Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Invoicing Planner
💰 $55,000 - $85,000
🎯 Role Definition
We are seeking an experienced Invoicing Planner to own invoice planning and execution for assigned product lines, regions, or customer segments. You will design and manage recurring invoice schedules, enforce billing controls, reconcile billing to revenue and cash receipts, partner with sales/operations/legal to resolve contract or pricing questions, and drive automation to lower DSO and errors. This role demands an analytical mindset, meticulous attention to detail, ERP expertise, and the ability to coordinate cross-functionally with Sales, Finance, Customer Success, and IT.
Key SEO & LLM keywords: Invoicing Planner, invoice scheduling, billing operations, accounts receivable, billing reconciliation, ERP billing, NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, e-invoicing, ASC 606, revenue recognition, DSO reduction, billing automation.
📈 Career Progression
Typical Career Path
Entry Point From:
- Billing Clerk / Billing Coordinator
- Accounts Receivable Specialist
- Finance Operations Analyst
Advancement To:
- Senior Invoicing Planner / Billing Lead
- Accounts Receivable Manager / Billing Manager
- Revenue Operations Manager / Finance Operations Manager
Lateral Moves:
- Revenue Accounting Analyst
- Order-to-Cash (O2C) Analyst
- ERP / Billing Systems Analyst
Core Responsibilities
Primary Functions
- Own the end-to-end invoice planning and execution calendar: create, validate, and publish recurring and one-off invoices to customers on schedule while ensuring SLA adherence and timely cash application.
- Prepare and issue high-volume customer invoices (manual and automated) in ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle NetSuite, Oracle E-Business Suite, or Microsoft Dynamics, ensuring accuracy for pricing, discounts, taxes and contract terms.
- Reconcile billed amounts to order management, delivery receipts, service logs and revenue schedules to verify completeness and accuracy prior to invoice distribution.
- Investigate and resolve billing discrepancies and disputes by coordinating with Sales, Customer Success, Logistics, and Legal; document root cause and track resolution to reduce recurrence.
- Maintain and update customer master data and billing profiles in the ERP (billing address, tax IDs, billing cycles, payment terms, EDI/e-invoicing endpoints) to prevent invoice failures and rework.
- Manage credit memo, debit memo and adjustments processes: validate requests, obtain approvals, post credits in system, and communicate changes to customers and internal teams.
- Support month-end and quarter-end close cycles by preparing billing cutoffs, posting necessary accruals and reversals, reconciling invoiced revenue to the general ledger, and supplying supporting schedules for revenue accounting.
- Ensure compliance with revenue recognition standards (ASC 606 / IFRS 15) by coordinating with revenue accounting and ensuring invoices are issued in line with contract performance obligations and recognition timelines.
- Monitor Accounts Receivable KPIs such as DSO, aging buckets, dispute backlog, billing accuracy rate and report trends to Finance leadership with actionable recommendations for improvement.
- Lead billing system configuration and testing for pricing changes, contract renewals, new product launches, and system upgrades; author test cases and validate production data.
- Drive continuous improvement and automation initiatives—introduce macros, SQL scripts, RPA (UiPath/Automation Anywhere) or ERP automation to eliminate manual tasks, reduce errors, and accelerate invoice throughput.
- Validate tax and VAT calculations on invoices across jurisdictions and collaborate with tax teams to apply correct tax codes and compliance requirements (e.g., e-invoicing, local statutory requirements).
- Coordinate EDI and electronic invoicing integrations with customers and third-party providers; troubleshoot transmission failures and maintain mapping specifications.
- Produce and maintain billing templates, invoice layouts, and communications to ensure consistent branding and clarity of invoice line items for customers and auditors.
- Prepare and deliver billing analytics and management reporting packages that include forecasted cash receipts, disputed amounts, billing forecasts, and root-cause analysis for executive review.
- Conduct periodic billing audits and SOX control testing to ensure internal controls over billing and revenue are effective; prepare documentation for internal and external auditors.
- Manage collections handoffs: escalate overdue accounts to collections or credit teams when appropriate, prepare supporting documentation, and support negotiation of payment plans and settlements.
- Support contract interpretation for billing implications: review SOWs, subscription terms, service level agreements, and pricing schedules to ensure invoices reflect contractual obligations.
- Collaborate with IT and ERP teams during system implementations or upgrades to provide business requirements, validate billing logic, and perform end-to-end billing testing.
- Train and mentor junior billing and AR staff on invoicing procedures, system usage, troubleshooting steps and quality standards to build team capability and ensure continuity.
- Maintain comprehensive process documentation, runbooks and SOPs for invoicing operations to preserve institutional knowledge and support audits and onboarding.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders (Sales Ops, Finance, Legal, Customer Success) and key external partners (customers, banks, third-party billing providers) to facilitate smooth invoicing operations.
Secondary Functions
- Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis related to billing trends, invoice exceptions and cash forecasting.
- Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap by recommending billing data structures and reporting requirements.
- Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements for billing systems and data warehouses.
- Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering or finance transformation teams to prioritize invoicing enhancements.
- Assist revenue accounting with contract modifications, refunds, and deferred revenue reconciliations as required.
- Provide backup support for accounts receivable activities such as cash application, unapplied payments research and customer statement generation.
- Help implement and maintain e-invoicing initiatives and global billing standardization projects across regions.
Required Skills & Competencies
Hard Skills (Technical)
- Deep experience with ERP billing modules and systems such as SAP (SD/FI), Oracle NetSuite, Oracle EBS, Microsoft Dynamics 365 or similar.
- Strong accounts receivable and billing process knowledge including billing cycles, credit/debit memo handling, write-offs and unapplied cash resolution.
- Practical understanding of revenue recognition frameworks (ASC 606 / IFRS 15) and ability to support compliance through billing controls and documentation.
- Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, complex formulas, data cleansing) and experience building billing spreadsheets and reconciliations.
- SQL skills for querying billing, order and customer data from databases to produce ad-hoc reports and validation checks.
- Familiarity with e-invoicing, EDI standards and experience integrating billing systems with customer portals or third-party billing providers.
- Experience with billing automation tools and RPA platforms (UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism) or scripting for automation (Python, VBA).
- Knowledge of tax/VAT treatment for invoices across multiple jurisdictions and experience applying correct tax codes and supporting documentation.
- Experience using analytics and visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau) to build dashboards for DSO, aging, and billing performance metrics.
- Strong reconciliation and audit skills, including performing SOX control testing and maintaining audit-ready documentation.
- Ability to perform month-end billing close tasks and reconcile invoiced amounts to the GL and revenue subledger.
- Comfortable working with billing rate books, pricing matrices, discount schemes, and complex contract billing logic.
Soft Skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication: able to explain billing issues clearly to finance and non-finance stakeholders and draft professional customer communications.
- Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills; able to influence Sales, Legal and IT to resolve billing-related matters.
- High attention to detail and accuracy with a methodical approach to reconciling large data sets and resolving exceptions.
- Analytical problem-solving skills: identify root causes of billing errors and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
- Time management and prioritization: manage competing deadlines for invoice runs, month-end close and ad-hoc requests.
- Customer service orientation with a diplomatic style when escalating disputes or negotiating invoice adjustments.
- Change management and continuous improvement mindset; comfortable driving process standardization and automation.
- Resilience and adaptability in fast-paced environments with shifting priorities and tight accounting deadlines.
- Leadership and mentoring ability to train junior staff and document best practices for the team.
- Ethical judgment and integrity when handling sensitive financial and customer information.
Education & Experience
Educational Background
Minimum Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field.
Preferred Education:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Accounting/Finance; professional certification (CPA, ACCA, CMA) or certification in ERP/NetSuite is a plus.
Relevant Fields of Study:
- Accounting
- Finance
- Business Administration
- Economics
- Information Systems or Data Analytics (for ERP/automation-heavy roles)
Experience Requirements
Typical Experience Range:
- 3–7 years of progressively responsible experience in billing, invoicing, accounts receivable, or revenue operations.
Preferred:
- 5+ years of direct invoicing/billing experience in a corporate finance or shared services environment, including hands-on ERP billing configuration, revenue recognition exposure, and process automation projects. Experience in SaaS, subscription billing, or complex contract billing environments is highly desirable.