File Numbering

This function checks the file numbers of all debtors in your system, looking for duplicates. If duplicates are found, Collect! renumbers the files to eliminate duplication. Select Tools from the top menu bar and then select Utilities from the drop-down choices. Select File Numbering from the sub-menu that appears.

This is useful if you have just imported, and the incoming file numbers overlap existing file numbers. In other cases, users may have manually entered file numbers when creating new debtors, overriding the unique file number assigned automatically by Collect!

Normally, you shouldn't need to renumber file numbers. But if you notice the same Notes appearing on more than one debtor, you can run this process to fix this.

WARNING: If you are sure that debtors have the same file number, don't try to eliminate the problem by deleting one of the duplicates! If you don't run this utility, you stand the chance of losing all notes for debtors with duplicate file numbers.

When you select File Numbering, Collect! will ask whether or not you want to continue. Select No to back out of the process.

Renumber File Numbers

When you select YES, Collect! begins searching for debtor File Numbers that are identical. If duplicates are found, Collect! lets you know this with a prompt.

Duplicate File Numbers Found

Select YES for Collect! to automatically renumber the second account. Notes are copied from the first debtor and attached to the newly renumbered account. This assures you that you will have all the notes that the two accounts were sharing. Then Collect! continues to search for duplicates. When the process is completed and no more duplicates exist, a message is displayed, listing the number of duplicate accounts examined, the number renumbered, and then number that were skipped.

Renumber File Numbers results

You may want to visit accounts that were reassigned, as well as the debtors with the original file numbers. At this time, you may want to modify notes that are duplicated on these accounts.

Collect! skips any debtor record that has Metro contacts marked done. This means that the account has been reported to a credit bureau. By default, Collect! sends the debtor's File Number as the debtor ID code that the credit bureaus require. Since renumbering debtors could possibly change a file number, this might result in a different file number being sent to the credit bureau for the same account. This is not acceptable to them. So, these records are skipped when File Numbering is run.

If you are using the Report Client Account Number switch in Credit Bureau Setup, then you may manually change the numbers of any accounts that Collect! skips. These skipped accounts are listed in the Credit Bureau log for your reference. This may be accessed from the System, Diagnostics menu choice.

After you have run the File Numbering utility, you can view results in the Application Log. There will be an item for each changed account logging the old and new File Numbers.