Careers at The Saddle Bank

The Bookkeeper will be responsible for the accurate and efficient day-to-day management of The Saddle Bank's bookkeeping and financial administration. This is a hands-on role, ideal for someone who is highly organised, accurate and experienced in managing the accounts of a busy business.

The role requires strong practical bookkeeping experience and excellent working knowledge of Xero. The Bookkeeper will take ownership of our day-to-day accounts including reconciliations, sales and purchase invoices, supplier accounts, Dext, payment reconciliation, credits and general financial administration.

The successful candidate will be expected to take ownership of the accuracy of our bookkeeping, identifying and investigating discrepancies rather than simply processing transactions.

This is not a management position and the successful candidate will not be responsible for making strategic financial, tax or accounting decisions. Our external accountants will continue to provide specialist accounting, tax and statutory support.

This role reports directly to the Directors.

Key Responsibilities

Xero and Account Reconciliation

• Take ownership of the day-to-day maintenance and accuracy of our Xero accounts
• Reconcile all bank accounts accurately and regularly
• Reconcile company credit cards and other financial accounts
• Reconcile payment providers against Xero and our internal systems
• Identify and investigate differences between Xero, bank transactions, payment providers and our internal system
• Ensure transactions are correctly allocated and coded within Xero
• Investigate unreconciled or unusual transactions
• Ensure reconciliation issues are resolved rather than allowed to accumulate
• Maintain clean, accurate and up-to-date accounting records
• Ensure Xero accurately reflects the underlying financial transactions of the business

Sales Invoices and Customer Accounts

• Create and process sales invoices
• Raise invoices through Xero and our internal business system where required
• Ensure invoices are raised accurately and against the correct customer accounts
• Allocate customer payments correctly
• Reconcile customer accounts where required
• Process credit notes and account adjustments
• Support the processing and reconciliation of customer refunds
• Investigate discrepancies between customer orders, invoices and payments
• Ensure customer account balances remain accurate and up to date
• Resolve financial queries relating to customer transactions

Purchase Ledger and Supplier Accounts

• Process supplier invoices and bills accurately
• Ensure supplier invoices are correctly recorded and coded
• Reconcile supplier statements against Xero
• Identify missing invoices, credits and discrepancies
• Maintain accurate supplier account balances
• Investigate differences between supplier statements and our accounting records
• Ensure supplier credits are received and correctly allocated
• Prepare supplier payments for approval by the Directors
• Maintain accurate records of outstanding supplier liabilities
• Liaise with suppliers where required to resolve account discrepancies

Dext and Financial Documentation

• Manage the processing of receipts, invoices and supporting documentation through Dext
• Ensure documentation is correctly matched against transactions
• Ensure supplier invoices and receipts are correctly recorded within the accounting system
• Identify and follow up missing receipts and invoices
• Maintain accurate digital financial records
• Ensure financial documentation is organised and easily accessible
• Ensure our bookkeeping records remain complete and ready for review by our external accountants

DPD Credits and Courier Accounts

• Review DPD charges and identify where credits are due
• Submit DPD credit claims accurately and within required timescales
• Maintain records of outstanding DPD credit claims
• Follow up outstanding credits with DPD
• Ensure agreed credits are actually received
• Reconcile DPD credits received against the original charges
• Identify recurring discrepancies or incorrect courier charges
• Maintain accurate records of courier credits and adjustments

Payment Reconciliation

• Reconcile customer payments against orders and invoices
• Reconcile transactions across relevant payment providers
• Investigate missing, duplicated or incorrectly allocated payments
• Identify differences between payment systems, Xero and our internal system
• Ensure payment processing fees and deductions are correctly recorded
• Ensure refunds are correctly reflected within the relevant accounts
• Investigate and resolve payment discrepancies in a timely manner

Month-End and Accountant Support

• Complete month-end bookkeeping and reconciliation tasks
• Ensure all relevant accounts are reconciled and up to date at month end
• Identify outstanding transactions and discrepancies requiring investigation
• Ensure supplier and customer balances are accurate
• Prepare bookkeeping information required by our external accountants
• Liaise with our external accountants regarding queries or transactions requiring specialist accounting treatment
• Assist with the preparation of information required for VAT returns
• Support year-end preparation by ensuring accounting records are complete and accurate
• Respond to bookkeeping queries raised by our external accountants
• Ensure the underlying accounts are maintained to a standard that allows our accountants to focus on statutory, tax and specialist accounting work

Financial Controls and Accuracy

• Maintain a high standard of accuracy across all bookkeeping activities
• Regularly review accounts for errors, unusual transactions or discrepancies
• Identify areas where financial administration or controls can be improved
• Ensure transactions have appropriate supporting documentation
• Highlight potential financial discrepancies or concerns to the Directors
• Maintain clear processes for recurring bookkeeping activities
• Ensure financial information is handled confidentially and securely
• Take responsibility for correcting bookkeeping errors when identified

What Success Looks Like

• Xero is fully reconciled and consistently kept up to date
• Bank, card and payment accounts reconcile correctly
• Supplier account balances are accurate and supported by reconciled statements
• Customer payments and account balances are accurately recorded
• Sales and purchase invoices are processed correctly and promptly
• Receipts and invoices are correctly processed through Dext
• DPD credits are identified, claimed, followed up and received
• Payment discrepancies are identified and resolved quickly
• Month-end bookkeeping is completed accurately and on time
• Financial records are organised and supported by the correct documentation
• Errors and discrepancies are proactively identified rather than waiting for management or the external accountant to find them
• Our external accountants receive clean, accurate and complete bookkeeping information
• The Directors can have confidence that the underlying financial records of the business are accurate and up to date
• The day-to-day bookkeeping function operates independently without requiring constant management oversight

Required Skills and Experience

Essential Skills

• Strong practical bookkeeping experience
• Strong working knowledge and experience of Xero
• Experience completing bank and account reconciliations
• Experience managing purchase and sales ledgers
• Experience processing sales and purchase invoices
• Experience reconciling supplier statements and accounts
• Good understanding of credit notes, refunds and account adjustments
• Strong numerical ability
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to investigate and resolve financial discrepancies
• Good Excel and general computer skills
• Strong organisational and time management skills
• Ability to manage multiple recurring financial tasks and deadlines
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of the bookkeeping function
• Comfortable learning and working with internal business systems
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to handle confidential financial information appropriately

Personal Qualities

• Extremely organised and methodical
• Naturally detail focused
• High level of accuracy
• Reliable and consistent
• Strong ownership mentality
• Comfortable taking responsibility for their own workload
• Naturally inquisitive when something does not look correct
• Willing to investigate discrepancies rather than simply processing transactions
• Confident enough to question information where appropriate
• Strong problem-solving ability
• Able to prioritise workload effectively
• Positive and solutions focused
• Comfortable working within a busy and fast-moving business
• Able to communicate clearly with colleagues, suppliers and external accountants
• Comfortable working directly with the Directors

Desirable Experience

• Xero certification
• Experience using Dext
• Experience working within an e-commerce or retail business
• Experience working within a high-volume transactional business
• Experience reconciling multiple payment providers
• Experience supporting VAT return preparation
• Experience preparing accounts information for external accountants
• Experience working with bespoke or internal business systems
• Experience dealing with courier or supplier credit claims
• Experience within a growing SME
• Experience within the equestrian industry beneficial but not essential

Role Type

• Part time – 30 hours per week
• Monday to Friday
• Office based at The Saddle Bank HQ, PE7
• Reports directly to Directors
• Salary £21,882–£22,588 per annum
• Equivalent to £31,000–£32,000 full-time salary, based on a 42.5-hour full-time working week

This role will remain open until we find the right candidate. We are committed to hiring the best fit and are not working to a deadline.

To apply, please email your CV and a tailored cover letter to Adi@thesaddlebank.com.

Your cover letter must include
• Why you believe you are a strong fit for this Senior Marketing Executive position
• A clear explanation of your relevant experience across marketing, content creation or campaign management
• One example of a successful marketing campaign, project or piece of content you have delivered and the results it achieved

To confirm you have read this job description in full, please include the word BOOKKEEPER at the very end of your cover letter.

We take accuracy, attention to detail and communication quality seriously. These are essential for success in this role.