Senior Accounts Receivables Specialist

Summary:

The AR Team Lead / Senior AR Specialist performs the full scope of the AR Specialist role while also providing team leadership, handling escalated accounts, and owning AR reporting and analysis. This role is the senior authority within Client Services on payment policy decisions and serves as the primary liaison between the AR team, Finance, Client Services, and Sales. The ideal candidate is an experienced AR professional who leads by example, brings analytical depth to the role, and can manage both the operational and people dimensions of a growing team.

Essential Duties:

Team Leadership & Development

• Oversee daily AR team operations; assign priorities, manage workload distribution, and ensure the collections cadence is executed consistently across all accounts.
• Coach and develop AR Specialists through regular feedback, performance reviews, and hands-on guidance in collections best practices and client communication.
• Serve as the first point of escalation for team members on policy questions, difficult client situations, and account decisions.

Collections & Aging Management

• Execute the full collections outreach cycle for escalated accounts while overseeing the teams outreach activity across all accounts.
• Conduct and oversee daily monitoring of the AR aging report; identify and act on accounts approaching or exceeding 30, 60, and 90+ day thresholds.
• Maintain and manage the prioritized collections queue based on risk, aging, client category, and payment history.

Retainer Compliance & Account Readiness

• Oversee retainer tracking by product type and engagement; ensure the team is monitoring and following up on retainer compliance proactively.
• Authorize product releases upon confirmed retainer receipt and clearance.
• Communicate retainer status and compliance updates to Client Services; escalate non-compliance situations requiring senior involvement.

Account Hold & Release Management (Past-Due Balances)

• Authorize all product release holds for accounts exceeding 90 days past due; communicate hold decisions to clients, Client Services, and Sales.
• Coordinate with Finance to confirm aging accuracy and validate that no unapplied payments exist before activating or releasing a hold.
• Approve hold releases upon verified payment confirmation and notify all relevant parties.

Scheduling Clearance & Financial Compliance

• Review and authorize all scheduling clearance requests; identify clients with outstanding balances subject to scheduling restrictions.
• Communicate scheduling holds to clients, Client Services, and Sales; approve scheduling once payment or leadership approval is confirmed.

Statements, Disputes & Adjustments

• Oversee the preparation and distribution of client account statements; step in for complex or sensitive accounts as needed.
• Lead billing dispute resolution; review AR Specialist findings and make final determinations in coordination with Client Services, Sales, and Finance.
• Approve credit memo and adjustment requests within the authorized threshold; submit to Finance for processing with full documentation.

Client Communication & Relationship Management

• Serve as the senior AR point of contact for escalated accounts, Platinum clients, and clients requiring senior-level engagement.
• Maintain professional, firm, and solution-oriented communication while balancing collection goals with relationship preservation.
• Oversee payment plan agreements; approve plans within the authorized threshold and escalate non-compliance to Leadership.

Reporting, Analytics & Documentation

• Prepare and present weekly, monthly, and quarterly AR reports to Client Services Leadership and the CFO, including aging summaries, DSO trends, collection forecasts, hold status, and write-off recommendations.
• Own the monthly AR KPI Scorecard and lead the semi-annual full portfolio client category review.
• Maintain documentation standards across the team; ensure all account activity, client communications, and hold/release decisions are accurately recorded.

Finance Coordination

• Serve as the primary liaison between the AR team and Finance for payment confirmation, aging reconciliation, credit processing, and write-off execution.
• Establish and maintain the payment confirmation protocol; coordinate on month-end processes and ensure Finance response SLAs are being met.

Process Improvement

• Identify process improvements across the AR lifecycle and recommend changes to workflows, communication standards, and documentation practices.
• Contribute to the development and revision of AR policies and SOPs in coordination with the Chief of Staff.

Key Metrics Owned

• Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) aggregate and by client category
• Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI)
• Reduction in 90+ day balances
• Bad debt as a percentage of revenue
• Number of meaningful collection contacts per week
• Dispute resolution cycle time
• Promise-to-pay kept rate
• Retainer compliance rate (target: 100%)
• Scheduling clearance turnaround time
• Team performance against individual AR Specialist KPIs

Requisite Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in Business Administration, Communications, Finance, or a related field.
• 57+ years of experience in collections, accounts receivable, or client account management.
• 2+ years of supervisory or team lead experience.
• Strong negotiation and conflict resolution skills; proven ability to manage difficult conversations with empathy and firmness.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational, analytical, and time-management skills.
• Experience managing AR aging and working within billing or financial systems.
• Professional demeanor with the ability to balance revenue protection and relationship preservation across a diverse client portfolio.
• Proven ability to lead a team while remaining hands-on with escalated accounts and high-priority decisions.

Work Schedule:

• 5 days/40-hour minimum, with some after-hours as needed.
• Monday Friday | 8:30am 5:30pm
• Overtime may be required for strategic initiatives, leadership meetings, or peak case volume periods.

Work Environment:

Physician Life Care Planning, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Confidentiality:

All Employees must comply with all Federal HIPAA laws and regulations. Confidentiality Agreements will be signed and upheld as part of employment.