The AR/AP Specialist manages day-to-day accounts receivable and accounts payable activities and supports selected general ledger and month-end close work. A central focus is collecting from big-box retailers, resolving deductions and chargebacks, and keeping customer balances current. The role also processes vendor invoices and payments, researches discrepancies, and maintains accurate, well-supported accounting records in a manufacturing and distribution environment 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage collection activity for assigned customers, prioritizing past-due balances by age, value, and risk; contact customer accounts payable teams and document commitments, disputes, and follow-up.
• Own day-to-day collection follow-up for big-box retail and national accounts, using customer portals and remittance tools to research payment status, short pays, and unapplied cash.
• Research and dispute deductions and chargebacks, including shortages, pricing or promotion claims, compliance fines, freight claims, returns, and other customer disputes. Assemble support such as invoices, purchase orders, proof of delivery, and pricing records, and track cases through resolution.
• Prepare and submit accurate customer invoices in accordance with purchase orders, shipping records, payment terms, and customer-specific requirements; monitor portal submissions and correct rejected invoices.
• Apply cash accurately in the ERP, interpret remittance details, research unidentified receipts, and reconcile invoices, payments, credits, deductions, and customer portal balances.
• Coordinate with sales, customer service, shipping, operations, logistics, and finance to resolve billing and collection issues, escalate material delinquencies, and reduce recurring deductions.

• Review, code, and enter vendor invoices; perform two-way and three-way matching to purchase orders, receipts, and supporting documentation, and obtain required approvals.
• Research invoice, pricing, quantity, receiving, freight, and coding discrepancies; reconcile vendor statements and resolve outstanding invoices, credits, duplicate charges, and payment inquiries.
• Prepare scheduled payments by check, ACH, wire, or other approved methods; maintain accurate vendor records and organized invoice support in accordance with company policies and internal controls.

• Prepare assigned balance-sheet reconciliations and investigate unusual or aged reconciling items.
• Prepare or post assigned recurring and adjusting journal entries, including accruals, prepayments, and reclassifications, with appropriate support and approvals.
• Reconcile the AR and AP subledgers to the general ledger, research differences, and complete assigned schedules and close tasks by established deadlines.
• Assist in daily bank reconciliations.

 Education

 Associate's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field preferred. Equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
 

Experience: Minimum 3-5 years of progressive Accounts Payable and/or Accounts Receivable experience with big box retailers. Proficiency with ERP systems and Microsoft Excel required. Strong understanding of accounting principles, reconciliations, and financial recordkeeping.