AR & Collections Manager

What's the Opportunity

The AR & Collections Manager owns the Company's end-to-end accounts receivable and collections function, including the full collections lifecycle, cash receipts, payment method optimization, unapplied payment resolution, new customer onboarding, and DSO management. Operating in a high-volume SaaS billing environment with rapid customer growth, this role is responsible for building a high-performing collections team, designing and driving achievement of collection goals, and implementing processes that scale. The AR & Collections Manager reports to the VP Accounting and partners closely with the Accounting Manager – Billing & Revenue, Sales, Revenue Operations, and Customer Success.

Collections & Accounts Receivable

• Own and manage the complete AR collections lifecycle across all customer accounts from invoice delivery through payment collection, dispute resolution, and escalation.

• Design, implement, and continuously refine a structured collections cadence: automated dunning sequences, manual outreach protocols, escalation triggers, and credit hold thresholds.

• Design and monitor individual and team collection goals including DSO targets, aging reduction milestones, collection rate benchmarks, and activity metrics and hold the team accountable to them on a weekly and monthly basis.

• Drive measurable and sustained reduction in Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) through disciplined process, data-driven prioritization, and proactive account management.

• Monitor AR aging daily and weekly; identify high-risk, overdue, and at-risk accounts and take prompt action.

• Develop and enforce credit policy, payment terms, credit hold procedures, and write-off authorization thresholds in collaboration with VP Accounting.

• Manage customer disputes and billing discrepancies end-to-end, partnering with the Accounting Manager – Billing & Revenue to resolve root causes quickly.

• Build and maintain strong customer relationships that support timely payment without damaging commercial relationships.

• Partner with Sales and Customer Success on at-risk accounts, renewal timing, and escalation of chronic late payers.

Payment Methods, Cash Receipts & ACH Migration

• Lead the strategic initiative to migrate customers from check payments to ACH/EFT, reducing manual processing costs, float, and deposit risk. Set migration targets and report progress monthly.

• Develop and execute a customer outreach and enrollment campaign for ACH adoption, in partnership with Sales, Customer Success, and the billing team.

• Oversee all cash receipt processing ACH, wire, check, and credit card ensuring accurate, same-day or next-day recording in NetSuite.

• Own the resolution of unapplied and unidentified payments; research, match, and clear open items within defined SLA.

• Monitor and reduce the unapplied cash balance on a weekly basis, escalating aged items appropriately.

• Partner with the Accounting Manager – Billing & Revenue on cash application accuracy and timing, ensuring the AR subledger reflects real-time collection status.

• Reconcile the AR subledger to the general ledger at month-end; investigate and resolve variances.

New Customer Onboarding & Credit

• Own the AR onboarding workflow for all new customers: credit review, payment terms assignment, payment method enrollment, and billing account setup.

• Establish a credit review process appropriate for a fast-growing SaaS environment, including criteria for standard vs. non-standard payment terms.

• Ensure new customer records are complete and accurate in NetSuite and Salesforce before the first invoice is issued.

• Partner with Sales to set payment expectations during the contract stage, and with Customer Success to resolve early-stage billing and payment questions.

• Enroll new customers in ACH/EFT payment at onboarding wherever possible, establishing electronic payment as the default.

AR Inbox & Customer Communication

• Maintain and triage the AR communications inbox; ensure all customer inquiries, remittance advice, disputes, and payment confirmations are handled promptly and accurately.

• Extract and act on critical information from customer correspondence purchase orders, updated billing contacts, payment portals, and approval workflows.

• Maintain accurate, current customer billing and collections contact records in NetSuite and Salesforce.

• Manage customer payment portals (e.g., Coupa, Ariba, or similar) for applicable accounts, ensuring invoices are submitted and approved efficiently.

Reporting & Analytics

• Produce and present weekly AR flash reports and monthly AR aging analyses to VP Accounting and senior leadership.

• Track, analyze, and report DSO, collection effectiveness index (CEI), aging bucket trends, bad debt exposure, and payment method mix.

• Monitor the ACH migration rate and report on adoption progress, barriers, and next steps monthly.

• Provide data-driven insights on payment behavior patterns, customer risk concentration, and collection efficiency to support leadership decision-making.

• Support month-end and quarter-end close: bad debt reserve analysis, AR aging certification, and subledger sign-off.

• Build and maintain AR dashboards in NetSuite or connected BI tools to enable real-time visibility for the team and stakeholders.

Internal Controls & Process Improvement

• Design and enforce internal controls over collections, cash receipts, payment processing, and AR onboarding appropriate for a high-volume, fast-growing SaaS environment.

• Build and maintain comprehensive standard operating procedures for all AR and collections workflows.

• Identify and lead automation initiatives dunning automation, ACH enrollment workflows, cash application automation to scale operations without proportional headcount growth.

• Evaluate and recommend AR technology improvements, including NetSuite AR module enhancements, payment processing integrations, and collections software.

• Support internal and external audits with AR reconciliations, aging documentation, and policy evidence.