Organisation

Greencastle Solutions SA Ltd

Function

Group Finance

Location

Rosebank, Johannesburg

Reporting line

Group Finance Manager

Contract and hours

Full Time: 9-6 UK time

Role purpose

Own the day-to-day bookkeeping, reconciliation and financial administration for the Group’s supported living services, children’s homes and other Group entities as required. The postholder will maintain accurate, auditable ledgers, ensure charges are correctly apportioned and invoiced, and work with Group Finance to resolve aged items, without diverting clinical, operational or facilities colleagues from their primary responsibilities.

Key responsibilities

1 General bookkeeping

·       Liaise with Accounts Payable on supplier invoices, credit notes and expense claims, ensuring correct nominal coding, cost centre, VAT treatment and approval evidence; prepare supplier payment runs for authorisation.

·       Liaise with Accounts Receivable on sales invoicing, receipt allocation and credit control of overdue balances.

·       Post and reconcile all assigned bank, credit card, Pleo and petty cash accounts at least weekly, clearing reconciling items promptly.

·       Reconcile supplier statements, purchase and sales ledger control accounts and intercompany balances across Group entities.

·       Prepare month-end journals, accruals, prepayments and balance sheet reconciliations for review by Group Finance.

·       Prepare VAT workings where applicable, support payroll and pension reconciliations, and assist with year-end and audit requests.

·       Maintain complete digital records of invoices, receipts and supporting documents in line with retention policy.

2 Service and package-level records and reconciliations

·       Maintain a ledger for each supported living package, children’s home and other assigned service, separating individual funds, provider-funded expenditure, property costs, invoices, payments and balances.

·       Reconcile transactions, receipts and petty cash against agreed funding arrangements; identify duplicates, missing evidence and unusual movements.

·       Track money received and spent against each individual ’s agreed financial plan and approved variations; provide clear supporting schedules for queries and audits.

·       Maintain an exception log, allocate owners and follow unresolved discrepancies through to closure.

3 Apportionments and invoicing

·       Calculate utilities, rent, shared household costs and other permitted recharges using the agreed method and supporting documentation for the relevant person or property.

·       Prepare accurate monthly invoicing schedules for Accounts Receivable, with the correct payer, period, description, allocation and evidence.

·       Check draft invoices against agreed plans, authorisations and previously issued invoices before submission to the authorised finance approver.

·       Reconcile issued invoices to receipts, credit notes and debtor balances; maintain an aged-items tracker and flag overdue or disputed sums.

4 Financial control and stakeholder coordination

·       Request missing receipts, approvals, occupancy information or property bills from the relevant operational or facilities contact; document follow-up and completion.

·       Give the Group Finance Manager and service managers regular visibility of outstanding evidence, unusual expenditure, balances and action owners.

·       Apply the consistent coding, cut-off and invoice/payment matching procedures agreed with Group Finance.

Accountability and authority

·       The postholder may prepare and reconcile financial information but must not authorise spending, independently move service-user money, change funding plans, approve invoices for payment or write off debt without delegated authority.

·       Operational managers remain responsible for care, service delivery and confirming permitted expenditure; Group Finance retains approval and statutory accounting responsibility.

·       Escalate any concern about client funds, unsupported charges, fraud, financial abuse or material discrepancies immediately under the organisation’s safeguarding and finance procedures.

Person specification

Essential

·       Proven bookkeeping or accounts experience, including multi-account reconciliations, invoicing, aged debt and expense verification.

·       Strong Excel skills and confidence with accounting software and digital receipt/card platforms.

·       High accuracy, a strong audit-trail mindset and the ability to resolve, not just record, discrepancies.

·       Clear written English, reliable follow-through and ability to work UK business hours with remote colleagues.

·       Sound judgement on confidentiality, financial controls and approved data-handling arrangements.

Desirable

·       Accounting or bookkeeping qualification, or equivalent practical experience.

·       Experience of client monies, social care (supported living or children’s residential care), multi-site property costs or ring-fenced funds.

·       Experience with Pleo or similar spend management tools and accounting packages.

Expected outputs and service standards

·       A current ledger and reconciliation status for every assigned service, with exceptions and evidence gaps identified.

·       A weekly exception and debtor summary for Group Finance and service managers, with actions, owners and due dates.

·       A monthly invoicing pack by an agreed finance cut-off, with reconciled charges, apportionment workings and clear approvals.

·       Documented handover and trained cover so that reconciliations and invoice deadlines do not stop during absence.

·       An agreed initial backlog clearance plan, prioritising historic un-invoiced or unreconciled items and outstanding service-user-fund reconciliations.

 Hours conflict: 9-6 in Johannesburg vs. 'UK business hours as agreed' in the person spec. SAST is 1-2 hours ahead of UK, so confirm which time zone the 9-6 refers to.

 Client-money control: in children's homes this would cover pocket money and savings. Confirm the bookkeeper only records and reconciles, and that the home manager holds and authorises the funds.

 Not a bookkeeper task: allocating owners to operational/facilities staff is a management responsibility. Suggest 'record the responsible owner agreed with the Group Finance Manager'.

 Supported-living specific: rent/utility apportionment to individuals generally doesn't apply in children's homes (provider-run, funded via LA placement fees). Consider adding placement-fee invoicing and children's pocket money/savings records instead.

 Occupancy information is operational data. Fine to request it for invoicing, but the bookkeeper shouldn't be maintaining occupancy records.

 Clear approvals': the bookkeeper can't obtain or give approvals (see Accountability). Suggest 'evidence of required approvals'.

 Arranging and training cover is the line manager's responsibility, not the bookkeeper's. Suggest the postholder 'maintain up-to-date procedure notes to support cover'.

 Agreeing the backlog plan and its priorities should sit with Group Finance. The bookkeeper should work the plan, not own it.