> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.arcuserp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Collections Worklist
> Work aged customer balances in priority order, log calls and promises to pay, set a next action date, and assign a collections owner to each account.
Use Collections when you are following up with customers about money they owe. The worklist
reads the same receivables aging as AR Management, so the balances match. Collections records
your follow-up; it never posts an accounting entry or changes an invoice.
## Before You Start
* You need permission to view accounting to open the worklist.
* You need permission to post accounting to log an activity or assign an owner. Without it,
the **Log** and assign owner buttons stay visible but disabled, and hovering one tells you why.
* Choosing an owner reads your team list, which needs permission to view users. Without it,
the owner list offers only **Unassigned**.
* A customer appears only when they have an open receivable balance.
## Open Collections
Open **Finance > Receivables > Collections**. You can also search for **Collections** in the
command palette.
The page is titled **Collections Worklist**. It lists aged customer accounts, most delinquent
first, with four summary tiles above the table.
## Read the Summary Tiles
The tiles cover the whole business. They do not change when you pick an aging segment or a filter.
* **DSO**: days sales outstanding, the average number of days it takes to collect, with your
total receivables balance underneath. It is the same figure the Finance dashboard shows.
* **Open Promises**: promises to pay logged in the last 90 days whose promise date is today or
later, with the total amount of every promise logged in those 90 days underneath.
* **Calls (30d)**: calls logged in the last 30 days and how many accounts were touched.
* **Activities (30d)**: every collection activity logged in the last 30 days, and how many
promises are now past their promise date.
## Work the List
Each row is one customer account. The default order puts the most delinquent balances first:
money 90 or more days past due counts the most, then 61 to 90 days, then 31 to 60, then 1 to 30.
| Column | What it shows |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Customer** | The customer name and account number. Click it to open the customer account. |
| **Oldest** | The oldest past-due aging bucket the customer has a balance in: Current, 1-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, or 90+ days. |
| **Outstanding** | The customer's total open receivable balance. |
| **90+ days** | The amount more than 90 days past due. |
| **Promise to Pay** | The date and amount of the most recent promise to pay logged for the account. |
| **Next Action** | The next follow-up date from the most recent activity. |
| **Owner** | The assigned collector, or **Unassigned**. |
A bell icon with a line through it next to the row buttons means the customer has opted out of
payment reminders. Reach them directly instead of waiting for a reminder email.
Click a column heading to sort by it. The order, the segment and the filter are saved in the
page address, so you can bookmark or share a view.
### Aging segments
The segments above the table narrow the list to customers whose oldest past-due balance falls in
one bucket: **All**, **Current**, **1-30**, **31-60**, **61-90** and **90+**. Each segment shows
how many customers are in it.
### Filter, views and columns
* **Filter**: choose **Promise status** and **With open promise** to see only accounts with a
promise to pay on record. The active filter appears as a chip you can clear.
* **Saved views**: save the current segment, filter and sort, then apply it later.
* **Columns**: show, hide or reorder columns, or reset them to the default. **Customer** always
stays visible.
### Billed but not shipped
If your business recognizes revenue when goods ship, part of a customer's balance can be billed
for goods that have not shipped yet. That part is not collectible. When it applies, the
**Outstanding** cell shows a second line with the amount you can chase, and hovering it explains
how much is billed for goods that have not shipped. This value never moves a customer into a
past-due segment or raises their place in the list.
## Log a Collection Activity
1. Find the customer and click **Log** on their row.
2. The **Log activity for** dialog opens with the customer's outstanding balance and, when there
is one, the amount 90 or more days past due. If part of the balance is billed for goods that
have not shipped, the dialog says so and shows the chaseable amount, so you do not quote the
wrong figure to the customer.
3. Choose the **Activity type**: **Call**, **Promise to Pay**, **Email**, **Note**, **Dispute**
or **Next Action**.
4. Choose a **Disposition** if it helps: **Reached customer**, **Left voicemail**, **No answer**,
**Promised payment**, **Refused to pay**, **Disputed invoice** or **Wrong number**. Leave it at
**None** if it does not apply.
5. For **Promise to Pay**, enter the **Promise date** and, if you have one, the **Promise amount**.
6. Set a **Next action date** for your next follow-up.
7. Add a **Note** with the call summary, dispute detail or follow-up plan.
8. Click **Save activity**.
Arcus shows **Collection activity logged**, and the row updates with the new promise and next
action dates.
## Assign a Collections Owner
1. Click the assign owner button (the person icon) on the customer's row.
2. In **Assign collections owner for**, choose a team member from **Owner**. Only active users
appear.
3. Click **Save**.
Arcus shows **Collections owner updated**. To clear an owner, choose **Unassigned** and save.
The owner is the person responsible for follow-up on that account.
## What Happens When You Save
* **No accounting impact**: logging an activity or assigning an owner does not post to the
ledger, change an invoice, apply a payment or send anything to the customer.
* **Balance snapshot**: each activity records the customer's open balance at the moment you
logged it.
* **Audit trail**: each activity and each owner change is written to the customer account's
activity history with your name.
* **Live refresh**: other users with Collections open see the change without reloading.
## Messages You May See
| Message | What it means | What to do |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **No aged accounts** | No customer has an open balance in the current segment or filter. | Choose **All** or clear the filter. |
| **Failed to load the collections worklist. Try again.** | The list could not be read. | Reload the page. If it persists, contact support. |
| **A promise date is required.** | You chose **Promise to Pay** without a date. **Save activity** stays disabled and its hover text says **Enter a promise date first**. | Pick the promise date. |
| **Account not found** | The customer account no longer exists in this business, or you switched businesses. | Reload the worklist. |
| **Failed to log activity** or **Failed to assign owner** | The save did not complete. When Arcus has a reason, such as a negative promise amount or an owner who is not a member of this business, the reason appears instead. | Read the reason, correct it, and save again. |
## Common Scenarios
### A customer shows a large balance but the aging buckets are small
Part of the balance may be billed for goods that have not shipped, or may not be past due yet.
Look for the chaseable line under **Outstanding**, and open the customer in AR Management to see
the invoices behind the balance.
### A customer says they already paid
Do not log a promise. Open the customer account and check recent payments, then use AR
Management or Remittance Import to apply the payment to the right invoices.
### A customer disputes an invoice
Log a **Dispute** activity with the invoice and the reason in the note, then work the correction
through the invoice or a credit memo.
## Related Articles
Finance > Receivables > AR Management: aging, customer balances, payments and statements.
Finance > Receivables > Credit Memos: issue and apply customer credits.
Finance > Receivables > Remittance Import: apply customer remittances to invoices.
Sales > Accounts > Customers: open a customer account and its history.