Collections: notices, late fees, arrangements, disconnection and write-off

The Collections Worklist and Run collections (past-due and final notices, late fees), payment arrangements and broken arrangements, holds, disconnect and reconnect orders, the life-support rule, and writing off to bad debt.

The worklist

CRM › Utilities › Utility Collections › Collections Worklist lists every account with money past due, worst first: Past due, Over 60, Over 90, Days, the Next step, any Arrangement, the Life support flag and the last action.

Run collections

Press Run collections and confirm.
For each posted bill, by the days past its due date (the numbers in Utility Settings): after the grace days a late fee — the greater of the flat fee and the percentage of what is past due, charged as its own posted bill so it ages; at the notice days a past-due notice; at the final notice days a final (disconnect) notice.
Notices are emailed to the address on the account. An address that has unsubscribed is not emailed: the notice is recorded as a printed letter instead.
At the disconnect days the account is proposed for disconnection — its Next step says disconnect order. Nothing is disconnected by the run.

Each notice and late fee happens once per bill however often Run collections is pressed, so the run is safe to repeat. An account in a live payment arrangement, or under a collection hold, is passed over.

On one account

Payment arrangement: split the past-due balance into Installments, with a Down payment and the First due date.
Disconnect order: raises a disconnect-for-non-payment service order (When, Note).
Hold collections: Until a date, and Why — for a dispute or a promise to pay.
Write off: what a final or closed account still owes goes to bad debt, with a reason. Each open bill gets a posted AR credit note (debit bad debt, credit the receivable), so neither shows as open.

Payment Arrangements

Arrangements requested from the portal arrive waiting for approval: Approve, Decline, see the Installments, or Cancel. Payments count towards the installments. An installment more than the grace days late breaks the arrangement and puts the account back on the ladder; the dashboard counts arrangements broken in the last 90 days.

Disconnection and reconnection

An account flagged Life support / critical care is never disconnected for non-payment. Run collections shows its next step as a call, a Disconnect order is refused, and a disconnect service order cannot be completed for it. Work the account by talking to the person and with an arrangement. To disconnect, staff must first clear the flag on the account — recorded in its history, so it is clear who decided.

A disconnect order is completed in the field like any service order (see Utility service orders and My Service Orders).
When the customer has paid, raise a reconnect order. Completing it charges the reconnect fee from Utility Settings, unless the technician enters a reason in Waive the reconnect fee because.
A deposit is applied to the final bill when an account stops.

Collection Actions is the trail: every notice (and whether it was emailed or printed), late fee, arrangement, disconnect, blocked disconnect and write-off, with who and when.