Managing Customer Credit

This document explains how to:

  • Analyze customer credit for a payer
  • Evaluate the risk of any customer losses.

Outcome

The customer credit status and payment behavior are analyzed for each payer or customer. Potential problem customers are identified. Actions are taken, based on the information, and recorded.

Use the information to review the customer's credit policy. If necessary, you block the customer entirely from the order system by entering a customer stop in 'Customer. Open' (CRS610/J). You also prioritize invoices for potential problem customers in the verbal payment reminder and debt collection routines in the customer debt management process.

Before you start

A credit policy must be defined for each customer and registered in 'Customer. Open' (CRS610), panels J and K. See Apply Company Credit Policy to Customer.

Follow these steps

Outline

Perform the following activities in a sequence.

  1. Calculate Average Customer Credit Time as a DSO Value per Payer and Period

    Calculate DSO values indicating the payer's general payment behavior over a longer period of time in 'Credit Monitoring. Calculate DSO' (RMS400).

  2. Select Transactions for Credit Monitoring and Verbal Payment Reminders

    Create a selection of past due invoices based on the credit manager connected to the customer in 'Customer. Open' (CRS610/K). This is done in 'Credit Monitoring. Create Transactions' (RMS410).

  3. Process Credit Monitoring

    Review invoice transactions selected in step 2 for each customer in 'Credit Monitoring. Process' (RMS420). You can also use this program to analyze the customer's payment behavior by using options to call related programs.

The following activities are optional and can be performed after Processing Credit Monitoring is completed.

  • Analyze Credit Limits

    Analyze the current customer status for credit limits 1 and 2 based on lists printed in 'Credit Limit. Print Analysis' (ARS525).

  • Cancel Customer Risk for Draft Payments

    Cancel customer risk for bank-remitted drafts in 'Customer Risk Cancellation. Create' (ARS330). After a draft is remitted to the bank and discounted or redeemed, there still is a risk that it will be refused. By using (ARS330), the risk is automatically eliminated after a specified number of days.

  • Create Tickler Note for Contact with Payer and Action Taken

    Record information on any contacts you have with potential problem customers by using tickler notes (internal reminders) in 'Payer. Connect Tickler Note' (RMS440). This step is also part of .