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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Cash Application Specialist

💰 $ - $

AccountingFinanceAccounts ReceivableTreasury

🎯 Role Definition

A Cash Application Specialist is an accounts receivable professional responsible for accurately applying cash receipts to customer accounts, resolving unapplied or unidentified payments, and maintaining the integrity of the receivables ledger. This role requires expertise in payment processing (checks, ACH, EFT, wire, credit card), lockbox and remittance processing, ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite), strong reconciliation and research skills, and clear cross-functional communication with collections, billing, treasury, and customer service teams. The ideal candidate combines attention to detail with process improvement mindset and experience with high-volume, automated cash posting environments.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Accounts Receivable Clerk / AR Clerk
  • Billing Specialist / Billing Coordinator
  • Accounting Clerk / Accounting Assistant

Advancement To:

  • Cash Application Team Lead / Supervisor
  • Accounts Receivable Manager
  • Treasury Analyst / Specialist
  • Revenue Accounting Analyst

Lateral Moves:

  • Billing Analyst
  • Revenue Accountant
  • Credit & Collections Specialist
  • Customer Service – Billing Liaison

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Accurately post daily cash receipts (checks, ACH, EFT, wires, credit card payments) to customer accounts in the ERP system, ensuring remittances and payment details are applied to the correct invoices and aging buckets.
  • Process and reconcile lockbox deposits, bank files, and third‑party payment portals (including check scanning and electronic remittance ingestion), validating totals against bank statements and collection reports.
  • Investigate and resolve unapplied and unidentified payments by researching remittance advice, customer statements, invoices, EDI 820s/auto-pay files, and communicating with customers, sales, and collections to obtain missing information.
  • Reconcile daily cash postings to bank deposits and the general ledger; prepare and maintain detailed reconciliation workpapers and adjust entries or journal vouchers per accounting policy.
  • Manage short pays, deductions, and payment discrepancies: analyze root cause, document findings, route to disputes or credit memos, and follow up to ensure timely resolution.
  • Execute automated cash application processes, maintain and tune matching rules, thresholds, and exception workflows within matching engines or AR automation tools (e.g., BlackLine, AutoRek, Kofax, HighRadius).
  • Handle high-volume payment processing with accuracy and SLA adherence; prioritize and triage remittance exceptions and escalations to minimize unapplied cash aging.
  • Collaborate with Collections and Credit teams to provide timely payment application insights; escalate customer disputes and unidentified cash to ensure collections and cash forecasting accuracy.
  • Prepare and deliver daily/weekly/month-end cash application reports and KPIs (unapplied cash aging, exception volume, posting accuracy, processing cycle time) to AR leadership and treasury.
  • Support month-end and quarter-end close activities related to AR; assist with accruals, cut‑offs, and analysis required for accurate financial reporting and audit readiness.
  • Maintain a complete audit trail for cash transactions, supporting external and internal audits by providing backup documentation, process descriptions, and reconciliations.
  • Review and validate incoming lockbox/transmission files for format and completeness; coordinate with banks, remittance providers, and IT to resolve feed issues and incorrect file mappings.
  • Apply payments for global or multi-currency customers, perform currency revaluations when required, and ensure correct translation and posting in the general ledger.
  • Execute payment clearing and allocation for advanced payments, deposits, prepayments, and unapplied credits; ensure correct accounting treatment and documentation.
  • Maintain customer master data related to payment terms, remit-to addresses, and banking information to prevent misapplication; coordinate updates with Billing and ERP administrators.
  • Provide day-to-day coaching and training to junior cash application staff; create and update standard operating procedures and knowledge base articles.
  • Participate in process improvement initiatives and automation projects to increase straight-through processing rates and reduce manual intervention.
  • Liaise with Treasury to reconcile bank exceptions, returned items, NSF checks, and wire rejections, and support cash forecasting by providing reliable application activity.
  • Execute periodic health checks on AR automation tools and matching logic; propose and implement enhancements to increase match rates and reduce unapplied cash backlog.
  • Handle third-party payment reconciliations (marketplaces, payment vendors, lockbox providers), ensuring fees and remittance variances are correctly accounted for.
  • Investigate and resolve intercompany payment applications and internal transfers, coordinating with intercompany accounting and treasury to eliminate AR/AR variances.
  • Monitor and enforce internal controls and SOX compliance related to cash handling, segregation of duties, and access to AR systems and bank feeds.
  • Serve as a point of contact for customer inquiries about payment status, posting dates, and remittance discrepancies; provide high-quality customer service to expedite resolution.
  • Support special projects such as ERP migrations, chart of accounts changes, payment platform conversions, and global harmonization of cash application processes.

Secondary Functions

  • Build and maintain dashboards and visualizations to communicate AR health metrics and automation performance to stakeholders.
  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to identify trends in unapplied cash and root causes of remittance issues.
  • Contribute to the organization's AR automation and digital transformation roadmap by testing new payment formats, rule sets, and robotics process automation (RPA) solutions.
  • Collaborate with IT and business units to translate cash application requirements into technical specifications for integrations, EDI, APIs, and bank file mappings.
  • Participate in sprint planning, UAT, and agile ceremonies for AR system enhancements and automation projects to ensure business requirements are met.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Cash application and AR posting expertise across payments: checks, ACH, EFT, wire, credit card, lockbox, and third‑party processors.
  • Strong experience with ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle EBS, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar; ability to navigate AR modules and post journal entries.
  • Proficiency with electronic remittance formats (EFT/ACH formats, EDI 820, CSV/XML remittance imports) and mapping for automated matching.
  • Hands-on experience with AR automation and matching tools (e.g., HighRadius, BlackLine, AutoRek, Kofax) and configuring matching rules to increase straight-through processing.
  • Bank reconciliation knowledge and familiarity with bank file processing, lockbox reconciliation, and treasury interfaces.
  • Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, conditional formatting) for reconciliation and reporting.
  • Experience with CRM or billing systems integration and analyzing remittance data for invoice-level application.
  • Understanding of GAAP, SOX controls, segregation of duties, and audit requirements related to cash handling and AR.
  • Ability to work with large datasets; basic SQL or data query skills preferred for ad-hoc research and data extraction.
  • Familiarity with multi-currency accounting, FX implications for cash postings, and converting foreign payments in ERP.
  • Experience generating and maintaining detailed reconciliation workpapers and month-end close support.
  • Knowledge of payment exception management and dispute cycles, including short pay analysis and deduction management.

Soft Skills

  • Strong analytical and investigative skills with a methodical approach to resolving unapplied cash and payment discrepancies.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication — able to interact with customers, banks, sales, collections, and IT to drive resolution.
  • High attention to detail and accuracy in high-volume, deadline-driven environments.
  • Customer-service orientation with the ability to manage escalations professionally.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to balance daily processing with projects and month-end responsibilities.
  • Collaborative mindset; able to work cross-functionally and influence peers without direct authority.
  • Adaptability and continuous improvement focus; comfortable learning new tools and improving processes.
  • Ethical judgement and integrity when handling financial information and sensitive customer data.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent, with relevant AR/cash handling experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's degree or Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Business Administration
  • Economics
  • Information Systems (with accounting focus)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–5 years of direct cash application or accounts receivable experience.

Preferred: 3+ years of progressive experience in cash application, lockbox processing, or AR automation within a mid to large enterprise environment. Prior exposure to ERP implementations, bank integrations, and automation tools is highly desirable.

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