Creating a Conversation

Purpose:  Create a conversation for a specific customer using ctcLink.

ctcLink enables you to review a conversation with a customer contact, track broken promises, and define actions to be taken.  You can add additional conversation information for an existing customer.  You can view conversations and the status of promises made by customers using conversations on the Conversations tab of the Collections Workbench.

You can also attach documents to the conversation, such as proof of delivery slips or a bill of lading.

Audience: Accounts Receivable staff

You must have at least one of these local college managed security roles:

  • ZC AR Customer Maintenance
  • ZZ AR Customer Maintenance

If you need assistance with the above security roles, please contact your local college supervisor or IT Admin to request role access.

Navigation: Accounts Receivable > Customer Accounts > Item Information > View/Update Item Details

  1. Once the View/Update Item Details search page displays, enter the:
    1. Business Unit
    2. Customer ID
    3. Item ID
  2. Select the Search button.
  3. The Detail 1 page displays. Use this page to change discount, payment, and draft options for an item. This page also enables you to put an item in dispute or collections, mark an item as a deduction, and assign item owners.
  4. Select the Add Conversation link (it's near the bottom of the page).
Detail 1 tab of the View/Update Item Details page
  1. The Conversations page displays.  Use this page to review and update conversation information for customers that you select.
  2. Use the Status list to select the status of the conversation. 
  3. Enter a short description in the Description field.
  4. Enter or look up the Subject.
  5. Select the Promise of Payment checkbox. Selecting the Promise of Payment option indicates that this conversation contains a promise date and displays the Promise of Payment group box.

The receivables analyst must enter a promise date and the amount that the customer promised to pay in order to save the conversation. 

A promise conversation, once saved, cannot be converted back to a regular conversation.

  1. Use the Promise of Payment group box to add promise date information. Enter the or select the Promise Date.
  2. Enter a dollar amount into the Promise Amount field.
  3. Default Tolerance Days are derived from the days that you entered on the Promise Date Options page for a SetID and customer, or SetID and customer group. If you did not enter a value in this field on the Promise Date Options page, there will be no tolerance for promised payments that are late. 

The Tolerance Days are used by the Condition Monitor to determine whether a promise has been kept, is still open, or has been broken. The Condition Monitor will add the tolerance days to the promise date to determine if the promise has been kept or broken.

  1. The Payment Tolerance percentage default value is entered in the Set ID and is used when a customer sends a payment for an amount that is less than the promised amount.

When a customer sends a payment for an amount less than the amount promised, and this amount satisfies the payment tolerance percentage, then the payment will be accepted and processed.  If the payment does not meet the payment tolerance percentage criteria, further action will be taken.

  1. Select the severity level from the Confidence list dropdown menu. Because this customer has been late before, confidence in their paying on the promise date is low.
  2. If the Condition Monitor determines that a promise has been broken, it triggers the Broken Promise Action. If the action is assigned to a specific user, an action item will be created for the broken promise User ID that appears on this page. This user selects the Done checkbox option after completing the action.

Because the tolerance days have not passed based on the specified promise date, the broken promise action has not been triggered.

  1. You can override the current promise date manually by selecting the Override Promise Status option.  You must select the reason for this override and select from a promise status of Cancelled, Invalid Payment, Promise Date Override, Wrong Items or Wrong Payment.
Promise of Payment section
  1. Next, use the Promise Review group box to enter values for the promise review.
  2. Enter or select the promise review date in the Date field.
  3. Enter or look up the follow-up action in the Action field. 
  4. Enter or look up the user ID in the User ID field. The system automatically assigns the action to your User ID, which you can override with proper permissions.  In this example, accept the system value.
  5. The User ID assigned to the action selects the Done checkbox option after completing the selected action. After the user selects this Done option, the Condition Monitor will not create action items for the User ID selected for the review.
  6. Select the Supervisor Review option if the promise payment conversation needs to be reviewed by a supervisor. Selecting this option causes this promise conversation to appear in the Supervisor Review Needed component. After you select this option, a Status box is added to the Promise Review box.
  7. Select the appropriate status (Incomplete, New or Reviewed) from the Status menu list. Indicate that the supervisor Reviewed this action. A supervisor can review an action more than once if the action was not completed satisfactorily.

If you are responsible for receivables activities, you can follow up a conversation by mail. In the Follow Up group box, you can enter "F" in the Letter field.  After the system creates the letter, it updates this Date field and selects the Done option.  

You create the letters by running the Follow Up Letters Extract Application Engine process (AR_FOLLOWUP) and printing the Customer Follow Up Letter report (ARX33004).

Promise Review Section
  1. You can add up to three key words to easily retrieve conversations. Select from the Keyword1, Keyword2 and or Keyword3 fields and and enter information.
  2. Use the Conversation Entries group box to add new conversations with a selected contact or review existing conversations. Enter or look up the Contact ID, if applicable. 
  3. Select the Customer Visible checkbox option to enable self-service users (customers, brokers, and salespeople) to view the conversation on the eBill Payment self-service pages.
  4. Enter comments regarding the conversation promises in the Comments text box.  
  5. Select the Spell Check Comments button to check for misspellings within the Comments text box.  
  6. Select the OK button to save the updated Conversation information.
Conversations page

The updated conversation information displays with Discount Options, Customer Relations information, Payment/Draft Options and Item Creation/Update Details.

View/Update Item Details page displays Discount Options, Customer Relations information, Payment/Draft Options and Item Creation/Update Details.

Video Tutorial

The video below demonstrates the process actions described in the steps listed above. There is audio with captions included with this video. Select the play button to start the video.

View Tutorial Via Panopto

View the external link to Generating a Statement. This link will open in a new tab/window.

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