Invoice and Debtors Clerk / Order Management Administrator

SUMMARY:
Invoice and Debtors Clerk / Order Management Administrator

POSITION INFO:
Qualification

• Matric / Senior Certificate

• Valid driver license
• Experience in finance and administration
• Accurate order processing
• Computer literate
• Complete and compliant documentation.
• Controlled credit exposure.
• Timely collection of outstanding debts.
• Effective customer account management.
• Achievement of company debtor and cash collection targets.
• Overdue debt within approved company targets.
• Review customer notes prior to invoicing to ensure customer-specific requirements are met.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date customer notes for all account-specific requirements and special instructions.
• Ensure all customer credit applications are fully completed and supported by the required documentation.
• Ensure approved credit terms and limits are accurately maintained on Pastel.
• Monitor customer accounts for credit limit notifications and promptly escalate exceptions to Finance.
• Ensure customer approval letters and original credit application documentation are retained and filed appropriately.
• Ensure no invoices are processed where manufacturing transactions remain incomplete.
• Ensure all tax invoices contain the correct customer purchase order and delivery note references.
• Ensure all credit notes are supported by appropriate documentation and include a valid reason for issue.
• Ensure all customer invoice, credit note, and debit note batches are updated prior to month-end processing.
• Ensure all customer payments, credit notes, and transactions are accurately allocated on Pastel.
• Ensure all unmatched open items are reviewed and resolved before monthly statements are issued.
• Ensure customer statements are distributed between the 1st and 5th working day of each month unless an approved exception applies.
• Ensure customer statements accurately reflect the outstanding balance due by each customer.
• Identify and resolve account discrepancies prior to statement distribution.
• Ensure customer master data, pricing, and credit terms remain accurate and up to date.

• SALES ORDER PROCESSING
• Receive purchase orders (POs) from customers.
• Create sales orders on the system with the correct pricing, terms, and customer details.
• Verify customer pricing, approved credit terms, and account status prior to order processing.
• Communicate sales orders internally to initiate production.
• PRODUCTION & DELIVERY COORDINATION
• Liaise with internal production teams to ensure orders are processed timeously.
• Communicate expected delivery dates to customers.
• Monitor order progress to ensure alignment with customer requirements.
• DELIVERY DOCUMENTATION CONTROL
• Monitor and ensure the accuracy and completeness of delivery notes generated via the delivery note portal (delivery notes are not created manually by this role).
• Perform a weekly reconciliation between the delivery note portal and Pastel to identify gaps where deliveries have not yet been invoiced.
• Investigate and follow up on all exceptions identified during the reconciliation process to ensure no deliveries are missed for invoicing.
• Monitor open sales orders and follow up when delivery dates have been exceeded to ensure timely fulfilment.
• Follow up internally with Production and Logistics, or externally with customers, to confirm expected delivery or collection dates when delays occur.
• Upon delivery or customer collection:
• Scan and file signed delivery notes.
• Capture and store Certificates of Analysis (COAs).
• INVOICING & BILLING ADMINISTRATION
• Review customer notes prior to invoicing to ensure all customer-specific requirements, instructions, pricing agreements, documentation requirements, and billing conditions have been met.
• Maintain and update customer notes whenever customer requirements, processes, pricing structures, delivery instructions, or account information change.
• Process manufacturing transactions for finished goods on Pastel (JHB branch) to ensure inventory and production records are accurately updated prior to invoicing.
• Investigate and resolve Pastel system warnings and exceptions, including incomplete manufacturing transactions, selling prices below cost price, customer credit limit notifications, and other transaction discrepancies prior to invoice processing.
• Create tax invoices and ensure the customer purchase order number and delivery note reference are captured in the prescribed format:
  PO12345 | 5686JHB
• Attach signed delivery notes and COAs to tax invoices.
• Issue complete invoice packs to customers.
• Ensure all supporting documentation is accurate, complete, and correctly filed.
• Save delivery notes and COAs on the portal and rename files to include the relevant tax invoice reference.
• Process customer credit notes and ensure all supporting documentation is saved on the server.
• Ensure every credit note contains a clearly documented reason for the return, cancellation, pricing adjustment, or correction.
• CREDIT CONTROL & CUSTOMER ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
• Review credit applications for completeness and ensure all supporting documentation is received.
• Submit credit applications to the credit bureau for assessment and follow up on outstanding information.
• Draft customer credit approval letters and communicate approved credit facilities, terms, and conditions to customers.
• Arrange courier collection of original signed credit application documentation and ensure all original documents are received and filed.
• Obtain and maintain original signed credit application documentation.
• Create and maintain customer accounts on Pastel, ensuring all account information, credit terms, pricing structures, and customer details are accurate and complete.
• Review customer credit limits and process credit limit increase requests for management review and approval.
• Monitor customer account exposure and credit limit notifications on Pastel.
• Notify customers when approved credit limits have been reached or exceeded and communicate any account restrictions or requirements as directed by Finance.
• Escalate credit limit exceptions and account exposure concerns to Finance for review and decision-making.
• Communicate approved credit decisions, account updates, and credit limit amendments to customers.
• Update customer master data, including contact details, addresses, VAT information, and billing requirements.
• DEBTOR MANAGEMENT & COLLECTIONS
• Monitor customer accounts for outstanding balances.
• Follow up on overdue invoices and outstanding amounts.
• Maintain ongoing communication with customers regarding payment status.
• Escalate long-outstanding accounts where necessary.
• Maintain debtor age analysis and prioritise collection activities based on account risk and overdue balances.
• Resolve customer queries relating to:
• Deliveries
• Invoicing
• Missing or incorrect documentation
• COAs
• SADC documentation
• Liaise internally to resolve discrepancies efficiently.
• Coordinate with Sales, Production, Logistics, and Quality departments to resolve customer queries and complaints.
• MONTH-END STATEMENTS & REPORTING
• Ensure all users have updated and posted their customer invoice, credit note, and debit note batches prior to month-end processing.
• Follow up on outstanding batches and ensure all customer transactions are processed before statements are generated.
• Match and allocate all customer payments, credit notes, and transactions against outstanding invoices on Pastel.
• Review and clear all unmatched open items on Pastel prior to statement generation.
• Prepare and distribute monthly customer statements.
• Ensure all invoices, credit notes, payments, and allocations are correctly reflected on customer accounts.
• Email customer statements between the 1st and 5th working day of each month, unless an approved exception has been communicated.
• Follow up on statement-related queries and discrepancies.
• Investigate and resolve account variances identified during statement preparation
• TRANSPORT & RECOVERY RECONCILIATION
• Perform monthly transport reconciliations.
• Ensure all transport costs are accurately recovered and billed to customers