ACCOUNTING SPECIALIST

ROLE SUMMARY

The Accounting Specialist owns the day-to-day financial operations that keep Paid Ads Academy running clean. This is the person who makes sure the books stay current, bills get paid on time, refunds get processed inside our service window, and every dollar that moves through this company has documentation standing behind it.

This is a hands-on execution role, not an advisory one. You will live in QuickBooks, Bill.com, Stripe, and GoHighLevel, and you will own the recurring work that makes accurate reporting possible: transaction coding, accounts payable, accounts receivable, receipt compliance, and monthly reconciliations. The Senior Accounting Manager retains approval authority, technical judgment, and tax matters. Your job is to make sure the execution layer never falls behind, because when it does, everything built on top of it gets less reliable.

If you are the kind of person who finds an unmatched receipt personally offensive and follows up until it shows up, you will do well here.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Bookkeeping & General Ledger

• Transaction Coding: Code and categorize daily transactions in QuickBooks, keeping the ledger current on a weekly cadence.

• Reconciliations: Perform monthly bank and credit card reconciliations across all accounts.

• Ledger Maintenance: Maintain the chart of accounts and vendor records, flagging anything that needs a decision.

• Close Support: Prepare supporting schedules and documentation for month-end close.

2. Accounts Payable

• Bill Intake: Own bill intake, coding, and vendor setup in Bill.com.

• Pay Runs: Build and stage pay runs for approval by the Senior Accounting Manager.

• Vendor Management: Manage vendor communication, payment inquiries, and W-9 collection.

• Subscription Oversight: Monitor recurring charges and subscriptions for accuracy and duplication.

3. Accounts Receivable & Refunds

• Invoicing: Generate and send invoices, and track outstanding balances through to collection.

• Failed Payments: Monitor failed payments and manage the dunning sequence in GoHighLevel.

• Refund Processing: Process customer refunds in Stripe, GoHighLevel, and Kajabi within the two-business-day service window.

• Documentation: Maintain accurate refund and chargeback documentation for every transaction.

4. Receipt & Documentation Compliance

• Receipt Matching: Match receipts to every card transaction and reimbursement request.

• Reimbursement Cycle: Run the monthly expense reimbursement cycle end to end.

• Follow-Up: Chase down missing documentation from team members and follow through until it is received.

• Escalation: Escalate repeat non-compliance rather than absorbing it.

5. Reporting

• Recurring Reports: Produce recurring financial reports on a published reporting calendar.

• Report Requests: Fulfill standard report requests from department leads inside a defined service window.

• Routing: Route non-standard or analytical requests to the Senior Accounting Manager instead of building them ad hoc.

• Templates: Maintain reporting templates so output stays consistent month over month.

6. Process & Controls

• Approval Thresholds: Follow documented approval thresholds and never process outside them.

• Written Procedures: Keep written procedures current as tools and workflows change.

• Early Surfacing: Surface gaps, errors, and inconsistencies early, in writing.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Performance is measured quarterly. Primary KPIs are the outcomes that matter most. Secondary KPIs support them.

• Ledger Accuracy: All transactions coded appropriately within five business days of posting

• Month-End Close Support: All reconciliations and schedules delivered by business day 5

• Refund Turnaround: 100% processed within 2 business days of approval

• Receipt Compliance: 90% of credit card transactions documented by month-end

• AP Accuracy: Under 2% of bills requiring correction after staging

• Recurring Report Delivery: 100% on the published reporting calendar

• Standard Report Requests: Fulfilled within 3 business days

• AR Aging: No invoice over 30 days without documented follow-up

• Documentation of Procedures: All owned processes have a current written procedure

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Within your first 12 months, you:

• Own the Execution Layer: The execution layer of Finance runs reliably regardless of what else is happening in the business.

• Run Coding Clean: Own weekly transaction coding with minimal correction on review.

• Run AP Independently: Run the full accounts payable cycle independently through the approval gate.

• Deliver Close on Time: Deliver reconciliations and supporting schedules by business day 5 without prompting.

• Own Receipt Compliance: Run the receipt compliance process end to end, including follow-up and escalation.

•Hold the Reporting Calendar: The recurring reporting calendar runs without intervention from the Senior Accounting Manager.

• Shift the Review: The Senior Accounting Manager's review time has shifted from correcting work to spot-checking it.

• Improve the Work: Have identified and proposed at least two to four improvements to how manual financial work gets done.

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience: 3+ years of full-cycle bookkeeping or staff accounting experience, with demonstrated ownership of accounts payable and accounts receivable in a live environment.

• Technical Knowledge: Working knowledge of accrual accounting and month-end close procedures.

• Systems: Advanced proficiency in QuickBooks Online and Excel, including pivot tables and lookups. Familiarity with Bill.com, Stripe, GoHighLevel, or Kajabi is a plus.

• Written Communication: Strong written communication, particularly for documentation follow-up with people who are not in Finance.

• Business Context: Experience in a digital, e-commerce, or online education business is preferred, as is experience supporting multiple entities or a multistate business.

• Procedures: Experience building or maintaining written accounting procedures is preferred.

• Education: A bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field is preferred. A CPA license is not required for this role.

WHO THRIVES IN THIS ROLE

• Genuinely Bothered by Loose Ends: An unreconciled account or a missing receipt sits with you until it is resolved. You do not need someone to remind you.

• Comfortable Following Up on People: A meaningful part of this role is asking team members for documentation they have not sent, and then asking again. You can do that persistently without it becoming personal or apologetic.

• Reliable Under a Repeating Cadence: The same work happens every week and every month. You find that steadying rather than dull, and the quality does not slip in month four.

• Clear in Writing: You explain what you found, what you need, and what you recommend without the reader having to ask follow-up questions.

• Honest About Mistakes, Immediately: When something is wrong, you raise it the same day. You understand that a small error surfaced early is a nonissue and a small error surfaced late is a problem.

• Content to Own Execution Well: This role is measured on accuracy, timeliness, and follow-through, not on strategy. If that is the work you want to be great at, this is a strong seat.