Sr. Merchandise Payables Associate
Sr. Merchandise Payables Associate
THE COMPANY:
Helzberg is a retail jewelry company that operates over 200 retail stores located in malls and open-air venues across the United States, and a growing e-commerce site. The company employs over 2,000 full and part-time associates in store locations and the Store Support Center. The Store Support Center provides centralized information, products, and services to all the stores, while facilitating company innovation, growth and profitability. The stores are organized by geographic divisions, which are sub-divided into regions and districts.THE DEPARTMENT:
The Finance Department supports the product, people, promotion, place and profit strategies of the company by providing centralized delivery of all financial services. Internally, Finance provides financial services to all divisions of the company. Externally, Finance provides financial information and reporting to the parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, as well as state and federal regulatory agencies. The Finance Department is divided into four areas: (1) General Accounting, which includes financial reporting, fixed assets, financial system integration, cash management, inventory control, merchandise and expense payables, operations audit and travel processing; (2) Planning and Analysis, which includes annual budgeting, market and site analysis, complex business analysis and sales forecasting; (3) Payroll, which includes all payroll and bonus processing and payroll tax reporting; and (4) Consumer Finance, which includes private label credit, bank cards and sales audit. The department also handles all property, casualty and liability insurance programs and serves as the risk management and legal liaison for the company.POSITION SUMMARY:
The Senior Merchandise Payables Associate is the subject matter expert for all vendor billing and transactional activity within Merchandise Accounts Payable. This role ensures timely and accurate payment of merchandise invoices, reconciles and provides reporting to vendors on monthly consignment sales, and works with direct ship vendors to validate receiving and invoicing.The position is focused on research, troubleshooting, and reconciliation. Key responsibilities include resolving billing discrepancies at their root cause, processing weekly vendor payments, reconciling vendor statements, and supporting month-end close through reporting and journal entries.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:
1. Vendor Payments & Three-Way Match- Manage payment of sourced jewelry invoices, ensuring each payment is supported by an accurate three-way match of purchase order, receipt, and invoice.
- Research and resolve match exceptions, such as price, quantity, and receiving discrepancies, partnering with Merchandising, Inventory Control, Stores, and vendors to correct purchase orders, receipts, or invoices.
- Prepare and run weekly payment processing; review payment reporting for accuracy and oversee check and wire runs.
- Monitor aging and open items to ensure vendors are paid accurately and on time.
- Serve as the subject matter expert for vendor billing and transactional activity, including invoices, credits, and returns to vendor (RTVs).
- Investigate complex billing issues, identify root causes of recurring discrepancies, and recommend process improvements or controls to prevent them.
- Act as the go-to contact for Merchandising and vendors on billing, payment, and reconciliation questions, seeing each issue through to resolution.
- Train and serve as a resource for other payables associates on invoice processing, research requests, and vendor statement review.
- Perform regular vendor statement reconciliations to the payables ledger; identify and resolve open invoices, unapplied credits, and duplicate or missing billings.
- Reconcile and report monthly consignment sales to vendors.
- Build effective working relationships with internal partners and external vendors.
- Prepare and record month-end journal entries for merchandise payables, including accruals.
- Run queries and reports to verify month-end invoicing and processing, and confirm all activity between payables systems is complete.
- Prepare month-end close reporting and account analysis.
- Assist with internal and external audit requests and documentation requirements.
- Work with direct ship vendors to validate store receiving and invoicing.
- Support the physical inventory process by answering store calls and researching variances on direct-ship-to-store product.
- Provide backup support to the Inventory Control team as needed.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Senior Merchandise Payables Associate has no direct reports.CROSS-FUNCTIONAL AND EXTERNAL WORK RELATIONSHIPS:
This position partners closely with Merchandising to resolve billing questions and purchase order discrepancies, and with Stores to resolve transaction and RTV discrepancies. Externally, it works directly with jewelry vendors to answer billing inquiries and reconcile payables activity. The role requires a customer-service mindset, a commitment to continuous improvement and teamwork, and sound judgment in escalating issues that affect inventory valuation, vendor payments, or financial reporting.QUALIFICATIONS:
Required- Three to five years of accounts payable and/or account reconciliation experience.
- Experience processing invoices through a three-way match.
- Working knowledge of month-end close activities, including accruals and journal entries.
- Strong research and problem-solving skills, with the ability to resolve complex discrepancies independently.
- Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills for data analysis and reconciliation (e.g., pivot tables, lookups).
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with vendors and internal partners.
- Highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks against deadlines.
- Associate's degree.
- Inventory reconciliation experience.
COMPETENCIES:
- Analytical Thinking
- Concern for Order and Quality
- Customer Service Orientation
- Information Seeking
- Personal Accountability