About This Role
The Credit Manager coordinates, oversees, and manages accounts receivable and collection duties. This role involves approving or declining credit lines, conducting credit investigations, and ensuring proper credit approval procedures to limit losses while growing the store's accounts receivable. The manager also ensures that customers with delinquent accounts are contacted and proper collection procedures are followed.
Responsibilities
- Supervise, direct, and lead assigned staff, processing employee concerns and problems, directing work, disciplining, and providing general guidance to attain efficient office and credit operations
- Manage and oversee the activities and operations of the accounts receivable and collection areas
- Review and evaluate applications; investigate and verify financial status and reputation of prospective customers applying for credit
- Prepare documents to substantiate findings; recommend rejection or approval of credit applications; establish credit limitations on customer’s account
- Contact customers by telephone and/or text to determine reason for overdue payment, reviewing terms of sales, service, or credit contract with customer in an attempt to gain payment
- Mail form letters, texts, and/or late charge notices to customers to encourage payment of delinquent accounts
- Travel to customers’ homes to collect on late payments
- Assist with repossessions of merchandise as necessary
- Ensure payments are posted to customer’s account
- Ensure all correspondence and attempted correspondence with customers concerning accounts is properly documented
- Review and analyze collection reports to ascertain status of collections and balances outstanding and to evaluate effectiveness of current collection policies and procedures
- Review delinquent account records to determine which customers must be contacted for collection of overdue accounts
- Organize collection workload according to degree and amount of delinquency
- Determine which accounts to delegate to assigned staff for collection
- Prepare paperwork prior to legal action to be initiated against severely late-paying customers
- Submit delinquent accounts to attorney or outside agency for collection with prior approval of the Store Manager
- Ensure customer files are stored in a fireproof cabinet and maintained in alphabetical order, filed based on the current status of the account (Active, Paid Out, Charge-Off, Repo, and Bankrupt)
- Ensure customer file cabinets are located in an office or other area not accessible to the public
- Ensure customer files remain in the office area when used in credit approval and customer service capacities, and are never handled, used, or stored on the sales floor areas
