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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Invoicing Officer

💰 $ - $

FinanceAccountingBillingAccounts Receivable

🎯 Role Definition

The Invoicing Officer is responsible for end-to-end invoice lifecycle management to ensure accurate, timely billing and optimal cash flow. This role owns invoice creation, validation, distribution, accounts receivable coordination, dispute management, and reconciliation across ERP and billing systems while ensuring tax and regulatory compliance (GST/VAT/e-invoicing). The ideal candidate balances strong technical skills in invoicing and ERP tools with customer-facing credit control experience and attention to detail to minimize errors and aging.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Accounts Payable Clerk or Accounts Receivable Clerk
  • Billing Assistant or Junior Accountant
  • Customer Billing or Customer Service Representative with billing responsibilities

Advancement To:

  • Senior Invoicing Officer / Senior AR Specialist
  • Accounts Receivable Team Lead / Supervisor
  • Billing Manager / Credit Control Manager
  • Finance Analyst / Revenue Accountant

Lateral Moves:

  • Revenue Operations Specialist
  • Order-to-Cash (O2C) Analyst
  • Collections Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage the end-to-end invoicing cycle: prepare, validate and issue invoices to customers across multiple channels (electronic invoicing, EDI, portal upload, email and postal) and ensure invoices match contracts, purchase orders and delivery documentation.
  • Perform detailed invoice validation including price, quantity, discounts, taxation (GST/VAT), account coding and billing terms to ensure 100% compliance with internal finance policies and external regulatory requirements.
  • Process and post invoices in the ERP/billing system (e.g., SAP FI-AR, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics) accurately and within daily/weekly targets to maintain billing timeliness KPIs.
  • Execute regular accounts receivable reconciliations between the general ledger, sub-ledgers, bank statements and customer accounts, identify discrepancies and follow up for timely resolution.
  • Apply customer payments and perform cash application across multiple payment methods (wire transfers, checks, credit card, direct debit), ensuring proper allocation and clearing of unapplied cash.
  • Manage credit notes, debit notes and invoice adjustments, obtaining approvals and ensuring correct posting and customer communication to maintain audit trails.
  • Investigate and resolve invoice disputes and discrepancies quickly, collaborating with sales, logistics, procurement and customer service to root-cause issues and propose corrective actions.
  • Maintain AR aging analysis and follow collections procedures; proactively notify collections team or management for high-risk accounts and overdue invoices to reduce Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).
  • Coordinate with sales and contracts teams to ensure customer master data, pricing, billing cycles and terms are accurate and updated in the system before invoicing.
  • Execute periodic billing runs for recurring invoices and service-based billing, ensuring schedules and volume thresholds are adhered to and exceptions are logged and corrected.
  • Create and maintain clear, client-facing invoice documentation and remittance advice; support customer queries and provide supporting backup quickly and professionally.
  • Prepare monthly, quarterly and ad-hoc billing reports and KPIs (invoice accuracy rate, billing cycle time, dispute rate, DSO) for Finance and Management review.
  • Ensure tax and regulatory compliance: prepare and validate VAT/GST calculations, maintain supporting documentation for audits and assist with electronic tax reporting and e-invoicing submissions where required.
  • Support external and internal audits by providing complete invoice histories, reconciliations and controls documentation; implement audit recommendations to strengthen controls.
  • Monitor and maintain invoicing templates, price lists, billing codes and master data hygiene to prevent recurring billing errors and reduce exception volumes.
  • Participate in system implementations, ERP upgrades, and integrations (e.g., CRM to ERP, payment gateways) to optimize invoicing workflows and automation opportunities.
  • Implement and follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) for invoice issuance, dispute handling, credit note processing and cash application to ensure consistency and compliance.
  • Liaise with banking partners and payment processors to resolve transaction failures, reconcile fees, and maintain accurate remittance information.
  • Train and mentor junior invoicing and AR staff on best practices, system use, and compliance requirements to improve team efficiency and reduce errors.
  • Manage sensitive customer financial information with confidentiality and ensure that data privacy standards (e.g., GDPR where applicable) are upheld in all billing communications.
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives: identify recurring root causes of billing errors, propose process redesigns, automation scripts, or system configuration changes to increase invoice accuracy and throughput.
  • Coordinate with procurement and vendor teams for supplier invoicing exceptions when credit memos or expense pass-throughs affect customer billing.
  • Handle one-off and complex billing cases such as intercompany billing, project-based milestone billing, and multi-currency invoicing, ensuring correct tax treatment and currency conversions.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc billing and revenue analyses to help Finance forecast cash flow and revenue recognition timing.
  • Assist in the preparation of month-end and quarter-end close activities related to accounts receivable and deferred revenue schedules.
  • Contribute to the organization's billing policy updates, documentation, and rollout of billing changes to cross-functional stakeholders.
  • Collaborate with IT and process improvement teams to implement automation (RPA), e-invoicing platforms and API-based integrations to streamline invoice distribution and reduce manual work.
  • Provide subject-matter expertise for customer onboarding activities that require billing configuration and pricing setup.
  • Participate in cross-functional projects to enhance customer experience related to invoicing and payments (e.g., customer billing portals).
  • Monitor industry best practices and regulatory changes (e.g., e-invoice mandates) and recommend adjustments to maintain compliance and efficiency.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Strong knowledge of accounts receivable and invoice lifecycle management, including invoice generation, adjustments, credits and collections.
  • Hands-on experience with ERP and billing systems such as SAP (FI-AR), Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365, QuickBooks, or similar.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH, pivot tables, conditional formatting) for reconciliations and reporting.
  • Familiarity with e-invoicing standards, EDI, payment gateways, and payment reconciliation tools.
  • Solid understanding of VAT/GST, sales tax rules, and experience preparing tax-compliant invoices and reporting.
  • Experience with cash application processes, bank reconciliations and handling multi-currency transactions.
  • Ability to use ticketing/CRM systems to log and resolve customer invoice queries (e.g., Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud).
  • Basic knowledge of accounting principles and journal entries related to AR, revenue recognition, and suspense accounts.
  • Experience with billing automation tools, RPA bots, or scripting to accelerate repetitive invoicing tasks is a plus.
  • Strong data entry accuracy and experience maintaining master data (customer accounts, billing codes, pricing tables).

Soft Skills

  • Detail-oriented with strong numerical accuracy and a bias for error-free delivery.
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to engage professionally with customers and internal stakeholders.
  • Strong problem-solving and investigative skills to trace invoice discrepancies and disputable charges.
  • Time management and organisational skills to manage recurring billing cycles and peak month-end workloads.
  • Customer-service orientation with the ability to de-escalate disputes and maintain positive client relationships.
  • Team player who collaborates across sales, logistics, tax and IT to resolve billing complexities.
  • High degree of integrity and confidentiality when handling financial and customer data.
  • Adaptability and willingness to work in fast-paced environments with changing processes and systems.
  • Analytical mindset to interpret AR metrics and propose process improvements.
  • Ability to train, mentor and share knowledge with junior staff and new hires.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

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

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or Commerce. Professional accounting certification (e.g., AAT, ACCA, CPA) is an advantage.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Business Administration
  • Commerce
  • Economics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2 to 5 years in invoicing, accounts receivable, or billing roles for mid-level positions.
  • 0–2 years for junior/invoice clerk roles; 5+ years for senior/invoicing officer or team lead roles.

Preferred:

  • Proven experience using major ERPs (SAP FI-AR, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics) and billing platforms.
  • Experience in industry-specific billing (telecom, utilities, software/SaaS, logistics) or high-volume transaction environments.
  • Track record of reducing invoice disputes, improving DSO, and implementing process improvements or automation.
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