CRM & AR Automation Flashcards

In AR automation, what is 'exception management' and why is it critical?

Answer: Identifying and routing transactions that fail automated matching rules to human review queues

Exception management captures the transactions that automation cannot resolve and routes them efficiently to human specialists, ensuring no cash falls through the cracks.

Which feature of a CRM system allows a credit analyst to see all customer interactions, orders, and payment history in one view?

Answer: 360-degree customer view or unified customer profile

A 360-degree customer view aggregates CRM interactions, ERP transactions, and payment history into one screen, enabling informed credit decisions and collection conversations.

What distinguishes a 'soft' dunning message from a 'hard' dunning message?

Answer: Soft dunning is a gentle reminder for slightly overdue invoices; hard dunning is a firm demand with escalation warnings for severely overdue accounts

Dunning escalation logic graduates from polite reminders (soft) to formal collection demands with legal or service-suspension warnings (hard) based on aging and risk.

What is 'credit insurance' and how does it interact with a company's AR automation strategy?

Answer: A policy that indemnifies a company against customer insolvency or protracted default, often integrated with credit limit approvals in CRM

Credit insurance protects against bad debt loss; when integrated with CRM, insurer-approved limits can auto-populate customer credit limits, streamlining the approval process.

Which process in AR automation uses optical character recognition (OCR) to reduce manual data entry?

Answer: Invoice capture and data extraction from paper or PDF invoices

OCR technology reads invoice fields (amount, date, PO number) from scanned or PDF documents and populates AR systems automatically, reducing keying errors and labor.

A customer consistently deducts 2% from every invoice citing an early-payment discount not listed in their terms. What is the correct AR response?

Answer: Classify as an invalid deduction, issue a debit memo for the shortage, and escalate to sales for commercial resolution

Invalid deductions should be formally documented with a debit memo, challenged through collections, and escalated commercially when the customer has no contractual basis for the discount.

What role does a 'customer self-service portal' play in AR automation?

Answer: It enables customers to view invoices, submit disputes, make payments, and download statements without contacting AR staff

Self-service portals reduce inbound AR inquiries, accelerate dispute submission, and allow 24/7 payment acceptance, improving customer experience while lowering operational costs.