Role and industry
Accounts Payable Specialist Recruiters for Hospitality, restaurants and multi-unit franchise
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: Avoid delayed vendor payments and accounting errors in your multi-unit franchise by hiring someone who knows how to reconcile P&L data across all locations.
This is what we do all day: recruit accounting, finance, banking and insurance professionals.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- Controller
- CFO
- VP Finance
- FP&A Director
- Accounting Manager
- Director of Accounting
- Assistant Controller
- Tax Director
- Treasury Manager
- Internal Audit Director
- Senior Accountant
- Financial Analyst
- Head of Financial Reporting
- Commercial Lender
- Chief Credit Officer
- Business Systems Finance Lead
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Accounting, finance, banking and insurance
- We reach people who aren’t on job boards
- Replacement terms on standard searches
01
What does this hire really come down to?
Who reconciles daily unit P&L accuracy for your franchise locations? How do you track food and labor costs against your current budget? Who approves the adjustment when invoice costs shift unit profit reports?
They process invoices and perform three-way matches. They handle vendor statements and manage payment runs on schedule. They must know how to code expenses correctly to maintain consistent accounting.
Ask them how they resolve a missing invoice that blocks a payment run. Ask them how they handle a vendor charging a tax rate that does not match your internal audit rules. Ask them how they manage peak volume times without missing deadlines.
Defining the scope of this role requires clarity on the specific transaction volume and the complexity of the entities involved. Ask every candidate to walk through a recent audit trail for a single vendor reconciliation. You need to see if they can identify the exact point where a variance occurred between the purchase order and the final statement. If they speak only in generalizations about office tasks rather than explaining the mechanics of three-way matching, they lack the granular control required for this desk. You should also demand specific evidence regarding their transition between accounting software platforms. Does their past work involve manual entry into static spreadsheets, or have they managed direct integrations between vendor portals and the general ledger? Ask them to explain the impact of coding errors on profit reports and describe their process for identifying duplicate invoices prior to payment. Ask them to describe the most complex vendor dispute they resolved in the last year. Look for those who describe the resolution process in technical terms, focusing on how they balanced vendor credit tracking with corporate cash flow requirements. If they cannot describe the difference between simple account reconciliation and multi-unit cost allocation, they will struggle with your scale. Test their ability to handle high-pressure reporting windows by asking how they prioritize a batch of invoices when the month-end close is only hours away. If their process relies on ad-hoc methods rather than structured batching, the transition to your high-volume environment will likely fail. You need a person who treats data integrity as the baseline, not an afterthought.
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
We verify they can handle high-volume invoice processing. We check their experience with R365 or M3 to confirm familiarity with your specific software environment.
We audit their ability to perform three-way matching between purchase orders, receiving reports, and vendor invoices. We test their understanding of franchise and royalty accounting requirements.
We confirm they have managed USALI standards for hotel or restaurant financial reporting. We check their history of reconciling vendor statements to prevent double payments or missed credits.
We verify their process for 1099 compliance and vendor setup protocols. We check if they have managed ACH, check, and virtual card payment batches.
We assess their ability to track labor and food cost variables at the unit level. We ask for evidence that they have worked within multi-unit structures that share common cost codes.
We confirm their ability to identify and escalate discrepancies in invoice coding that fall outside of standard operating parameters.
03
Where do we find them?
We look for candidates in other multi-unit restaurant groups or hotel management firms. We recruit those working in accounting departments for franchise holding companies.
They consider a move when they want more ownership over a specific set of P&Ls. They leave when their current role uses outdated manual spreadsheets instead of modern automation tools.
We target people in smaller teams who have outgrown their current volume capacity and seek more standardized processes. They also move if their current industry lacks the specific P&L detail they want to manage.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
- 01Hiring someone who only knows one unit accounting when you manage fifty units.
- 02Ignoring the need for specific software experience in R365 or M3 which delays their start productivity.
- 03Prioritizing general office experience over specific vendor statement reconciliation work.
05
The search in three steps
- 01We identify candidates with direct experience in restaurant or hospitality accounting software.
- 02We screen against your specific unit volume and vendor complexity requirements.
- 03We present qualified candidates for your interview after we verify their technical skills.
06
Which related hiring decisions are worth comparing?
How your Accounts Payable Specialist search runs
How does The Six-Step Search work?
One sequence, from a well-defined seat to a shortlist you can judge.
Search Calibration
We start with a call about the seat, the books, the owners and the people the hire will work with. We learn what the role must fix in the first year and what would make a candidate wrong even if the resume looks right.
You get: A written search brief: scope, must-haves, deal-breakers and the pay range, agreed with you.
Market Mapping
We map the companies and institutions where the right people already work: similar size, similar ownership, similar complexity, in your market and in others.
You get: The target list of companies and institutions we will search, reviewed with you before outreach.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We find direct ways to reach the people on the map. Most are employed and not reading job boards, so reaching them takes real research.
You get: Direct routes to people who are not on job boards, researched for your search.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We call and write to people individually and follow up. Interest varies, so we discuss the actual opportunity rather than promising a particular response.
You get: One-to-one conversations about your actual role, followed up, never a mass email blast.
Live Candidate Qualification
We speak with every candidate before you do. We check scope, systems, reporting lines, compensation expectations, location and why they would move.
You get: Only candidates we have spoken with, checked on scope, systems, pay, location and motive.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You receive a short written brief on each finalist covering what they have done, where they are thin and what they want. Then we help with interviews, references and the offer.
You get: A short written brief on each finalist, plus help with interviews, references, counteroffer risk and the offer.
Questions people ask
What happens if the hire does not work out?
Process high-volume vendor invoices, manage recurring payment cycles, verify expense documentation, and reconcile accounts for multi-unit hospitality franchise operations effectively.
Do I pay before you find someone to track my daily food and labor costs?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
When is money owed for your help finding someone to manage my unit P&L?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
What specific volume of invoices do you require them to manage?
This is an operational role responsible for data accuracy. It reports to the controller or accounting manager and lacks autonomous financial decision authority.
Can you provide contract or temp-to-perm staff?
We handle contract, temp-to-perm, and seasonal support roles upon request with terms defined for the engagement.
How soon will I see a Accounts Payable Specialist shortlist?
It depends on the seat, the location and the pay. We give you an honest read after the calibration call and we do not promise dates we cannot control.
What about counteroffers on a Accounts Payable Specialist hire?
We ask every Accounts Payable Specialist candidate early why they would move and what their employer might do to keep them. Counteroffer risk goes in the written brief before you make an offer.
What is your guarantee?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What don't you do?
We do not post your Accounts Payable Specialist job and forward whoever applies. We do not send stacks of unscreened resumes, and we do not recruit outside accounting, finance, banking and insurance.
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No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
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