What Does an Accounts Receivable Manager Do?
Unpaid invoices are money a business has earned but cannot spend yet. Accounts receivable managers turn them into cash for companies, hospitals and universities. They run billing and collections, approve payment plans and write-offs, supervise the cashiers who take payments at the counter, by mail and by card, and chase the accounts that fall furthest behind.
Also known as: Accounts Receivable Cashiering Manager
Accounts Receivable Manager Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of an accounts receivable manager include:
- Oversee billing, cash application and collections so receipts post to the right customer accounts.
- Review the aging report weekly and set collection priorities for accounts past due.
- Approve credit memos, write-offs and payment plans within the limits set by policy.
- Supervise cashiering staff who take in-person, mail and card payments, and check daily balancing.
- Maintain PCI card-security standards for payment terminals, online portals and stored card data.
- Estimate the allowance for doubtful accounts each quarter with the controller.
- Refer seriously overdue accounts to collection agencies and track what those agencies recover.
- Reconcile the receivables subledger to the general ledger at month-end and explain any gaps.
- Negotiate settlements with customers who dispute invoices, working from contracts and delivery records.
- Report days sales outstanding and collection results to finance leadership every month.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as an accounts receivable manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Credit and collections policy
- Cash handling controls and daily balancing
- PCI DSS basics for card payments
- ERP receivables modules such as Oracle, SAP or Workday
- Excel aging analysis and cash forecasting
- Firm, fair negotiation with slow payers
- Leading cashiers and collections staff
- Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or business
Education and Training
Entry to receivables management is open to people from billing, credit or cashiering backgrounds, as employers are interested in candidates who have collected real money. Entry without a bachelor's degree might be possible at a smaller firm, but graduates in accounting or finance will have the stronger case over other applicants. For financial managers as a whole, the BLS norm is a bachelor's degree plus five years or more of related experience.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: varies widely for this role, and BLS does not publish pay for it separately. In the wider BLS group it belongs to (Financial Managers), the middle half of earners made $125,490 to $219,980 a year, and the median was $166,570.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Financial Managers.
According to BLS, growth for financial managers, the wider group that takes in receivables managers, is projected at about 10 percent for the decade ending in 2035. Roughly 65,600 openings a year are expected, BLS says. Prospects look steady given that every organization selling on credit needs someone to turn invoices into cash.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Financial managers.