Accounting & Finance Manager

Accounting & Finance Manager

Job Title: Accounting & Finance Manager

Location: Pune, India (On-site)

Type: Full-Time

Experience: 8-10 years

Reports To: CEO & CFO

About Dispatch Network

Dispatch Network is building the most efficient last-mile network, built with proprietary AI models.

We operate across food delivery, quick commerce, grocery, ecommerce, and pharma — serving both B2B clients and B2C consumers.

We're scaling rapidly, and with growth comes operational and financial complexity. This role demands a finance professional who is obsessed with systems and diligent execution — someone who thrives in building financial processes from scratch and maintaining rigor at scale.

The Opportunity

As Accounts & Finance Manager, you will be shaping our financial systems and operations. You'll own the financial backbone of Dispatch Network — from the moment money enters (client receivables) to how it flows out (partner payables), and everything in between. Your role bridges finance strategy, operational execution, and compliance.

This is not a transactional accounting role. You will build financial and cashflow strategies, create models and plans, support the accounting and finance team, and actively participate in negotiations with clients, vendors, and service providers. You'll identify cost management opportunities, assess financial risks, and develop mitigation plans daily.

Primary Responsibilities Financial Operations & Cash Flow Management

- Own accounts receivable (AR): invoice tracking, collections, reconciliation, and DSO optimization across food delivery, quick commerce, grocery, ecommerce, and pharma clients. - Own accounts payable (AP): manage timely and accurate payouts to delivery partners, vendors, and service providers while maintaining strong vendor relationships. - Manage consolidated cash flow forecasting and planning to ensure liquidity across all business channels. - Track and optimize working capital cycles—critical in a multi-channel logistics business. - Conduct daily/weekly bank reconciliations and treasury management.

Accounting & Compliance

- Manage complete accounting operations: journal entries, ledger maintenance, bank reconciliations, and financial statement preparation (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow). - Ensure GST compliance and timely GST returns filing - Handle TDS compliance and timely TDS return filing (TDS certificates, monthly returns). - Manage statutory compliance: PT (Professional Tax), PF (Provident Fund), ESIC (Employee State Insurance Code), and other regulatory filings. - Build and document financial SOPs and accounting systems to ensure consistency and auditability. - Prepare compliant financial statements and supporting schedules for internal use and external stakeholders. - Support internal and external audits, identifying and resolving compliance gaps proactively.

Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)

- Create and maintain financial models for budgeting, revenue forecasting, and cost projections across channels. - Develop monthly, quarterly, and annual investor update MIS: KPIs, financial dashboards, and commentary. - Support cost control initiatives and spend optimization across operations. - Analyze unit economics by channel and customer segment; provide actionable insights to operations and product teams. - Track and forecast key financial metrics: contribution margin, and blended unit economics.

Payroll & HR Finance

- Manage complete payroll operations: salary processing, statutory deductions, and timely disbursement. - Ensure accurate PF, ESIC, and TDS calculations and compliance. - Prepare payroll registers and reconciliation.

Systems & Process Design

- Design and build accounting workflows that align financial processes with operations, product, and logistics workflows. - Implement tools and systems for financial tracking, reporting, and controls (ERP/accounting software). - Create dashboards and reports for finance, operations, and executive teams. - Document all financial processes, controls, and SOP documentation for scalability.

Stakeholder Management

- Collaborate with Operations and Product teams to align financial planning with business initiatives. - Lead negotiations with clients on payment terms and contracts. - Manage vendor negotiations on payment terms and cost structures. - Communicate financial performance and insights to founders, investors, and board members.

Who you are

Mindset & Approach

- Systems-obsessed: You believe good systems are the foundation of scaling businesses. You naturally think in processes, controls, and documentation. - Diligent & meticulous: You are obsessed with accuracy and detail. Errors in finance compound, and you understand this deeply. You triple-check reconciliations and chase down discrepancies. - Entrepreneurial: You don't just execute tasks—you think strategically about financial management. You identify problems proactively and propose solutions. You take ownership. - Biased toward action: You thrive in early-stage environments where financial processes don't exist yet. You build them. You don't wait for perfect data; you work with what's available, document assumptions, and iterate. - Numbers-driven: You communicate with data. You can spot anomalies in financial data and dig into root causes.

Experience & Skills

- 8-10 years of relevant experience in finance, accounting, or financial operations roles. - Experience in logistics, 3PL, last-mile delivery, or hyperlocal services (highly preferred) — you understand the operational complexity and cash flow dynamics of this sector. - Proficiency in MS Excel at an advanced level (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, data analysis, dashboarding). - Strong grasp of Indian compliance requirements: GST, TDS, PT, PF, ESIC, and statutory filings. You've filed these returns yourself or supervised the filings. - Accounting software experience - Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Finance, Accounting, or related field (or equivalent professional qualification like CA in progress or completed).

Demonstrated Competencies

- Excellent analytical skills and ability to synthesize large datasets into actionable insights. - Strong attention to detail combined with the ability to see the bigger financial picture. - Excellent communication skills: ability to translate financial concepts for non-finance stakeholders (operations, product, founders). - Stakeholder management: ability to negotiate and build relationships with clients, vendors, and team members. - Problem-solving mindset: you ask "why" and dig into root causes when something doesn't add up. - Comfort with ambiguity: in early-stage companies, financial processes evolve. You adapt and document as you go.

Why This Role Matters

In a logistics business operating across multiple channels (food, quick commerce, grocery, ecommerce, pharma), financial complexity emerges quickly:

- Multi-entity cash flows: Money flows in from diverse clients, flows out to thousands of delivery partners and vendors. You ensure zero leakage. - Regulatory complexity: Each channel may have different GST, TDS, or operational requirements. Your compliance discipline protects the company. - Unit economics at scale: As we grow across geographies, the ability to track unit economics by channel, city, and customer segment becomes critical for capital allocation decisions. - Investor relations: Our investors expect rigorous, timely, and transparent financial reporting. You are the custodian of that trust. - Operational efficiency: By collaborating with ops and product teams, you help optimize cost structures and identify profitability levers.

This role is foundational to Dispatch Network's ability to scale efficiently and confidently.

What You Will Get

- Ownership: You will own the entire finance function at a fast-growing logistics tech company. Your systems and processes directly enable growth. - Visibility & impact: You report to the founding team. Your insights directly inform strategic decisions. - Complexity & growth: You'll be exposed to complex financial workflows spanning operations, logistics, technology, and multi-channel business models. - Scalability: As we grow from Pune to multiple cities and channels, your systems and team will scale. You'll build the foundation that supports that growth. - Team & culture: You'll join a high-ownership, fast-moving team obsessed with systems and execution. We value diligence and thoughtfulness. - Learning: You'll work on real, mission-critical financial challenges—cash flow optimization, cost management, risk assessment, and investor relations.

Success Criteria (First 3 Months)

- Week 1: Comprehensive audit of existing financial processes, accounts, and compliance status. Identify gaps and create remediation plan. - Month 1: Build accounting SOPs (AR, AP, payroll, reconciliation). Implement accounting software. - Month 2: Complete compliance audit; - Month 3: Develop financial dashboards and MIS; deliver the first investor update package. Build relationships with clients, vendors, and internal teams. - Ongoing: Maintain 100% compliance and zero audit findings. Deliver accurate, timely monthly financial statements and cash flow forecasts.

Application Guidelines

To apply, please share:

1. Your resume highlighting relevant experience in finance, accounting, and (ideally) last mile logistics, food tech, quick commerce, or other gig economy businesses. 2. A brief note (100–200 words) on: Why does this role excite you? What is your experience with GST/TDS/statutory compliance? Have you built financial processes or systems from scratch? 3. (Optional) A sa...