Manager - Accounts Receivable (AR) Collections Call Centre

1. Job Purpose

To lead and manage the centralized AR Collections Call Centre, ensuring timely collection of

outstanding receivables, reduction in overdue balances, improvement in collection efficiency,

and optimization of working capital. The role will be responsible for establishing a high-

performance collections operation through structured calling strategies, customer relationship

management, dispute resolution, digital automation, and data-driven performance monitoring.

The position will drive collection targets, strengthen internal controls, improve customer

experience, and ensure effective coordination between Finance, Sales, Operations, and

customers to minimize overdue receivables and bad-debt exposure.

2. Key Responsibilities

A. AR Collections Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and implement a comprehensive collections strategy.

• Lead the centralized AR Collections Call Centre, managing team leaders, collection

executives, and support teams.

• Establish collection targets based on customer segments, ageing buckets, business

units, regions.

• Develop structured collection strategies for current, overdue, high-risk, and long-

outstanding receivables.

• Drive proactive follow-ups to improve on-time collections and reduce overdue

receivables.

• Establish standard operating procedures (SOPs), escalation matrices, and collection

governance frameworks.

B. Collection Operations & Recovery

• Ensure timely follow-up with customers through outbound calls, emails, payment

reminders, and other approved communication channels.

• Monitor outstanding receivables and drive collections across ageing buckets.

• Ensure regular follow-up on committed payment dates and escalate broken payment

commitments.

• Develop recovery plans for high-value, long-pending, and high-risk customer

accounts.

• Coordinate with Sales and business teams to resolve collection barriers and accelerate

cash realization.

• Monitor collection effectiveness and ensure accountability for collection targets at

individual and team levels.

• Identify potential bad debts and recommend appropriate escalation, provisioning, or

recovery actions in coordination with Finance and Credit teams.

C. Customer Account Management & Dispute Resolution

• Ensure timely resolution of customer queries and disputes relating to invoices, credit

notes, deductions, short payments, and payment allocation.

• Coordinate with Billing, Sales, Operations, Tax, and Finance teams to resolve

invoice-related issues.

• Maintain accurate records of customer interactions, collection commitments, disputes,

and follow-up actions in the designated system.

• Establish a structured mechanism to resolve disputes within defined turnaround times.

• Improve customer communication while maintaining professional and compliant

collection practices.

D. Performance Management & MIS

• Define and monitor KPIs for collection executives, team leaders, and the overall call

centre.

• Publish daily, weekly, and monthly collection performance dashboards for senior

management.

• Track actual collections against targets, overdue movement, collection efficiency,

promise-to-pay adherence, and broken commitments.

• Monitor collection productivity, call volumes, contact rates, right-party contact rates,

and conversion of commitments into actual receipts.

• Conduct periodic performance reviews and implement corrective action plans for

underperforming teams.

• Provide ageing analysis, collection forecasts, risk assessments, and cash-flow

projections to Finance leadership.

E. Process Improvement & Automation

• Drive automation of collection activities, including automated payment reminders,

customer communication, follow-up workflows, and escalation alerts.

• Implement data-driven customer prioritization using outstanding value, ageing,

payment behaviour, and risk profiles.

• Improve productivity through standardized scripts, calling strategies, portfolio

allocation, and workforce optimization.

• Leverage ERP, CRM, dialer, workflow, and reporting tools to improve collection

visibility and operational efficiency.

• Identify process gaps and implement continuous improvement initiatives to reduce

manual intervention and operating costs.

• Establish effective integration between AR, billing, bank receipts, cash application,

and customer account reconciliation processes.

F. People & Workforce Management

• Recruit, develop, coach, and manage collection team leaders and executives.

• Establish productivity benchmarks, performance scorecards, incentive structures, and

accountability mechanisms.

• Conduct regular call-quality reviews, coaching sessions, and training on collection

techniques and customer handling.

• Optimize manpower deployment, shift planning, portfolio allocation, and call centre

capacity.

• Develop succession plans and build a high-performance, target-oriented collections

culture.

3. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The role will be measured against the following key performance indicators:

• Collection Achievement: Actual collections against monthly and quarterly targets.

• Overdue Reduction: Reduction in overdue receivables and long-outstanding

balances.

• DSO Improvement: Reduction in Days Sales Outstanding, where applicable to the

business model.

• Ageing Improvement: Reduction in balances outstanding beyond 30, 60, and 90

days.

• Dispute Resolution TAT: Average time taken to resolve collection-related disputes.

• Forecast Accuracy: Accuracy of collection forecasts and expected receipt dates.

• Quality & Compliance: Call-quality scores, process compliance, and audit

observations.

• Automation & Productivity: Improvement in productivity, reduction in manual

follow-ups, and cost per collection.

4. Qualification & Experience

• MBA Finance / M.Com / B.Com or an equivalent qualification.

• Approximately 8-10 years of relevant experience in Accounts Receivable,

Collections, Credit Control, or Finance Shared Services.

• At least 5 years of experience leading large collection teams and centralized

collections operation.

• Experience managing high-volume B2B collections.

• Proven track record of improving collection performance, reducing overdue

receivables.

• Experience in setting up or transforming a centralized collections call centre is

preferred.

5. Technical & Functional Skills

• Strong knowledge of Accounts Receivable, credit and collections, ageing analysis.

• Hands-on experience with ERP systems such as SAP and CRM platforms preferred.

• Proficiency in Excel, MIS reporting, dashboards, and data analysis tools such as

Power BI.

• Understanding of automated dialers, call-centre analytics, customer segmentation, and

workflow automation.

• Strong analytical, negotiation, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.

• Excellent communication, stakeholder-management, and team-leadership skills.

• Ability to manage large teams, deliver measurable results, and drive continuous

improvement.

6. Desired Leadership Attributes

• Strong ownership and accountability for collection results.

• Results-oriented approach.

• Ability to lead large, target-driven teams in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong customer negotiation and conflict-resolution skills.

• Data-driven decision-making and a continuous-improvement mindset.

• Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive organizational change.