Before starting an accounts receivable automation workflow, choose the work you want to improve and gather the records needed to review it. A useful starting point is one recurring task: following up on overdue invoices, matching payments or investigating disputes.
Each task needs a different combination of information and judgment. Making those requirements explicit gives your team a practical way to assess the setup.
Choose the first workflow
Start with a problem the team can describe using recent examples.
| Starting workflow | Question to answer | Records to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Overdue follow-up | Which accounts need attention, and what has already been discussed? | Open invoices, due dates and communication history |
| Payment matching | Which invoice or invoices does this payment relate to? | Payment details, invoice references and remittance information |
| Dispute review | What is holding up payment, and who needs to resolve it? | Invoice, disputed amount, supporting records and previous responses |
Choose a manageable set of records with a named reviewer. Keep the original records available so that the team can check any proposed action.
Prepare identifiers and supporting information
For the selected workflow, check that the team can find the customer reference, invoice number, invoice amount and currency, due date, recorded payments, and any related dispute.
For payment matching, gather the remittance information supplied by the customer where available. A payment may cover a whole invoice, part of an invoice or more than one invoice. Oracle's receipt-application documentation illustrates these allocation patterns; the steps and accounting treatment depend on the system and your team's policy. Oracle Receivables documentation.
Avoid silently filling gaps with assumptions. If a reference is missing or two records conflict, make that visible to the reviewer.
Write down the exceptions
An illustrative review case: the team receives a payment of $6,000 against an invoice for $6,500, with no explanation of the difference. The amounts alone do not establish whether this is a partial payment, a disputed amount or another situation.
Your preparation checklist should say where the reviewer can find the supporting information and who decides how to handle the difference. This example is fictional and does not prescribe an accounting entry.
List the cases your team expects to review, such as a missing remittance, a disputed deduction, conflicting customer references or an unmatched payment. Assign an owner for each case and record how it is resolved.
Agree permissions and responsibilities
Confirm who supplies records, who reviews exceptions and which changes require approval. Distinguish the ability to read a source from the authority to update it.
Ask how the system records the evidence behind a proposed match or follow-up. Also ask how the team corrects a mistake and how source-system permissions are managed.
Review the current security guidance before connecting company data. Confirm the settings and responsibilities for your deployment with the team handling setup.
Record the starting point
Before the pilot, agree a few measures that describe the selected workflow. You might record how many items enter the queue, how many require manual review and how long those reviews take.
Define the beginning and end of each measure. For example, time spent finding a missing reference is different from time spent waiting for a customer response. Keeping them separate will make the review more useful.
Use the same measures after the pilot. Discuss what changed, which exceptions remain difficult and what information is still missing. A pilot should reveal whether the workflow fits your process; it cannot promise a particular cash-flow outcome.
Bring a clear brief to the first consultation
Prepare your approximate invoice volume, the accounting tools you use, the task you want to improve and a few representative examples with sensitive details removed.
With Alfred for Finance, I help organize receivables work across payment matching, collections and dispute review. My team starts with a consultation to confirm your workflow, setup and pricing. Explore Finance or discuss your requirements.
Related reading: Accounts receivable and cash application.