Debtor Status Basics

What is a Debtor Status code? A status code is simply a method to flag the status of an account using your company's rules for defining the state of an account. A status code can be a value of up to 4 alphanumeric characters. It can be used in reports to group, sort, and filter accounts, in your To Do List, in exporting, and in many other valuable ways, to produce fast and specific lists of accounts.

If you are experienced with credit bureau reporting, do confuse Debtor Status Codes with credit bureau reporting status codes. These are completely different and are explained in the credit bureau reporting help.

Give some thought to the creation of new codes so that each code serves a distinct purpose. You don't want to have two or more status codes that basically define the same account status.

Think about your company policies as accounts move through your processes. When an account is newly entered, you may have a status code of NEW to flag an operator that this is a new account. Once the operator works the account, you may want to change the status to ACT to flag that operator work has begun on the account. Change the status to PTP if the debtor has agreed to make promise payments. Set the status to NSF if you have received a returned payment from the debtor. Then set the status to PIF when the account is paid in full or set the status to SIF if the account has paid the settlement amount agreed on. Set a status to SKP if the account requires skip tracing.

These are just some examples. Every business may use different codes - a few basic codes, or many codes, to create a more flexible and efficient method of working with the accounts.

The Debtor Status Codes list is completely under your control. Keep the list small. Start simple and add status codes as you grow, or your needs change. The benefits will become more obvious as you get more experienced with Collect!.

Debtor Status Codes

Accessing Debtor Status

The Debtor Status form may be accessed in many ways. Providing you have access to the various menus and forms, you can use one of the following ways to get to the Debtor Status list. When viewing the list of status codes, you can select one to display the Debtor Status form to modify any existing status code or description or create a new one.

1. Using the menu bar at the top of Collect! select System to display the drop-down menu. Select Contact Management Settings, Status Codes from this menu and the list of existing status codes will display.

2. Or, you can also gain access to debtor status codes from the Main Menu. Select the System Administration button to display the System Setup menu. Select the Setup and Configuration button to display the System Setup form. Select the Plans and Reference Tables button to display the Plans, Tables and Defaults form. Finally, select the Status Codes button and the list of existing status codes will display.

3. While on a debtor record, you can use the drop-down arrow to the right of the field labeled STATUS and gain access to the list of existing status codes.

4. While on any field that has a drop-down arrow which opens a list of stored contents, if you have the access rights, you will be able to Delete, Edit or add a New entry into this list.

See Also

- Debtor Status
- Debtor Status Samples