Accounts Receivable — Module Introduction
Invoices, cash application, credit & collections, month-end, and reporting
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Overview

The Accounts Receivable (AR) module manages the full order-to-cash lifecycle for FasTrax: creating and issuing invoices, posting and applying cash, monitoring customer credit, managing collections, and closing the period with auditable reporting. AR connects directly with shipments/entries to minimize re-keying and ensures amounts, customers, and supporting references stay in sync.

  • Who uses AR: billing specialists, cash posters, collectors, and accounting managers.
  • What you can do: generate invoices, post payments and credit memos, manage credit holds, run statements and dunning, close the month, and export reports.

ATS Portal — Web Interface for Accounting

The ATS Portal provides a modern, web‑based interface for Accounting managers and users. It surfaces live dashboards for A/R, A/P, billing, checks issued, scheduled payments, and work‑in‑process. From each widget you can drill down into the underlying customer, invoice, or file details to investigate issues or take action. Use the Portal to monitor aging, receipts, past‑due follow‑ups, and billing performance throughout the day—without leaving your browser.

ATS Portal – Accounting dashboard with drill-down widgets
Figure. ATS Portal — Accounting dashboard showing AR/AP aging, receipts, collections call queue, scheduled payments, and WIP with drill‑down access.

Getting Started

Before you begin using Accounts Receivable, confirm the following setup in Maintenance and Setup & Administration. This ensures invoices post cleanly, cash can be applied without creating suspense items, and reports reconcile.

Bill Codes

  • Define service Bill Codes with correct GL mappings and Fee settings.
  • Set default amounts/units where helpful; mark inactive codes you no longer use.
  • Verify that commonly used codes are visible to the AR/Invoicing roles.

Bank Codes

  • Create a Bank Code for each depository account used for receipts.
  • Confirm bank GL accounts and posting rules (cash, discounts, differences).
  • If lockbox is used, store import profiles and matching priorities.

Departments / Branches

  • Ensure Department/Branch lists are current and mapped to proper GL segments.
  • Assign default departments to users/locations for consistent posting.
  • Review reporting hierarchy (region/branch/collector) for aging/statements.

Customers

  • Complete Customer Master data: terms, currency, statement/dunning preferences.
  • Set credit limits, salesperson/collector, and email contacts for invoice delivery.
  • Attach tax IDs/exemptions and default Bill Codes if applicable.

Tip: After setup, create a test invoice and a small test receipt to validate postings from end to end.

Core Workflows

Invoicing

  1. Start from a shipment/entry or billing queue; review charges and fees.
  2. Generate the invoice (PDF/print/email) and post to the ledger.
  3. Batch utilities for bulk invoice print/reprint and void/credit.

Cash Posting & Applications

  1. Record payments (checks, ACH/wire, card) and select invoices to apply.
  2. Handle partials, short-pays, and over-payments using adjustments/credits.
  3. Lockbox import (if enabled) to auto-match by invoice/customer/amount.

Credit & Collections

  1. Set and monitor credit limits, terms, and holds.
  2. Run aging and contact customers; record notes and next actions.
  3. Email statements and dunning letters from saved views.

Month-End Close

  1. Close AR Period
  2. Rebuild Account Summary if applicable
  3. Archive period reports to your compliance folder.

Prerequisites & Setup

Master Data

  • Customers, terms, and contacts in Customer Master.
  • GL mappings, Fee settings, and numbering in Setup & Maintenance.
  • Carrier/port codes current in Maintenance to ensure invoice data aligns with filings.

Controls

  • User roles and approval limits configured.
  • Statement templates, email settings, and lockbox profile (if used).
  • Finance charges and dunning policies (optional).

KPIs & Reports

Operational

  • A/R Aging (by customer, collector, branch)
  • Cash application turnaround time
  • Open credit/ unapplied cash

Finance

  • DSO and delinquency buckets
  • Write-off/adjustment trend
  • Revenue vs. billing variance

Security & Roles

  • Billing — create/post invoices; limited to customer scope.
  • Cash App — post payments and apply; cannot modify invoices.
  • Collections — view aging/notes; send statements/dunning.
  • Admin — setup, GL mapping, period close.

Integrations

  • EDI/Email — invoice delivery to customers.
  • Bank/Lockbox — import payment files to speed cash posting.
  • GL Posting — summarized or detailed postings to your accounting system.

Tips & Best Practices

  • Use saved filters (e.g., “Today’s invoices”, “Unapplied cash”, “Over-60 accounts”).
  • Enter concise remarks ([] keywords) on invoices and payments for audit trail.
  • Batch print statements after reconciling unapplied/credits.