Collections in Accounts receivable

Accounts receivable collections information is managed in one central view using the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance Collections page. Credit and collections managers can use this central view to manage collections. Collections agents can begin the collections process from customer lists that are generated by using predefined collection criteria, or from the Customers page.

Before you begin to set up or work with collections, you should understand the following concepts:

• Customer aging snapshots contain aged balance information at a point in time
• Collections customer pools help you organize your work
• Collections agents can have their own customer pools
• List pages organize collections customers, activities, and cases
• All collections information for a customer is on one page and you can take action from that page
• Waive, reinstate, or reverse interest and fees can be done in one step
• Create write-off transactions can be done in one step
• Process not sufficient funds (NSF) payments can be done in one step

The following sections describe each concept.

Customer aging snapshots

An aging snapshot contains the calculated aged balances for a customer at a point in time. This information is displayed on the Aged balances list page and on the Collections page. An aging snapshot must be created before you can view information on the Collections list pages.

For each customer, an aging snapshot contains an aging snapshot header and detail records that correspond to each aging period in the aging period definition.

The aging snapshot header contains the total amount due, credit limit, packing slip amount, sales order amount, number of disputed transactions, and total amount of the disputed transactions for the customer account. All transactions for the customer are included in the calculation of these amounts. The total amount due, credit limit, packing slip amount, and sales order amount are shown in the Credit information FactBox on the Collections page.

For each aging period in the aging period definition, an aging snapshot detail record is created. Each aging snapshot detail record contains the aging period ID and the total amount of the transactions with dates that are in the aging period. Transactions are assigned to an aging period, such as 30 days past due. The date is relative to the Aging as of date that is specified when you create the aging snapshot. This information is shown on the Aged balances list page and in the Aged balances FactBox on the Collections page.

Collections customer pools

Customer pools are queries that define a group of customer records that can be displayed and managed for collections or aging processes. Use customer pools to filter information on the Aged balances, Collections activities, and Collections cases list pages. You also use customer pools to filter the customer accounts that are included when aging snapshots are created.

Collections agents

By default, users can view all customer information on collections list pages. You can use collections agent records to determine the customer pools that are available to filter information on the collections list pages and on the Collections page.

A collections agent is a person who works with customers to make sure that payments are collected in a timely manner. Collections agents are workers who are assigned to users in the User setup page.

Collections list pages

The following list pages help you organize collections information.

• Aged balances – The columns on the list page display customer balances and aged amounts by aging period. This information is stored in an aging snapshot. The aging periods are determined by the aging period definition that is used. The aging period definition is taken from the customer pool, if one was specified for the pool query. If the pool does not have an aging period definition, the default aging period definition that is specified in the Accounts receivable parameters page is used. If no default aging period definition is specified, the first aging period definition in the Aging period definitions page is used.
• Collections activities – The columns on the list page display activities that are identified as collections activities. These activities are created by using the Collections page. Use activities to track the work that you do related to collections.
• Collections cases – The columns on the list page display information for cases that have a case category with a case type of Collections.

Collections page

Use the Collections page to view, manage, and take action on collections information, activities, and cases for a customer.

The upper pane displays cases for the selected customer. The middle pane displays transactions for the customer. The lower pane displays activities for the customer. You can create collections cases to track collections information for one or more transactions and activities. The information in the upper and lower panes can be filtered by case.

FactBoxes display aged balances and credit limit information for the selected customer. This information is stored in the aging snapshot. If necessary, you can update the aging snapshot with current information.

The Action Pane contains buttons that display related information for the selected customer, case, transaction, or activity. You can also perform common actions such as changing the collections status of a transaction, sending email correspondence through the integration with your email provider, reimbursing customers, processing NSF payments, and writing off uncollectible balances.

Waive, reinstate, or reverse interest and fees

You can waive, reinstate, or reverse complete interest notes, or fees and transaction interest that are a part of interest notes. You can do this from the Collect tab on the Action Pane on the All customers list page by clicking Interest note, Transaction interest, or Fee.

These adjustments affect only interest notes, and the interest and fees that they include. Use the steps in the “Create write-off transactions in one step” section to write off all of the charges that a customer owes.

For more information see, Create an interest code with a range and Process interest.

Create writeoff transactions

You can write off bad debts by clicking Write off in the Collections form, and on the Aged balances, Customers, and Open customer invoices list pages.

When you write off transactions for a customer, all transactions for the customer are automatically marked for settlement. The amount that is written off depends on the net amount of the marked transactions. The write-off transaction is created in a general journal and can contain up to three types of journal lines.

• The first type of journal line contains the customer write-off entry. If the marked transactions contain multiple combinations of currency code, dimension, and posting profile, a separate journal line is created for each combination.
• The second type of journal line contains the general ledger write-off entry. If the marked transactions contain multiple combinations of currency code, dimension, and posting profile, a separate journal line is created for each combination.
• The third type of journal line contains the general ledger write-off information for sales taxes. This journal line is created only if the Separate sales tax toggle is selected in the Accounts receivable parameters page. If the marked transactions contain multiple combinations of sales tax payable account, dimension, and sales tax code, a separate journal line is created for each combination.

The write-off transaction is created in the transaction currency.

For more information see, Create a write-off journal for a customer.

Process not sufficient funds (NSF) payments

You can process NSF payments by clicking NSF payment in the Collections page. When you click this button, the payment is canceled. If an NSF fee applies for the customer, a charge transaction is created in a payment journal. The fee amount is based on the settings for the automatic charges. The automatic charges that apply for NSF payments are specified by the charges group that is selected in the Bank accounts page for the affected bank account.