What’s New in the Latest Release of Our Collections Management Add-On
Offered as an add-on product to Acumatica users, our Collections Management tool has proven to be a game-changer for collections activities. Businesses can easily visualize all their collections activities from a convenient dashboard, while also automating timed steps in collection plans, the closing of activities tied to paid invoices, email generation based on customer invoice dates, and more. The result: accelerated cash flow with less manual work.
But we haven’t stopped there! In an effort to support Acumatica users’ growing needs, we’ve continued to upgrade our Collections Management add-on product to help you get more from your investment. Here’s what you can expect in our latest release.
Enhancements to Current Features
✓ Add/Edit Contact from Collections Activity: We’ve added a pencil button that lets users conveniently Add/Edit contacts on the fly from the Activity screen.
✓ Updated Collections Manager Screen Layout: On the Collections Manager screen, you’ll notice that we’ve removed the Applications Grid from the main screen and resized existing grids to better display data. We’ve also created a Smart Panel to show Applications for Selected Payments and added a Promises tab (more on that below).
Maintenance/Documentation Upgrades
✓ Email Changes: We’ve updated the Preferences screen to select an email account versus the previous freeform email address entry. We’ve also changed the logic in the Plan Execution and Spontaneous Email Activities to use this default email account for the From Email. The account is also used as a send address if the user’s email account is not set up as a System Email Account, or the From Email in the Email Template is not found as a System Email Account. In the past, emails could be created with a From Email that did not match the account used to send them, which inadvertently triggered spam flags and email delivery issues.
✓ Collections Plan Clarifications: User feedback indicated there was some confusion as to how the Grace Period, After Last Step feature worked and how the two elements worked together. In light of this confusion, we renamed After Last Step to After Last Executed Step, and also included examples to help clarify After Last Executed Step.
A Brand-New Feature: Promise Management
The Collections Management tool now includes a Promise Management feature that allows Acumatica users to manage/track promises to pay that customers have given.
Promises can be added through one of two locations: the Collections Manager screen on the Promises tab, or via the Promise Entry.
A promise can either be a general promise to make a payment (Make Payment type) or a promise to pay an amount against a specific invoice (Pay Invoice type). The required fields for each type of promise are slightly different, but the minimum data required would be a Pay By Date, Pay Amount, and Customer/Contact.
In the event a Promise has been broken, we’ve created a detection process — what’s referred to as the Promise checker. Designed to be run on a regular basis or run automatically, the Promise checker will evaluate each of the open promises against the criteria to determine if a promise has been broken. If broken, the Promise will be marked as such and appear red on the Promise list. From there, users can determine how to best respond to each broken Promise within Collections, whether it’s a matter of creating activities or changing plans, to name just two examples.
Upgrades Designed to Support Our Customers
Like all of Crestwood’s add-on products for Acumatica, our Collections Management tool was developed from customer requests. They asked for a tool to streamline their collections process and help them get paid faster, and we’re pleased to respond with this solution. And we continue to respond to customer requests with every release. Your feedback makes our products that much better!
For your convenience, you can download a copy of the latest release notes here.
Have questions about the upgrades or interested in getting started with the Collections Management add-on product? Don’t hesitate to reach out!
