation, and resolution.

• Partner cross-functionally with operations, sales, and customer success to investigate and resolve root causes of recurring disputes.

• Track dispute trends and present findings to Finance leadership; drive process changes that reduce dispute frequency and improve resolution cycle times.

Working Capital & DSO Management

• Own the company’s DSO metric and establish targets in alignment with Finance leadership; drive ongoing improvement through collections effectiveness, dispute resolution speed, and billing timeliness.

• Monitor customer aging reports daily and weekly; ensure that past-due balances are escalated and actioned in accordance with collections policy.

• Partner with the FP&A and Treasury functions on cash flow forecasting, providing accurate receivables input on collection timing and expected cash receipts.

• Track and report on bad debt exposure and write-off activity; maintain reserves in accordance with company policy and GAAP requirements.

Cross-Functional Communication & Collaboration

• Serve as the primary AR liaison to Sales, Customer Success, Finance, and Operations—ensuring clear communication on customer payment status, credit holds, and dispute resolution.

• Partner with GL accounting on month-end close activities, including AR subledger reconciliations, bad debt reserve adjustments, and deferred revenue entries.

• Collaborate with Sales leadership on customer onboarding credit reviews, payment term negotiations, and escalation of high-risk accounts.

• Prepare and present AR performance metrics and operational updates to the Assistant Controller, Controller, and Finance leadership on a regular cadence.

Systems & Process Improvement

• Serve as a key AR user and internal subject matter expert for Certinia; partner with IT and system administrators on configuration, workflow setup, and issue resolution.

• Lead the development, documentation, and enforcement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) across all AR functions, ensuring consistency and compliance as the team scales.

• Continuously evaluate AR workflows, identify inefficiencies, and champion improvements—with a near-term roadmap toward greater automation in cash application, collections outreach, and billing.

• Drive adoption of automation tools and technology to reduce manual touchpoints, increase throughput, and improve accuracy across the receivables function.

• Maintain organized, audit-ready documentation for all AR transactions, customer files, and reconciliation support.

Controls, Compliance & Reporting

• Ensure AR processes adhere to company internal controls, credit policies, and GAAP requirements.

• Oversee the accurate and timely reporting of key AR metrics, including DSO, aging, CEI, bad debt reserve, and cash forecasting accuracy.

• Support internal and external audits by providing AR documentation, subledger reconciliations, and customer account support as requested.

• Monitor and enforce customer payment terms, credit limits, and segregation of duties within the AR workflow.

• Perform other duties as assigned by the Assistant Controller, Controller, or senior Finance leadership.

Requirements

Experience

• 5–7 years of progressive accounts receivable experience, with a minimum of 2 years in a supervisory or lead capacity.

• Demonstrated experience managing high-volume AR operations across a large, multi-location customer base.

• Hands-on experience with credit risk assessment, collections management, and dispute resolution workflows.

• Experience with month-end close support, AR subledger reconciliations, and bad debt reserve analysis.

• Experience leading SOP development and process documentation.

• Background in construction, field services, or a multi-location service business is a strong plus.

• Experience with AR automation tools, lockbox processing, or cash application platforms is a plus.

Technical Skills & Competencies

• Intermediate-level accounting experience with a focus on accounts receivable processes, credit management, and revenue recognition principles.

• Experience with more traditional, fully integrated ERP suites (Sage, NetSuite, SAP), with exposure to modular, platform-based ERPs designed for flexibility and extensibility (Certinia, Odoo).

• Comfort navigating ERP systems and quickly adapting to new technology—particularly important given our recent Certinia implementation.

• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, aging analysis, data reconciliation); experience with reporting tools such as Power BI is a plus.

• Solid understanding of cash application methodologies, credit bureau reporting, and collections best practices.

• Familiarity with key AR metrics: DSO, aging buckets, CEI, bad debt reserve, and cash forecasting accuracy.

Leadership & Interpersonal Skills

• Proven ability to lead and develop a team; comfortable setting expectations, managing performance, and navigating difficult conversations with professionalism.

• Exceptionally organized and detail-oriented—able to maintain accuracy and structure across a high-volume, fast-paced workload.

• Clear and proactive communicator—able to translate AR operations into plain language for cross-functional partners across Sales, Operations, and Customer Success.

• Adept at balancing customer relationship sensitivity with firm adherence to credit policy and collections timelines.

• Process-minded and improvement-oriented; brings a systems-thinking approach and a bias toward clarity, automation, and scalable workflows.

• Thrives in environments of change; embraces new tools and processes with curiosity rather than resistance.

• Collaborative and people-first in approach—recognizes that a high-functioning AR team is built on trust, clear expectations, and shared purpose.

Key Performance Metrics

The Accounts Receivable Manager will be evaluated on, and held accountable for, the following key metrics:

• Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) – target and trend improvement over time

• Customer Aging – percentage of AR current vs. past due, by aging bucket

• Bad Debt & Write-offs – write-off volume as a percentage of revenue; reserve accuracy

• Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI) – collections performance relative to total collectible AR

• Cash Forecasting Accuracy – variance between forecasted and actual cash receipts from AR

Physical Demands & Work Environment

This role is primarily performed in an office setting. The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodation may be provided for individuals with disabilities.

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

• Ability to occasionally lift and carry up to 15 lbs. (files, binders, office supplies).

• Clear verbal and written communication required on a regular basis.

Education

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field required.

• Equivalent combination of education and hands-on AR experience will be considered.

Work Environment:

• Full-time, Monday through Friday – in office in Irvine, CA.
• This is not a remote position
• May occasionally require extended hours during month-end or project deadlines