What's the difference between an Account Manager and a Customer Success Manager on a UK CV?

In UK SaaS in 2026, the line is mostly commercial ownership. Account Managers own the renewal number, the expansion target, and the commercial relationship. Customer Success Managers own adoption, value realisation and health scores, but typically don't carry an expansion quota. If you're applying for AM roles, your CV needs commercial numbers on the front page (NRR, expansion ARR, renewal value). If you've been doing both roles, lean into the commercial side and use phrases like 'commercial owner of £4m ARR book' rather than 'managed customer relationships'. Hiring managers separate these CVs ruthlessly.

How do I show retention numbers on my Account Manager CV if my company doesn't share them publicly?

Use the numbers you owned, not the company-wide figures. Hiring managers expect AMs to know their book's GRR, NRR and expansion against target — those are role-level metrics, not financial-disclosure ones. Phrase it as: 'Owned £4.2m ARR portfolio of 38 accounts with 117% NRR and 96% GRR in FY24'. You're not disclosing the company's overall retention; you're describing your portfolio's performance. If asked in interview, you can explain methodology. Hiding the numbers because 'the company doesn't publish them' is a red flag — it suggests you don't actually know your portfolio's performance.

Should an Account Manager CV include logos of clients I worked with?

Selectively, yes — but always with the book-size context. Listing 'Lloyds Bank, Vodafone, Sainsbury's' on its own tells me nothing about whether you held the £200k ACV or a £20k ACV slice. The format I prefer is: 'Strategic accounts: Lloyds Bank (£280k ARR), Vodafone (£180k ARR), Sainsbury's (£140k ARR)'. That tells the hiring manager the deal size you're operating at and validates the seniority of the relationships. If your contract restricts naming clients, list the sector and revenue tier instead — 'FTSE 100 retail bank, £280k ARR'.

CV Example · Marketing & Sales · UK 2026

Account Manager CV Example UK

Account management is the role most CVs sell short. After placing AMs into UK SaaS, agencies and professional services for over a decade, I see the same problem: candidates list the accounts they 'managed' but never the gross retention rate, the net revenue retention, or the upsell number. Those three figures are the entire job. UK hiring managers in 2026 are reading account-management CVs like commercial CVs — they want renewal rates, expansion ARR and churn-recovery stories, not a list of clients. If you can't quantify the book of business you held and what it grew or shrank to, the CV reads like a glorified customer-service role and gets priced accordingly.

By Alex · 12-year UK recruiter · Updated April 2026

Example header

Daniel Okafor · Senior Account Manager · 7 years SaaS · Bristol

Personal statement / Professional summary

Account manager with 7 years owning enterprise SaaS portfolios in martech and HR-tech. Currently hold a £4.2m ARR book across 38 customers with 117% net revenue retention and 96% gross retention over the last two years. Closed £680k of expansion ARR in 2024 from existing accounts, plus saved £310k of forecasted churn through proactive multi-thread engagement. Comfortable running QBRs at C-suite level and leading commercial renewal negotiations through procurement. Looking for a Senior or Lead AM role at a Series C SaaS business with a strategic accounts segment.

Bullet point examples

Strong bullets follow the same shape: action verb, specific scope, quantified outcome. Use these as patterns, not as copy-paste templates — the numbers must be your own.

Portfolio retention and growth

Owned £4.2m ARR portfolio of 38 enterprise accounts (£40k-£280k ACV) with 117% NRR and 96% GRR in 2024.
Closed £680k expansion ARR (cross-sell + seat growth + tier upgrades), exceeding £500k target by 36%.
Recovered £310k of forecasted churn through proactive intervention on 7 at-risk accounts; 6 of 7 renewed at flat or higher value.

Renewal and commercial negotiation

Led 24 multi-year renewals with combined TCV of £6.8m; achieved average 11% uplift on renewal across the book.
Negotiated procurement-led renewal with FTSE 250 client (£420k ARR) holding flat pricing despite a 14% price-rise mandate.
Built renewal playbook adopted by team of 9 AMs; team-wide GRR improved 4 percentage points within two quarters.

Customer expansion and exec engagement

Ran quarterly business reviews with 14 strategic accounts; 9 resulted in expansion conversations within 60 days of the QBR.
Built executive sponsor programme pairing C-suite at top-10 accounts with our exec team; account NPS lifted from 31 to 58.
Identified and closed £210k cross-sell opportunity into compliance product line for an existing financial-services account.

Multi-thread account strategy

Built relationship maps for top-15 accounts identifying minimum 5 stakeholders per account; reduced single-point-of-failure risk by ~40%.
Led account planning workshops with sales engineering, customer success and product on top-5 strategic accounts.
Salvaged £180k account post-champion departure via fast onboarding of replacement champion within 6 weeks.

Cross-functional and reporting

Owned monthly portfolio reporting to VP Customer including ARR movement, health scores, expansion pipeline and at-risk accounts.
Partnered with Product on 4 customer advisory boards; 3 of 4 outcomes shipped to roadmap within 6 months.
Mentored 2 junior AMs through promotion to mid-level within 12 months.

Skills section — what to list

Mirror the skills exactly as they appear in target job ads. The ATS reads this section literally — synonyms hurt match scores.

Account portfolio managementNet revenue retention (NRR)Gross retention (GRR)Renewal negotiationExpansion / upsell sellingQuarterly business reviews (QBRs)Salesforce + GainsightCustomer health scoringMulti-thread account strategyExecutive stakeholder managementProcurement-led renewal cyclesForecasting (renewals + expansion)Cross-functional account planningB2B SaaS commercial modelsChurn risk identification

Account Manager-specific CV mistakes that get you binned

× Calling yourself an 'Account Manager' but only describing relationship work — UK hiring managers in 2026 want the commercial number (NRR, expansion ARR, GRR).
× Listing client logos without book size. 'Managed Tesco and Vodafone' is meaningless without ARR ownership context.
× Mixing account management with new-business sales without separating the two. Hiring managers need to know which side of the house your number came from.
× Failing to mention churn or at-risk recovery. AM is a defensive role too — saving £200k of forecasted churn is as valuable as closing £200k of expansion.
× Skipping the renewal cycle detail. State whether you handle renewal commercials yourself or partner with sales — that's a fundamental role-fit question.

Common questions

What's the difference between an Account Manager and a Customer Success Manager on a UK CV?: In UK SaaS in 2026, the line is mostly commercial ownership. Account Managers own the renewal number, the expansion target, and the commercial relationship. Customer Success Managers own adoption, value realisation and health scores, but typically don't carry an expansion quota. If you're applying for AM roles, your CV needs commercial numbers on the front page (NRR, expansion ARR, renewal value). If you've been doing both roles, lean into the commercial side and use phrases like 'commercial owner of £4m ARR book' rather than 'managed customer relationships'. Hiring managers separate these CVs ruthlessly.
How do I show retention numbers on my Account Manager CV if my company doesn't share them publicly?: Use the numbers you owned, not the company-wide figures. Hiring managers expect AMs to know their book's GRR, NRR and expansion against target — those are role-level metrics, not financial-disclosure ones. Phrase it as: 'Owned £4.2m ARR portfolio of 38 accounts with 117% NRR and 96% GRR in FY24'. You're not disclosing the company's overall retention; you're describing your portfolio's performance. If asked in interview, you can explain methodology. Hiding the numbers because 'the company doesn't publish them' is a red flag — it suggests you don't actually know your portfolio's performance.
Should an Account Manager CV include logos of clients I worked with?: Selectively, yes — but always with the book-size context. Listing 'Lloyds Bank, Vodafone, Sainsbury's' on its own tells me nothing about whether you held the £200k ACV or a £20k ACV slice. The format I prefer is: 'Strategic accounts: Lloyds Bank (£280k ARR), Vodafone (£180k ARR), Sainsbury's (£140k ARR)'. That tells the hiring manager the deal size you're operating at and validates the seniority of the relationships. If your contract restricts naming clients, list the sector and revenue tier instead — 'FTSE 100 retail bank, £280k ARR'.