Migrating to Oracle Advanced Collections: An Overview for Oracle Receivables Users

An Oracle White Paper Winter 2007

Part One A Better Collections Management Paradigm

MIGRATING TO ADVANCED COLLECTIONS: EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

Oracle Advanced Collections, an Oracle E-Business Suite product recognized as the leading enterprise-wide collections management solution, replaces the Collections Workbench in Oracle Receivables in Release 12.0. Current Receivables customers, implementation teams, Oracle partners, and prospective Oracle customers need to understand the benefit, impact, and migration steps necessary to migrate an Receivables-based collections operation to one using Advanced Collections.
MANAGING COLLECTIONS IN TODAYS WORLD

Collections and receivables management organizations are under pressure to collect more while reducing their cost to collect. Oracle Advanced Collections provides the tools needed to efficiently manage collections processes in todays complex economies, growing businesses, and increased globalization. Collections managers and collections organizations are challenged with a number of business and operational problems that Advanced Collections solves: Providing collections agents with accurate and complete data about transactions and delinquent customers. This has often been impeded because of data synchronization flows run between disparate corporate systems or batch processes done during off hours. It may also be caused by outdated and inaccurate information about the customer such as old addresses, contact information, phone or fax numbers.

Identifying delinquent transactions accurately, consistently and timely. The longer an invoice is unpaid, the less likely payment will be made. Collectors often dont know which customers are delinquent until aging reports are run. Because they have no way of prioritizing their work, they frequently focus on individual invoices or more cooperative customers while ignoring customers with large balances. Identifying customers who have high dollar service contracts or who have large payments coming up and have habitually paid late. If these customers can be notified before the next payment is due, corporate cash flow is less likely to be negatively impacted. Knowing which accounts need attention and which dont. Inexperienced collectors often neglect the accounts that are most likely to pay, thus impacting collections goals. Unresolved issues such as broken promises to pay or disputes often slip through the cracks.

White Paper Title

Page 2

Managing different customer segments differently. Regional regulations, customers in stressed or volatile industries, or new customers may need different treatment plans. Ensuring that best-collection practices are consistently applied within collections teams to provide uniform treatment of similar customers. Reducing the hours per day collectors spend performing manual, time-consuming tasks that take them away from interacting with customers to get payment.

MOVING TO ADVANCED COLLECTIONS

..the consistent achievement of exceptional results is indicative of a new process or paradigm, and that is exactly what collection software provides. Collection software is not simply a tool, among possibly many others, to help collectors do better. Rather, collection software provides an entirely new approach to collecting a portfolio of receivables within a unified process. David Schmidt, Paystream Advisors, Inc. Receivables and Collections: Buyer Guide

The Collections Workbench in Receivables was originally intended for AR clerks who occasionally performed collections activities. These clerks also performed the account management, cash application, transaction management and other accounting related activities in a receivables department. Over time, as more manual functionality was added to the Collections Workbench in the form of new windows, navigation became more complex, and usability decreased. Oracle Advanced Collections leverages both transactional and customer data. It applies customer relationship management concepts to receivables management processes. It also automates collections processes that had been previously manual and streamlines user flows. It seamlessly integrates with other E-Business Suite applications. Since its initial release in 2001, industry analysts and early adopters of Oracle Advanced Collections have recognized it as the next-generation collections management enterprise-wide solution.
Key Features

If you migrate from the Receivables Collections Workbench to Advanced Collections you can: Leverage real-time transactional and customer data

Execute proven collections best practices Use configurable scoring, strategies, dunning plans Treat different customers differently Proactively manage collections issues Automatically identify delinquent/pre-delinquent customers Push only actionable, prioritized work to collectors Use Call Center enabled tools for multi-channel customer contact Streamline collections process Navigate more easily through collections screens

White Paper Title

Page 3

Automate correspondence notification Track payments, promises, incomplete work, interactions automatically streamlining interactions between various team members

KEY CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS TO UNDERSTAND

Automation Improves Collections Efficiency

7 6

Advanced Collections supports a number of innovative processes and concepts that are different from traditional collections practices. Its important to understand these concepts and to know how Advanced Collections uses them. For additional information on Advanced Collections refer to the Implementation Guide and User Guide available on Metalink.
Transaction

Hours/day

5 4 3 2 1 0

In Receivables, an invoice, debit memo, credit memo, chargeback, or bill receivable. Receivables maintains transaction tables which Advanced Collections accesses. Invoices can include one or more payment schedules.
Manual Research/Prep Customer Contact Automated Follow Up

Delinquency

In Advanced Collections, it is a transaction that is overdue. The criteria used to determine which transactions are delinquent are configurable. The seeded delinquency configuration uses a payment schedule for which the dispute amount is less than the total amount overdue and the due date is prior to the current date to determine delinquency. Delinquencies are identified from invoices, chargebacks and debit memos. Advanced Collections identifies delinquencies by running a delinquency status determination concurrent program and maintains this information in delinquency tables.
User Role/Responsibility

These terms describe the functional person who normally uses part or all of the applications.
Receivables Clerk - The person using the Collections Workbench in

Receivables. This person performs receivables related activities (such as cash application, receipts, and transactions management) along with occasional collections activities with customers.
Collections Agent - The person using Advanced Collections to work

with and resolve customer non-payments. The collections agents primary job is to contact a customer regarding a collections issue in a collections organization.
Collections Manager - The person who is generally a functional

manager or supervisor in a collections organization. This person uses Advanced Collections HTML screens to review and manually assign

White Paper Title

Page 4

work when agents are temporarily away (vacations or illness). They also use HTML manager screens to view data regarding later-stage delinquency situations that require their review for further action.
Collections Administrator - The person uses the Advanced

Collections implementation and setup module to set collections scoring, dunning and strategy parameters system profiles, schedule concurrent programs, and configure system lookups.
Collectors Work Queue Solutions that provide decision support for collections analysis and strategies, proactively manage and track customer interactions, enlist the support of the sales and service organizations in collections, and provide portfolio performance measurements, ultimately to improve days sales outstanding (DSO) and customer value through more effective relationships John VanDecker, Meta Group/Gartner Group, Leveraging Revenue and Receivables Management

Collectors Work Queue provides a high-level list of all actionable work assigned to or owned by a collections agent. This work is automatically pushed to the agent as part of the automated collections management flow provided by Oracle Advanced Collections
Operational Data Level

Oracle Advanced Collections supports four data levels and displays most information at all four levels. The data levels controls numerous features in Advanced Collections including visibility to nodes on collectors work queue, strategies (or dunning), and default displays. Most collections organizations operate and do business with their customers at one of these data levels most of the time. Ability to drill down or roll up from data level to another is provided in Advanced Collections. These data levels are: Also called Organization. Displays cumulative data and balances to the user.
Customer (TCA Party)

- Receivables creates accounts for parties when an order is generated. Accounts can have one or more Bill To addresses.
Account (Receivables Customer)

The address in an account to which a specific group of transactions are associated, generally for billing purposes. Not always the same as ship to.
Transaction

Bill To Location Site

In terms of operational data level, this is a specific delinquent transaction. Other operational data levels include one or more transactions. Or the collections organization may collect from individual transactions.

Scoring Engines and Scoring Components

Scoring engines consist of one or more scoring components and they can be configured to provide a score at the customer, account, and bill to level. Advanced Collections uses configurable scoring engines for two purposes: to determine whether a transaction is delinquent and to determine the business value or collections score - of customers.

White Paper Title

Page 5

Collections scores are similar to a customers credit score but they generally guide how aggressively the customer is treated during collection activities.
Payment

Oracle Advanced Collections supports the ability for collectors to take payment from customers through either credit card or bank Electronic Fund Transfers. Payments may also come from the lockbox process in Receivables or self-service payments from customers using Oracle iReceivables.
Promise to Pay

Oracle Advanced Collections supports the ability for a collector to take a customers promise to pay in the future for one or more transactions. Promise information is maintained by Collections and used to reconcile promises against actual payments. If the payment is not made a broken promise is created and posted to the agents Work Queue.
Segments

A way to group customers based on any database criteria including geography, delinquency amount/range, payment schedule due dates, company size, sales revenue to collecting organization, industry or virtually anything else. These segments are then applied to Strategies (optional) or Scoring Engines (required) in order to apply the most appropriate strategy and scoring engine to a particular set of customers. Segments are used by scoring engines to facilitate the processing of the score calculation. Segmentation provides the means to create sub-sets of the entire customer database. This allows for different scoring engines and strategies to be used for different groups of customers.
Collections Method

Deploying organizations may choose from two collections methods supported by Advanced Collections: dunning plans and collections strategies:
Dunning Plan - The traditional method used to notify a delinquent

customer about an unpaid balance. Advanced Collections provides the ability to send dunning letters via fax, email or printed letter. Additionally, Collections can use the customers collections score and the oldest aged invoice to determine the content and delivery method of the dunning notice. If payment is not made within a specified period of time, Advanced Collections can automatically assign a dunning callback to a collector who will see that action on their Task node in the Collector Work Queue.
Collections Strategy - Compared to Dunning Plans, this collections method supports more complex means to contact and manage customers about their receivables situation. Collections strategies

White Paper Title

Page 6

consist of one or more work items, which are actions performed by either the system (send a reminder letter) or the collector (call this customer). Work items are timed to be executed serially. Strategies are based on collections scores so different strategies can be used for customers with good or bad value scores. Collections strategies can also be used to alert pre-delinquent customers about a pending payment. Unless a deploying organization has no need to do anything more complex than simple dunning, the best practice recommendation is to use collections strategies. This allows for flexibility as the organization changes in the future.
IMPACT ON RECEIVABLES USERS: COMPARATIVE CHART

Lets take a look at what Oracle Advanced Collections offers for Oracle Receivables users. This section compares previous functionality in Receivables with what is now provided by Advanced Collections.
NOTE: You can click on links in this chart to see a screen shot of the described feature in an Appendix. Click on the section name in the Appendix to return back to this chart. Functional Comparison Chart

Receivables 11i Navigator Menu: Customer Calls Customer Account Account Overview Aging Correspondence Account Details Transaction Overview Scheduler Work Prioritization: Customer Search Call Scheduler Aging Reports

Advanced Collections r12 Navigator Menu: Collector Work Queue Collections Statements Search Reports

Navigation Details and Comments Login as Collections Agent > Collections Navigator Menu. Search: controls numerous features in Collections including visibility to nodes on collectors work queue, strategies (or dunning), and default displays Receivables Reports can be added to the Collections menu

Work Prioritization Collector Work Queue

Login as Collections Agent > Collectors Work Queue Select Navigator Menu > selected record from list will automatically appear on Collections header

White Paper Title

Page 7

Receivables 11i

Advanced Collections r12

Navigation Details and Comments Collections Main Screen contains a header and tabs. Additional optional tabs are displayed when Advanced Collections is licensed to deploying organization: Strategy Lifecycle (for later stage collections management) Custom Tab 1 Custom Tab 2 Case Management (for Lease Collections) Contracts (for Lease Collections) not currently accessible Loans (for Loans Collections) On the Collections main header screen, collections agents can select the data level that sets the View of the data displayed. Users can change the View to drill down or rollup customers data. Customer collections score is displayed on the Collections header. Account collections score is displayed on the Account tab Additional segments can be configured when Advanced Collections is licensed to deploying organization. Manager login as Collections Administrator Select Setup Checklist > Collections Method > Dunning Plans -Add details including dunning correspondence templates and delivery method

Single Screen Navigation Single Screen Navigation: N/A Collections header with tabs below: Multiple screens need to be opened Profile with Metrics History Account Transaction Aging Notes Tasks

Operational Data Level: Account Bill To Site Transaction Scoring: N/A

Operational Data Level: Customer (Party) Account Bill To Site Transaction Scoring: Set up during implementation and managed by the system. Used in Dunning Plans and Strategies

Segments: N/A

Segments: Set up during implementation Default segment is all customers Dunning Plans: Dunning Plans: -Set up during implementation -Generated as report -Preconfigured Dunning letters are -Sample Letters included available via XML Publisher tool -Dunning History displayed in - Optional dunning callbacks can be Correspondence -Ability to add Finance Charges to assigned to agents - Receivables Dunning history is dunning letters -Ability to manually exclude or displayed on Correspondence History include in dunning activity table - Ability to resend Collections dunning is provided - Ability to include or exclude customer, account or bill in dunning activity - Ability to Resend Receivables dunning letters will be accomplished by using Receivables modified Dunning process which will print only historical dunning notices. Statements: Statements: - Statements accessible from Ability to generate and reprint Navigator menu Statements -Receivables will continue to support Statements

Collectors logs in as Collections Agent > History tab > Correspondence to see dunning history > Resend Dunning button to resend Dunning callbacks are automatically posted to Collector Work Queue

Login as Collections Agent > Navigator menu > Statements For Statement history: Collectors logs in as Collections Agent > History tab > All history to see statements

White Paper Title

Page 8

Receivables 11i

Advanced Collections r12

Navigation Details and Comments Log in as Collections Agent Collector name is displayed in Profile tab From Collections header > Operating Unit field

Collector field: Collector field: Customers are manually assigned a -New concurrent program automatically creates Collector collector in Customer form resource in Resource Manager. Multi Org Access: Multi Org Access: - Ability to see across operating units - Ability to see across operating - Controlled by User Security Profile units settings - Controlled by User Security Profile settings Transaction Details Transaction Details - Ability to see summary and detail - Ability to view details for specific for specific transactions on various transactions - Ability to submit disputes screens

From Transaction tab > Transaction Details button Collector will able to navigate to Receivables Transaction Workbench from the Navigator menu. Not all details are displayed on the transaction details page. From Collections Header, payments can be taken from Transaction tab, Aging tab, Account tab by clicking on the Payment Processing button

Payment Processing

Payment Processing - Ability to take customer credit card and Bank EFT payment for one or more transactions - Payment note - Automatic payment authorization via Oracle Payments module - Payment record automatically saved on History tab Promises to Pay and Promises to Pay and Promise Reconciliation: Promise Reconciliation: -Promise to Pay for single or multiple - Two fields (amount and date) plus two forecasting fields used to transactions - Promise note manually track likelihood of - Automated Promise Reconciliation collecting on the promise process matches promises to payments. - Broken Promises automatically created and posted to Collector Work Queue for follow up - Promise record automatically saved on History tab Credit Management integration: Credit Management integration: - Profile tab displays Credit Rating, -Fields in Receivables display: Credit Limit, Credit Status Account Status, Credit Rating, Tolerance, Collectable, Risk Code, -Account tab displays Status, Tolerance, Risk Code Review Cycle, Credit and Order Limits Credit Hold: Credit Hold: - Collector can turn on /off credit hold -Ability to place an Account on Credit Hold or remove them from - Enabled through IEX: Enable Credit Hold profile Credit Hold -Status is displayed in Customer Profile screen Calls/Interactions: Calls/Interactions: Customer Receivables call history is - Customer call history is displayed displayed

Log in as Collections Agent From Collections Header, promises to pay for one or more transactions can be taken from Transaction tab, Aging tab, Account tab by clicking on the Payment Processing button where Promise or Mass Promise tab is accessible

From Collections header > Profile tab to see Credit Risk and Credit Status or Account tab to see Tolerance

From Collections header, with customer name and contact name displayed > Actions from toolbar > select Credit hold or Credit release Status is displayed on Profile tab From Collections header, click on History > AR Calls

White Paper Title

Page 9

Receivables 11i Scheduler: - Calls manually scheduled by collector

Advanced Collections r12

Navigation Details and Comments From Collections header, click on Task tab to create new call

Collection Work Queue - New calls can be created manually in Tasks tab and will be viewable in Collector Work Queue Cash Application: Cash Application: Screens being moved to Receipts Collectors will have access to receipt workbench Workbench Presented Bills: Presented Bills: Use Bill Presentment Architecture Use Bill Presentment Architecture Collections Reports: Collections Reports: Reports Receivables reports can be added to Collections Navigator Notes/Comments: Notes/Comments: Comments/notes fields, related to -New notes can be created in Collections notes fields throughout specific transaction - New notes are automatically related to party, account, bill to, transaction and other object types specific to the activity Concurrent programs: Concurrent programs: Advanced Collections uses a number of concurrent programs to automate collections processes. See next section for flows

From Collections header > Navigate to > Receipt Workbench From Collections header > Transactions tab > right click and select View Invoice to launch BPA From Navigator > Reports > select from list

Notes are visible throughout Collections on various screens Notes tab displays all notes relating to the customer and customer activities Collections will display Receivables notes, comments, and special instructions throughout the application where logically applicable Login as Collections Forms Administrator > Submit Request See Preconfigured Elements Section for list

White Paper Title

Page 10

FUNCTIONAL BUSINESS PROCESSES AND FLOWS

The following section contains three flows that show the agent, manager and system process flows available in Advanced Collections. These provide a road map on how collections work flows through the application.
Figure 1 Collections Agent Flow
Collections Agent Flow
Prioritize Work

Login

Collector Work Queue Nodes

Strategy Work Items, Broken Promises, Dunning Callbacks. Tasks, Delinquent Customers

Select Work

View Customer Data

Header: Customer Contact, Summary Data

Automatic manager notification if no action taken by action

Profile Tab:
Credit, Payments, Promises, Metrics

History Tab:
All, Adjustment, Correspondence, Dispute, Interaction, Payment, Promise

Account Tab:
Account Details, link to Customer Standard, Payment Processing

Transaction Tab:
Summary, Details/ Dispute, Adjustments, Payment Processing

Aging Tab:
Summary / Aged Transactions, Payment Processing

Strategy Tab:
Assigned/Statusing

Notes Tab:
All Notes

Tasks Tab:
Previous, New

Update Customer Data

Take Payment; EFT Credit Card

Submit Adjustment

Submit Dispute

Take Promise to Pay

Record a note or automatically insert an Interaction

Update and close record

Collector Work Queue Nodes

Table 1 Collections Agent Process

Process Prioritize Work

Step Login

Description Provides secure access to Advanced Collections and based on configuration can restrict the data the collector can access

Comment

White Paper Title

Page 11

Process

Step Use Collectors Work Queue Use UWQ Nodes

View Customer Data

Update Customer Data

Description Provides collectors with a configured list of customers the collector should focus their collection activities on UWQ provides information in logical groupings, this information can be sorted and exported to Excel spreadsheets if required Select Work The collector will select a customer based on the prioritized work provided within the UWQ and drill directly into Advanced Collections with the customer information pre-populated Once a customer is selected, the collector can review and take action. Actions include payment, promise, dispute, send correspondence, disposition a transaction, etc. The update customer data processes allow the collector to track and manage all collection activities for a customer. Actions submitted by a collector can launch automated processes that eliminate the need for manual intervention while adhering to a companys collection policies. Update and The collector can add additional documentation on Close Record a customer by manually entering notes or automatically recording interactions activities. Upon closing the customer record, the system automatically refers back to the UWQ to get the collectors next work activity

Comment No more paper reports

Pre-identified customers at your finger tips, one click No more retyping

One form to review and take the appropriate action for a customer Automatically push approvals to the appropriate persons

White Paper Title

Page 12

Figure 2 Collections Manager Flow

Collections Manager Flow

(Collections Manager Responsibility)

Collector Work Assignment

Login

Ownership Tab

Review Assigned Strategy Work Items, Review Assigned Broken Promises

Reassign Work

Yes

Collections Agent

No

End

(responsibility of Collections Administrator)

Collector Assignment

Collector Reassignment

Find Current Collector, Assign New/Backup Collector, Set Start Date

Later Stage Collections (Bankruptcy, Litigation, Repossession,

Collections Agent

Manage Delinquencies

Notification from Agent UI

Delinquent Customers Summary

Bankruptcies

Litigations

Repossessions

Lease Write Offs

Report to Credit Bureau, Third Party Assignment

Table 2 Collections Manager Process

Process Collector Work Assignment

Step Login

Description Provides secure access Advanced Collections

Comment

Collector Assignment Manage Delinquencies

Use Ownership Tab Reassign collectors Review Delinquent Customer Summary

Manager tool to review and move assigned work items, promise activity and customers to assist in load balancing User friendly tool to locate and assign back up collector for short term assignments due to vacation or a leave of absence Specialists view into customers in later-stage of the collections lifecycle with status of bankrupt, litigation, repossession, Lease write-off or reported to credit bureau. Provides at a glance a way to better understand issues your customers are having

Triage view into customers following a critical care path

White Paper Title

Page 13

Figure 3 - Collections System Flow

Collections System Processes

Update Customer Data

Score, Strategy or Dunning

Adjustment

Payment

Dispute

Take a promise

Lockbox process updates based on payments received

APIs

Customer/ Receivables Data

Payment Authorization approved N Message

Payment Processing: Create, Get, Cancel Authorization

Credit Memo Workflow Request

Y AR: Refresh Summary Table

Approved? Compares promise against payments received. If payment not received by promise date, promise broken and promise task in UWQ IEX: Promise Reconciliation

Concurrent Programs and Workflows

Up to five scoring engines can be scheduled at one time. Delinquency Status Determination must be run to determine overall delinquency. OPTIONAL: IEX: Purge / Score History Table

N Rejection Notification

IEX: Scoring Engine Harness

IEX: Strategy Management If using Dunning, IEX Strategy Management would not be run Send Dunnings for Delinquent customers IEX: Create Dunning and Broken Promise Call Backs

Workflow Backgroup Process

Advanced Collections Data

Table 3 Collections System Process

Process Update Customer Data

Step

Run Scoring, Strategies, or Dunning Plans

Description Advanced Collections seeded standard processes Advanced Collections provides preconfigured scoring engines, strategies and dunning components and the supporting programs to insure customers receive the appropriate communications. The preconfigured data elements (scores, strategies and work items, and correspondence templates) can be utilized by the implementation team or they may configure new data elements based on the customers business requirements.

Comment

Automates the process of scoring and applying work items based on the customers score

White Paper Title

Page 14

Process

Step Process adjustments

Description The system utilizes the Receivable approval limits to insure policy is followed and processes the adjustments Payment system is called using the standard API allowing for real-time collections

Process payments

Comment No more transferring phone calls for simple adjustments that collectors are approved for No more, check is the mail response. Take the payment while the customer is on the phone

Process disputes

Take a promise

APIs

Concurrent Programs and Workflow

Collectors can process disputes, which launch the Receivables Credit memo Workflow insuring appropriate approval hierarchy is followed. Provides the tool to document and follow-up on promises made by customers. Collectors can be automatically notified of promises that are not met Advanced Collections uses all the standard APIs provided by Receivables and other applications to automate processes Advanced Collections utilizes concurrent programs and workflow to process work requests through the system in an automated manner. These programs would need to be scheduled by the implementation team to run based on business requirements. Timely and accurate information depends on the concurrent programs being processed at regular intervals.

No tickler files, collectible work is pushed to the collector

Scheduled jobs insure accurate and timely data is available for collectors.

COLLECTOR AND MANAGER REPORTS

Advanced Collections users need summary and detail level reports to support and assess the effectiveness of their collections activities. Advanced Collections provides a number of reports for collections agents and collections managers. From the Navigator Menu, users can access the following reports from Advanced Collections:

Campaign Outcome Summary Report Collector Outcome Detail Report Payment Collector Summary Report Payment Collector Detail Report Payment Campaign Summary Report Payment Campaign Detail Report

White Paper Title

Page 15

Campaign Schedule or Collector Promise Reconciliation Report Summary Campaign Schedule or Collector Promise Reconciliation Report Detail

Additionally, users can access a number of Receivables reports that have been used by collections personnel. These reports can be added to the collections agent responsibility and be accessible from the Collections menu:

Account Status Report Adjustment Register Aging Reports (6 reports) Applied Receipts Register Automatic Receipt Batch Management Report Automatic Receipt Awaiting Confirmation Bad Debt Provision Report Billing History Billing and Receipt History Collections Effectiveness Indicators Credit Hold Report Customer Credit Snapshot Disputed Invoice Report Invoice Print New Invoices Past Due Invoice Report Publish Actual Receipt Publish Receipt Forecast Receipt Analysis - Days Late Receipt Register Receipt Awaiting Bank Clearance Report Receipts Awaiting Remittance Report Remittance Batch Management Report Transaction Awaiting Consolidation

White Paper Title

Page 16

Part Two Migrating to Advanced Collections

PRE-IMPLEMENTATION CHECKLIST

As noted in the Functional Comparison Chart in Part One of this white paper, Advanced Collections uses a number of other E-Business Suite products to provide functionality for some features. Please see the Advanced Collections implementation guide for the optional required application setup steps.
USING ADVANCED COLLECTIONS IMPLEMENTATION CHECKLIST

Functional and technical managers responsible for setting up and implementing Advanced Collections start the process by navigating to the Collections Checklist, an setup tool designed to ease implementation and provide a single place to record and manage operational setup decisions.
Advanced Collections Checklist

White Paper Title

Page 17

Advanced Collections Questionnaire Page

The Checklist guides the manager through a Questionnaire that asks a few key questions about the intended use of Advanced Collections. The managers responses to these questions automatically set system profiles and settings for Advanced Collections.

Advanced Collections Task Page

The Questionnaire also enables or disables a set of Task Pages on which the manager provides additional detailed information that set additional settings for Advanced Collections.

White Paper Title

Page 18

The benefit of using the Collections Checklist is that it allows functional experts to do an out of the box set up of Advanced Collections independent of corporate IT staff. Since some system profiles used by Advanced Collections come from other E-business Suite modules, managers will need to use the standard Forms Profile screen to set these profiles. See Advanced Collections Implementation Guide for a list of non-Collections profiles
EASY SETUP STEPS FOR MIGRATING FROM RECEIVABLES

For deploying organizations that have decided not to license Advanced Collections, here are the setup tasks you need to do:
Task Complete Setup Questionnaire and Tasks Configure Dunning Letters (optional) Description For example, determine operational data level, setup Dunning Plan You can use the preconfigured dunning letters or optionally create new ones Refer to XML documentation See below for additional details

Install XML Publisher ( if sending dunning letters) Run convert script to display Receivables Scheduled Calls in Collections History tab (optional) Evaluate Menu access and Responsibilities Schedule concurrent processes

Determine how users will access Collections functionality and reports Refer to Advanced Collections User Guide for detailed information

White Paper Title

Page 19

"The promise of collection automation software is a dramatic improvement in receivables performance. Indeed, for most companies, the results of automating collections are dramatic. They are enjoying a 10 to 20 percent reduction in days sales outstanding (DSO), a 25 percent reduction in past due receivables, and a 15 to 25 percent reduction in bad debt reserves. These metrics mean productivity gains, without increasing staff, that translate into better cash flow." David Schmidt, Paystream Advisors, Inc. Receivables and Collections: Buyer Guide

Implementing Advanced Collections is facilitated by the use of a number of preconfigured elements that deploying organizations can use during their planning and testing phases. Additionally they can also be used (or easily amended) for use in production systems. If new elements are required to match specific corporate processes, they can be added during implementation. Detailed information on these preconfigured elements is provided in the Implementation Guide for Advanced Collections.
Correspondence Templates and Queries.

Advanced Collections uses XML technology to generate and deliver all customer correspondence. Included in the product are the following templates and queries that can be used at all operational data levels:

Payment Confirmation Letter Dispute Confirmation Letter Promise Confirmation Letter Adjustment Confirmation Letter Payment Reversal Confirmation Letter Consolidated Invoice Confirmation Letter Invoice Letter Pre-delinquent Letter Soft Dunning Letter 1 Soft Dunning Letter 2 Moderate Dunning Letter 1 Moderate Dunning Letter 2 Hard Dunning Letter 1 Hard Dunning Letter 2 Hard Dunning Letter 3

Metrics Formulas

The following formulas are used in the Profile tab of Advanced Collections.

Weighted Average Days Paid (WAP) Weighted Average Days Late Weighted Average Terms Average Days Late Conventional Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)

White Paper Title

Page 20

True DSO Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI) NSF History Amount NSF History Count Deductions Amount Deductions Count Sales Credit Limit High Credit YTD

Scoring Engines

Advanced Collections includes preconfigured scoring engines.

Delinquency Status Determination Customer Scoring Account Scoring Bill To Scoring Case Scoring (used with Lease Management)

Strategy Templates and Work Items

Advanced Collections provides preconfigured strategy templates and preconfigured work item templates for deploying organizations using Collections Strategy as its collections method. Deploying organizations that have licensed Advanced Collections use strategies and their associated Work Items. Dunning Plans do not use templates.

Pre-delinquent Strategy Soft Collections Strategy Moderate Collections Strategy Hard Collections Strategy Catch-all Collections Strategy Litigation Strategy Repossession Strategy Write-off Strategy (for use with Leasing) Bankruptcy Strategy

Preconfigured work items are also included:

White Paper Title

Page 21

Pre-delinquency Courtesy Letter Pre-delinquency Courtesy Call Soft Dunning Letter 1 Soft Dunning Letter 2 Soft Collections Call 1 Soft Collections Call 2 Moderate Dunning Letter 1 Moderate Dunning Letter 2 Moderate Collections Call 1 Moderate Collections Call 2 Hard Dunning Letter 1 Hard Collections Call 1 Hard Collections Call 2 Final Demand Letter Review Customer Customer Site Visit Review Pending Bankruptcy Review Pending Repossession Review Pending Litigation Review Pending Write off (for use with Leasing)

MIGRATION CONSIDERATIONS

Since most of the historical data generated in Oracle Receivables is now accessible in Oracle Advanced Collections, there is no need for deploying customers to migrate data. Most flexfields are also accessible from Advanced Collections. However following analysis of known customer usage, not all fields are displayed. If these fields need to be displayed, deploying organizations will need to determine where and how.

White Paper Title

Page 22

APPENDIX 1 ADVANCED COLLECTIONS SCREEN SHOTS

NOTE: You can click on any link in the Functional Comparison Chart to see a screen shot of the described feature in this Appendix. Click on the section name below each screenshot here to return to the Functional Comparison chart.
Collections Navigator Menu

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Navigator Menu, Single Screen Navigation

Collections Main Screen

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

White Paper Title

Page 23

Collectors Work Queue

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Collectors Work Queue

Profile Tab with Metrics

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section Single Screen Navigation

White Paper Title

Page 24

History Tab

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

Correspondence History

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Dunning Plans

White Paper Title

Page 25

Account Tab

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

Transactions Tab

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

White Paper Title

Page 26

Navigate to Transaction Workbench

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Transaction Workbench

Aging Tab

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

White Paper Title

Page 27

Tasks Tab

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

Notes Tab

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

White Paper Title

Page 28

Transaction Details Screen

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Transaction Details

Payment and Promise to Pay Processing

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Payment and Promise Processing

White Paper Title

Page 29

Actions list Credit Hold

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Actions Menu

Collections Setup Dunning Plans

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Dunning Plans

White Paper Title

Page 30

View Invoice (using Bill Presentment Architecture)

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - View Invoice The following tabs are available if you license Advanced Collections: Strategy Tab

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

White Paper Title

Page 31

Lifecycle Tab

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

Custom 1 and Customer 2 Tabs

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

The following tabs are available if you license Advanced Collections and either Oracle Loans or Oracle Lease Management:

White Paper Title

Page 32

Contracts

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

Case Management Tab

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

White Paper Title

Page 33

Loans Tab

Return to Functional Comparison Chart Section - Single Screen Navigation

White Paper Title

Page 34

APPENDIX B RESOURCES

Product documentation is available from OracleMetaLink. This includes: Oracle Advanced Collections Implementation Guide Oracle Advanced Collections User Guide Oracle Receivables Implementation Guide Oracle Receivables Reference Guide Oracle Receivables User Guide Oracle University provides product training in many formats including instructor-led classes, customer site training, and online courseware. Product TOIs are available at time of product release. These provide functional and technical information for internal users, customers and partner organizations. Oracle Advanced Collections Oracle Receivables Additionally, internal readers of this whitepaper can refer to Product Portals Advanced Collections Receivables OracleMetaLink Forum Boards (account required) Advanced Collections Receivables Sales and Consulting sites Business Flows and Business Flow Accelerators Global Customers References

White Paper Title

Page 35

APPENDIX C COLLECTIONS FEATURES FOR ORACLE RECEIVABLES AND ORACLE ADVANCED COLLECTIONS

A limited version of Oracle Advanced Collections functionality is available in Oracle Receivables and replaces the Receivables Collections Workbench. Receivables users who have not purchased a license for Advanced Collections are not authorized to use the full feature set of this product. Use the following lists to identify the collections features available for Receivables and for Advanced Collections. Collections Features for Oracle Receivables
CollectorsWorkQueue Searchtool Collectionsheaderandtabs o Profilewithpreconfiguredmetrics o History o Account o Transaction o Aging o Notes o Tasks AssigncollectorsusingtheARCollectorfield Viewcollectionsinformationbycustomer,account,billto,or delinquencydatalevels Processpayments Createpromises Enterdisputesandadjustments ViewinvoicesusingOracleBillPresentmentArchitecture RunReceivablesandCollectionsreports Preconfigureddelinquencycreationengine Preconfiguredcustomerscoringengine Configurabledunningtoolincludingdunningcorrespondenceand callbacks Note: YouperformalldunningactivitiesinOracle AdvancedCollections.However,OracleReceivables providesyouwiththeDunningLetterReprintHistorical ReceivablesOnlyprogramsothatyoucanreprinthistorical DaysOverduedunninglettersthatweresenttoyour customersinapreviousreleaseofReceivables.Usethis programtoconductcollectionsresearchforaspecific customer.See:ReprintingHistoricalDunningLetters,Oracle ReceivablesUserGuide.

Correspondence for disputes, adjustments, reversals, invoices, promises, and payments

White Paper Title

Page 36

Oracle Advanced Collections Features

OracleAdvancedCollectionsprovidesthefunctionalitylistedaboveplusthe followingfeatures: Configurablescoring Configurablestrategiesandworkitems Configurablesegments(databaseviewsforusewithscoringand strategies) CreatecollectionsterritoriesusingTerritoryManager Workreassignment AdditionalAdvancedCollectionstabs: o Strategy o Lifecycle o Custom1 o Custom2 Tabsavailablewithadditionallicensing: o IfyouuseOracleLoansLoans o IfyouuseOracleLeaseManagementCaseManagement o IfyouuseOracleContractsContracts

White Paper Title

Page 37

Migrating to Oracle Advanced Collections: An Overview for Oracle Receivables Customers 01 2007 Authors: Tina Cook, Carol King

Oracle Corporation World Headquarters 500 Oracle Parkway Redwood Shores, CA 94065 U.S.A. Worldwide Inquiries: Phone: +1.650.506.7000 Fax: +1.650.506.7200 oracle.com Copyright 2005, Oracle. All rights reserved. This document is provided for information purposes only and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law, including implied warranties and conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We specifically disclaim any liability with respect to this document and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document. This document may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without our prior written permission. Oracle, JD Edwards, and PeopleSoft, are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.