Summary

The Collections process is used to write off the balance of selected UB customer accounts and will create an adjustment type transaction on the accounts. The Generate step (UB> Collections> Generate) of the process is used to select the customer accounts to process in the batch. The balance of the customer accounts will be written off using the general ledger accounts attached to the service rates and fee codes being written off. The Collections adjustment type code (UB> Utilities> Setup> General tab> Collections Adjustment Type field) determines which general ledger accounts attached to the service rates and fee codes on the customer accounts will be used in the journal entry created by the Collections process. The collections adjustment type code will also display on the transaction line item created on the customer account.

After the batch has been generated, the Exceptions step (UB> Collections> Exceptions) will display the UB customer accounts that have been selected during the Generate step but have not been included in the Collections batch. Customer accounts with a credit balance on a service will not be included in the Collections batch. For example, if a customer has a balance due of $10.00 on the Water service but a $5.00 credit balance on the Waste Water service, the customer account will not be included in the Collections batch even if it is selected during the Generate step. If you would like to include the account in the Collections batch, run the redistribute credit balances process (UB> Adjustments and Fees> Redistribute Credit Balances) on the customer account to redistribute the credit balance. For example, if the Water service balance is $-10.00, but the Waste Water service balance is $54.00, you can include the customer account in the Collections process by running the redistribute credits process. The $10.00 credit balance will be used to reduce the balance of the Waste Water service and the customer account will be included in the Collections batch with a balance of $44.00.

The Select step (UB> Collections> Select/Update) is used to select the customer accounts included during the Generate step. This step is generally used to remove specific UB customer accounts from the Collections batch.

The GL Distribution report will display the journal entry created by the Collections process to write off the balance of the UB customer accounts included in the batch. If the Collections adjustment type code is set up as a Bill type adjustment (UB> Maintenance> Adjustment Type> GL Type drop-down> Bill), the following journal will be created.

If the Collections adjustment type code is set up as a Cash type adjustment (UB> Maintenance> Adjustment Type> GL Type drop-down> Cash), the following journal will be created.

Step by Step

1     Create a Collections batch.

• Select the Collections palette in UB> Collections. This will expand the Collections palette and display the steps of the Collections process.
• Select New from the Collections batch number drop-down menu to create a new batch. This will open the New Batch window.
  • If there are open batches in the Collections process, you can create a new batch without affecting the open batches.
• Enter a Batch Month and Batch Year. These fields default to the current calendar period and are for reference only. The fiscal period of the transactions in the batch is determined by the Journal Entry Date entered during the Generate step.
• Click the Generate icon   to populate the Batch Number field with the next available batch number. Batch numbers are limited to five digits and must be unique within the batch month of the batch year.
  • You can also manually create a new batch by entering a Batch Number and clicking the Save icon  .
• You can delete batches by selecting a batch and pressing DELETE.

2     Generate the collections.

• Open the Generate/Collections window (UB> Collections> Generate).
• The Generate step is used to select which customers will be included in the Collections batch. After the Collections batch has been generated, individual accounts can be removed from the batch using the Select/Update window (UB> Collections> Select/Update). After the Collections batch has been generated, returning to the Generate step and regenerating the batch will overwrite the customer accounts already included in the batch.
• Select the cycles you would like to include in the Collections batch in the Cycles field.
  • Click the Select All icon   to select all of the cycles in the Cycles field.
  • Click the Deselect All icon   to deselect all of the cycles in the Cycles field.
  • Press CTRL+A to select all of the cycles in the field. Press SPACEBAR to check or uncheck the highlighted toggles.
  • Hold down SHIFT and press an arrow key to select a range of cycles. Press SPACEBAR to check or uncheck all of the highlighted toggles.
• Select the services you would like to include in the Collections batch in the Services field.
  • Use the same keys as above to select multiple Services.
  • The balance on any service that is not included in the Collections batch will not be included in the Collections amount.
  • You can view the balance of a service on a customer account from the Account Master Maintenance window (UB> Maintenance> Account> Overview tab> Account Balance section).
• Click the Account Number field label to include a single customer in the batch. This will open the Account Master Search window in order to select a customer account.
  • When filtering by account number, the Past Dues Batch, Account Status and Final Date filters below will be ignored.
• Click the Past Dues Batch field label to include the customer accounts in a committed Utility Billing Past Due batch. This will open a selection window that displays all committed UB Past Due batches.
  • When filtering by Past Dues batch number, the Account Status and Final Date filters below will be ignored.
• Check the toggles of the account statuses that you would like to include in the batch in the Account Status field.
  • Press CTRL+A to select all of the account statuses in the field. Press SPACEBAR to check or uncheck all of the highlighted toggles.
• The Final Date Prior or Equal To field will only be active if Delete is selected in the Account Status field. Select a date from this drop-down menu to filter the deleted accounts included in the batch by final date.
• The Due Date Prior or Equal to field is used to filter the transactions included in the batch by due date.
  • Only those transactions that have due dates that fall before or on the specified date will be included in the batch. Transactions that do not have due dates will be filtered by the other parameters on the window.
  • If no date is selected, this functionality will not be used.
• The Journal Entry Date field will default to the current date. The journal entry date is the date that the journal entries created by the Collections process will be posted to the general ledger.
  • The Journal Entry Date will also be used as the Transaction Date.
  • The journal entry date is different than the Post date in the UB module. The Post Date is the date that the transactions are committed in UB> Collections> Commit.
  • The journal entry date will also display when you are creating the GL Distribution Report during the GL Distribution step.
• Enter an amount in the Debt Greater Than field to include only customer accounts with a balance greater than the value entered in the field. The value entered in this field represents the minimum value of the balances that will be included in the batch.
• Enter an amount in the Debt Less Than field to include only customer accounts with a balance less than the value entered in the field. The value entered in this field represents the maximum value of balances that will be included in the batch.
  • The Debt Greater Than and Debt Less Than fields can be used together if you would like to create a range of accounts to pull in into the batch.
• The Write off to AR field, AR Billing Cycle field and the Use AR revenue account toggle are only used when writing off the balance of UB customer accounts to the AR module.
• Press ENTER to generate the bills immediately or enter a date and time in the field next to the Confirm icon   to schedule the bills to generate at a later time.
  • You cannot schedule a report to print on a date and time that has already passed. If you want the report to print later in the evening, enter a PM in the AM/PM portion of the date field before entering the hour.
  • You can view the progress of the Generate step on the Job Viewer window (SS> Utilities> Show Scheduled Jobs). If the Collections batch has been scheduled to generate at a later time, you can view the scheduled date and time in the Scheduled Date/Time field.
• The Generate step will select the general ledger accounts used in the process. If you get to the GL Distribution step of the Collections process and realize that the GL accounts used on the journal entry are incorrect, you will have to rerun the Generate step after you change to GL accounts attached to the fee code.

3     The Exceptions step displays the customer accounts not included in the batch due to exceptions or errors. This is an optional step.

• Open the Exceptions/Collections window (UB> Collections> Exceptions). If no exceptions were generated in the batch, an information window will open.
• The UB customer accounts that display in the Exceptions window will not be processed in the Collections batch.
• The most common exception that will display in the window is “Found credit balance in Service XX for the amount of XXX.” This message will display if there is a credit balance in a service included in the Collections batch.
  • This message will even display if there is a debit balance on another service on the customer account. If the customer has a debit balance on one service and a credit balance on another service you should run the redistribute credits process (UB> Cash Receipts> Redistribute Credit) in order to redistribute the credit balances on the services.
• Press ESC when complete to exit the window.

4     The Select/Update step is used to select which customer accounts to include in the batch.

• The Update/Collections window will display the customer information and account balance.
  • The Amount column displays only the balance on services that have been included in the batch.
    • You can edit the value displayed in the Amount column.
    • The services included in the Collections batch were set up during the Services field of the Generate step.
• Uncheck the Selected toggle to remove the customer account from the Collections batch.
  • Click the Select All   or Deselect All   icons to affect all of the Selected toggles of all of the customer accounts that display in the window.
  • Use the ARROW keys to move between the rows and columns in the window.
  • Press SPACEBAR to check or uncheck the Selected toggle.
• Press ENTER when complete to save the changes in the window.

5     Print a Proof List.

• The Proof List will display all of the customer accounts included in the Collections batch and the collection amount of each service included in the batch.
• Open the Proof List/Collections window in UB> Collections> Proof List.
• Select how you would like the report to sort and order the data in the Sort By drop-down menu.
  • The Reference Number field is generally used to store the customer number from previously used software. The reference number is set up on each customer account in UB> Maintenance> Account> Account tab> General section> Reference Number field.
• Click the Print icon   to process the report immediately or enter a date and time in the field next to the Print icon to schedule the report to generate at a later time. You can view the progress of the report on the Job Viewer window (SS> Utilities> Show Scheduled Jobs).
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Print Preview to preview the report before printing.
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Excel to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet as unformatted data.
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Excel (Formatted) to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet that includes much of the Springbrook formatting found on the printed version of the report.
  • Once the report is generated, you can also display the report using the View Reports window (SS> Utilities> View Report).
• The Proof List will display the customer information and the collections balance on each service included in the Collections batch. The report will also include a batch total by service and a batch total of the entire collections amount.

6     Print a Turnover report.

• The Turnover Report will display the customer information and the total amount sent to collections. This report is typically given to an outside agency for collection processing.
• Select how you would like to sort the information that displays on the report in the Sort By drop-down menu.
  • Select Account Number if you would like to sort the report by UB customer account number.
  • Select Reference Number if you would like to sort the report by the reference number attached to the UB customer account.
    • The Reference Number field is generally used to store the customer number from previously used software. The reference number is set up on each customer account (UB> Maintenance> Account> Account tab> General section> Reference Number field).
  • Select Last Name if you would like to sort the accounts that display on the report by last name.
• Select which information you would like to display in the Display drop-down menu.
  • Select Tenant information if you would like the tenant or primary customer information to display on the report.
  • Select Owner Information if you would like the owner attached to the lot to display on the report.
• Select the Report Type you would like to generate.
  • The Summary report will display the Account Number, Reference Number, Tenant Name, Tenant Phone Number, Tenant Mailing Address, Service Address, Social Security Number, Driver's License Number, Tax Lot, Last Bill Date, Last Bill Amount and Amount to Collections. The report also provides batch totals for Last Bill Amount and Amount to Collections.
  • The Detail report will display everything included in the Summary report as well as the Service Code, Rate Code, Tax Code, Fee Code and Description for each line item.
• Check the Group details by service group toggle to group the line items on the report by the service group the services are assigned to.
  • This toggle will only be enabled when generating the detailed version of the report.
• Click the Print icon   to process the report immediately or enter a date and time in the field next to the Print icon to schedule the report to generate at a later time. You can view the progress of the report on the Job Viewer window (SS> Utilities> Show Scheduled Jobs).
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Print Preview to preview the report before printing.
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Excel to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet as unformatted data.
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Excel (Formatted) to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet that includes much of the Springbrook formatting found on the printed version of the report.
  • Once the report is generated, you can also display the report using the View Reports window (SS> Utilities> View Report).

7     Export the collections data.

• Generate an export file if your organizations sends collections information to a third-party agency.
• The exported collections file will include the Account Number, Account Balance, Service Code, Service Description, Itemization Date, Balance as of Itemization Date, Interest and Fees Added Since Itemization Date, and Payments Since Itemization Date for each account included in the batch.
• Select a Configuration for the export file.
  • The Configuration drop-down menu will display the standard Springbrook export format as well as any custom export formats that have been created for the Collections process.
  • Select (Standard) to generate the a basic export file based on standard Springbrook parameters.
  • Custom export configurations are created and maintained on the Export Configuration Maintenance window (SS> Maintenance> Export Configuration).
    • Please work with your third-party agency when creating and testing a custom export configuration.
• Check the Group details by service group toggle to group the line items in the export file by the service group the services are assigned to.
• The export file must be in comma-separated value (.csv) format.
• Click the Confirm icon to export the collections data file.

8     Print a GL Distribution report.

• The GL Distribution Report will display the journal entry created by the Collections process. The GL accounts selected by the process are determined during the Generate step. If you would like to modify the GL account used in the transaction, you will have to change the GL accounts attached to the fee codes and then regenerate the Collections batch.
• The GL Distribution step will only display on the Collections palette if the General Ledger module is set up to interface with the Utility Billing Module.
• The Journal Entry Date field will populate from the Journal Entry Date field in UB> Collections> Generate> Journal Entry Date field. The Fiscal Period and Fiscal Year fields will populate with the fiscal period and year based on the journal entry date.
  • The Journal Entry Date field will not be enabled. If you would like to modify the journal entry date of the transactions in the Collections batch, you will have to regenerate the batch and enter a new date in the Journal Entry Date field in UB> Collections> Generate.
• Select the level of detail you want to include in the report and how it will sort in the Report Type drop-down menu.
  • The detail version of the report will display the journal entry line item on each customer account. The summary version will only display the transactions totaled by general ledger account and exclude the customer information.
  • The detail version of the report will display the general ledger account number, customer number, service code, rate code, description, and the debit and credit amounts. The report will also group by fund and display a report total.
  • The summary version of the report will display the net transaction on each general ledger account. The report will display the general ledger account, general ledger account description, and the debit and credit amount. The report will also group by fund and display a report total.
• Select how you want to sort the information on the report.
  • If you sort the report by general ledger accounts, the report will sort by general ledger accounts.
  • If you sort the report by transaction type, the transactions will sort by AR adjustments and billing adjustments. The report will also sort by general ledger account within the AR adjustments and billing adjustments.
• Click the Print icon   to process the report immediately or enter a date and time in the field next to the Print icon to schedule the report to generate at a later time. You can view the progress of the report on the Job Viewer window (SS> Utilities> Show Scheduled Jobs).
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Print Preview to preview the report before printing.
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Excel to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet as unformatted data.
  • Click the Print icon drop-down menu and select Excel (Formatted) to export the report data to an Excel spreadsheet that includes much of the Springbrook formatting found on the printed version of the report.
  • Once the report is generated, you can also display the report using the View Reports window (SS> Utilities> View Report).
• The journal entry created by the process will vary depending on how the Collections adjustment type code is set up (UB> Utilities> Setup> General tab> Collections Adjustment Type field).
  • If the Collections adjustment type code is set up as a Bill type adjustment (UB> Maintenance> Adjustment Type> GL Type drop- down> Bill), the following journal will be created.

• If the Collections adjustment type code is set up as a Cash type adjustment (UB> Maintenance> Adjustment Type> GL Type drop-down> Cash), the following journal will be created.

9     Commit the Collections batch.

• After the Proof List and GL Distribution Report have been reviewed, the Collections batch is ready to commit. Once a Collections batch has been committed, you cannot roll the transactions back, so make sure the transactions in the batch are correct.
• Open the Commit window (UB> Collections> Commit).
• The Batch Number field will display the batch number of the batch being created. If you have several open Collections batched, make sure you are committing the correct Collections batch.
• The Journal Entry Date field will display the journal entry date entered during the Generate step of the Collections process.
  • The Fiscal Period and Fiscal Year field will populate based on the journal entry date.
  • The journal entry date cannot be modified from the Commit window. In order to change the journal entry date, you will have to regenerate the Collections batch and enter a different date in the Journal Entry Date field in UB> Collections> Generate.
• Press ENTER when complete to commit the batch.