Using AR tasks can be a powerful tool in recording historical information about your customer accounts, documenting collection efforts, or assist with follow up about issues that need to be addressed.
If everyone that has access to the Accounts Receivable Console creates AR Tasks when contact with customer occurs (whether we call them or they call us) a historical record is created of what issues occurred on the account.
Do you have issues with collections regularly or just occasionally, are they disputing one invoice or disputing invoices repeatedly, do you need to add new contacts to the account? These are some of the answers you can find here if everyone properly records tasks.
Use alert ID182 to ensure the AR person is completing their tasks and not just leaving them open.
Tasks are listed as a tab within the customer record in the AR Console and can be added, edited or deleted:
These tasks can be assigned by a supervisor or AR collector. Each tasked is assigned to an eAuto user with due dates, completion date and follow up date.
Best Practices:
1. Mark task complete at time of entry IF the action item does not need follow up later
2. Use customer contact whenever possible and create new ones of who you spoke to so you can see tasks from with the contact area on the customer account
3. Create a task for followup - assign to yourself or person that needs to follow up (best to put yourself in the assigned to OR if you are creating a follow-up for someone else then put in their name)
4. Put in a follow up date it will create a completed record and a follow up record
5. Be as complete and specific as possible with Task Type and Descriptions. If you complete your tasks as you create them, then everyone knows it is done versus needing follow up. Make use of description to include details such as invoice number and/or machine ID#
6. Move to Tasks to see all that are open, invoices coming due - show or hide tasks completed today - edit or delete tasks
-Use quick search to see just tasks assigned to yourself for follow up or to mark them completed
-Highlight many and mark complete
-If you forget to complete your tasks during creation then you can highlight (click - hold shift - click on end one) then use the Mark Complete button to do them in a large group
-Easy to tell what action to take when task types and description comments are complete.
-If you put yourself in the assigned to (even on individual tasks being completed immediately it is easier to tell who did the task originally, or who it is assigned to (if someone else).
Tasks used effectively make it easier to see what happened on customer accounts and can also be accessed from within the customer record. When questions come up later it is really nice to know -how many times did we send that past due invoice - payment was promised - request to research or cancel an item - did we forgive an amount - or write-off a bad debt or disputed invoice. Is the task completed or something that needs attention?
CUSTOMER NOTES
These are generic notes about the customer account. They can be helpful while you are working with your customers to know specific details that will assist in collections and sales.
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