Chasing

Chasing works one customer at a time through a pipeline: an ordered ladder of stages, each with an action and a date it falls due. A customer with overdue debt is enrolled onto a pipeline, and their chase case carries the whole story from first reminder to resolution.

What you need: the Credit Control section and the CRM Chasing permission. The chase case’s holds, activity and reviews additionally need CRM Chase Activity. Sending needs the Run Chase Sends capability, and restriction or late-charge decisions need Approve Chase Actions.

Pipelines

A pipeline decides who is chased, how hard, and when.

Setting	What it does
Safeguard Class	Vulnerable, Protected or Commercial - how carefully this group is treated
Minimum Balance	Below this, customers are not enrolled at all
Currency	Blank means it applies to any currency, using the same numeric threshold without converting
Auto-Enrol Nightly	Whether the overnight run enrols matching customers itself
Customer Statuses	Which statuses this pipeline chases. Blank means every status that can receive correspondence
Ofcom Classifications and Customer Classes	How customers are claimed. Ofcom classification wins over customer class
Default Pipeline	Takes every customer no other pipeline claims. Only one pipeline can be the default, and it cannot name individual statuses
Business Days, Send From, Send Until	The window in which this pipeline is allowed to contact people

Three supplied pipelines are worth knowing:

• Protected Customers is the default out of the box.
• Final Bill Customers chases a closing balance from a lower threshold and stops at the Notice of Action. A closed account never receives a suspension warning or a restriction it is impossible to carry out.
• Manual Credit Control raises clearly-labelled manual work without sending anything, for teams who prefer to chase by hand.

Pipeline

Core settings controlling the availability and order of this chase pipeline.

Field	Description
Pipeline	Name of this chase pipeline
Default Pipeline	Whether this pipeline takes every customer no other pipeline claims by its Ofcom or Customer Class mapping. Only one pipeline can be the default, and it cannot name individual customer statuses
Active	Whether this pipeline is available for use
Display Order	Order this pipeline appears in lists
Currency	Currency handled by this pipeline; leave blank to use it as an all-currency fallback. Active late-payment-fee stages require an exact currency.
Safeguard Class	Safeguard class applied to cases assigned to this pipeline

Enrolment Criteria

Conditions used to decide which customers enter this chase pipeline.

Field	Description
Minimum Balance	Outstanding balance below which customers are not enrolled. An all-currency pipeline applies this same numeric threshold in each customer currency without conversion.
Auto-Enrol Nightly	Whether the daily business-hours sweep automatically opens cases for customers assigned to this pipeline
Customer Statuses	Customer statuses this pipeline chases. Leave blank to chase every status that receives correspondence; name statuses explicitly to build a dedicated track (a Final Bill pipeline, for example), or to chase a status that does not otherwise correspond.

Classification Assignment

Ofcom protection classifications assign policy when present; Customer Class is used only when the customer has no Ofcom classification. A pipeline that maps neither, and is not the default pipeline, is reached only by naming it on the customer record.

Field	Description
Ofcom Classifications	Ofcom customer protection classifications assigned to this pipeline; these mappings take priority over Customer Class
Customer Classes	Customer Classes assigned to this pipeline when the customer has no Ofcom classification

Business Window

Days and times when automated customer contact may be sent.

Field	Description
Business Days	Days on which automated customer contact may be sent
Send From	Earliest local time at which automated customer contact may be sent
Send Until	Latest local time before which automated customer contact may be sent

System Information

Field	Description
Last Modified	Timestamp of the most recent modification to this pipeline

Stages

Each stage is one rung of the ladder.

Setting	What it does
Trigger and Offset Days	Before the due date, on it, after it, or a number of days after the previous action
Day Basis	Calendar days or working days
Action Type	Send Email, Send Letter, Send SMS, Phone Call Task, Review Task, Late Payment Fee, Restriction Review or Close Case
Execution Mode	Automatic, Create for Approval, or Manual
Correspondence Type / SMS Type	What is actually sent
Task Text	The wording of the task a call or review stage raises
Minimum Contact Gap and Maximum Attempts	How often a customer may be contacted, and when the stage stops and asks for a person
Pause When Restricted	Whether to stop chasing an already-restricted customer
Consolidate Earlier Stages	Include eligible overdue invoices from the same or earlier stages in one communication
Offer Payment Promise and Maximum Promise Delay	Whether the customer can promise a date themselves, and how far ahead
Promise Due Reminder and Broken Promise Notice	The correspondence used when a promise falls due or is broken
Close Outcome	For a closing stage: Resolved, Escalated or Written Off

Stage

Position and trigger settings for this chase stage.

Field	Description
Pipeline	Pipeline this stage belongs to
Stage	Name of this chase stage
Trigger	Event or date used as the starting point for this stage
Offset Days	Number of days before or after the trigger when this stage becomes due
Day Basis	Whether the offset is measured in calendar or working days
Display Order	Order this stage appears in within the pipeline; cases advance in this order
Active	Whether this stage is available for use

Action

Action performed when a chase case reaches this stage.

Field	Description
Action Type	Action taken at this stage, including automated contact, a manual task, a charge or closure
Execution Mode	Whether the daily sweep performs this action automatically, creates correspondence for approval, or creates work for a user
Correspondence Type	Correspondence type recorded and sent at this email or letter stage
SMS Type	SMS type sent at an SMS stage; its dealer-configurable message body is used
Late Payment Profile	Late Payment Profile used by a late-payment-fee stage
Task Text	Instruction shown on the TODO this stage raises for the case owner; leave empty for the pipeline and stage names alone
Minimum Contact Gap	Minimum days since the last customer contact before this action can be attempted
Maximum Attempts	Maximum delivery attempts before this stage is blocked for user attention
Pause When Restricted	Pause this stage while the customer is recorded as restricted or suspended
Consolidate Earlier Stages	When this contact stage is due, include eligible overdue invoices from the same or earlier stages in one communication
Offer Payment Promise	Offer the customer a secure link to promise the full collectible balance when this email is delivered
Maximum Promise Delay	Maximum number of calendar days after delivery that the customer may choose as their payment date
Promise Due Reminder	Correspondence sent automatically on the promised payment date; leave empty to disable it
Broken Promise Notice	Correspondence sent automatically when an unpaid promise passes its grace period; leave empty to disable it
Close Outcome	Case outcome recorded by a close action

System Information

Field	Description
Last Modified	Timestamp of the most recent modification to this stage

Enrolling customers

Chasing has three tabs.

Chase list

Every open chase case in your scope, ordered the way a credit controller would work it. Broken promises come first. Then due cases, by age bucket and then by amount. Then cases not yet due, by their next action date.

Columns are the customer, pipeline and stage, the next action, the aged breakdown, the overdue amount and the owner.

Row tags worth knowing:

Tag	Meaning
Due	An action is due now
Broken promise	A promise passed its date unpaid
Below minimum	The run is withholding this stage because the balance is under the pipeline minimum
Needs attention	Stalled: the chase task was closed without the chase moving on, so nothing will move it again
Payment plan	The account is on a payment plan
Not overdue	The case is armed on a stage that fires before the due date

Not being chased

Overdue customers with no open case. Tick them, choose a pipeline per row and use Enrol selected.

Rows the nightly sweep will enrol itself are badged Auto-enrols daily and cannot be ticked, so you never duplicate the automation’s work.

Customers marked Do Not Chase are never listed here.

Abandoned

Customers whose last chase case was abandoned. They are left alone until further debt becomes overdue, which re-enrols them automatically. Re-enrol selected for chasing is the deliberate override that bypasses that suppression.

When a customer cannot be enrolled

• They are marked Do Not Chase.
• They already have an open case.
• No active pipeline matches their currency and status.
• Their collectible balance is under the pipeline’s minimum.
• No invoice can be planned into a stage.

Choosing a pipeline by hand that differs from the one policy would pick is remembered on the customer as an override.

The chase case

The header shows the customer, the pipeline, the owner, and when it was opened and by whom. Beside them sit the status - Open, Resolved or Abandoned - and tags for a broken promise, a payment plan, Do Not Chase and any service restriction.

A stage ladder runs across the top with the current stage highlighted.

Cards: collectible overdue (with the gross and credits shown underneath), the current stage, the next action, the customer’s service state, and when it closed.

Panels: the customer’s contact details, aged debt, the invoice chase items, payment arrangements, any payment delay cases, safeguard holds, action reviews, communication attempts and open TODOs. An activity timeline runs alongside them, merging the case log with every piece of customer correspondence raised inside the case window.

What “collectible” means

Every chase figure is the collectible balance, not the gross one. It is the invoice balance, less any pending refund credits sitting on the customer’s next bill, less any raised credit notes applied oldest debt first.

That matters: chasing somebody for money you have already agreed to credit is the fastest way to turn a debt into a complaint.

Invoice chase items

One row per invoice being chased, showing its contractual due date (with any chase grace noted), the gross balance, credits, collectible amount, stage, next action and status.

Statuses read in plain English: Recovered where the payment can be attributed to chasing, Settled (no contact) or Settled without contact where it cannot, and a Held suffix where a hold applies.

The suspension banner

If the customer’s status stops matching the pipeline, a banner says Credit Control is suspended. Nothing will be sent, charged or restricted until one of three things happens: they return to a status this pipeline chases, the case moves to a pipeline that does, or the case is closed.

This hold is placed and released by the platform and cannot be released by hand. When the customer returns to a chased status it lifts itself, and the TODO it raised is completed automatically.

Actions on a chase case

Send Stage Letter

Sends the current stage’s letter or email for this one case, immediately.

Important: needs Run Chase Sends, and only appears where the stage is an email or letter stage with a correspondence type.

Advance Stage

Moves the case to another stage of the same pipeline, defaulting to the next one on the ladder. It is deliberately not offered on a restriction review stage, which must be decided rather than skipped.

Log Call

Records a call against the case.

Required: Call Notes.

Optional: Advance to the Next Stage, which is ticked by default on a call stage.

Record Promise

Records that the customer has promised to pay.

Required: the Promise Type (an overdue payment, or an agreed partial payment), the Promised Amount and the date Promised By.

What happens: an arrangement is created and the promised amount is allocated across the open items, oldest action first. A real expected payment is created on the customer, so it appears in Expected Payments and on their Payments tab. Chasing pauses on those items until the promise lapses.

Important:

• The promise cannot exceed the live collectible overdue balance.
• An item already covered by an active arrangement cannot be promised again.
• Pending restriction or late-charge reviews on the linked invoices block it. Complete or reject those first.
• Once the promised date plus the grace period has passed unpaid, the promise is marked broken, and the case jumps to the top of the chase list.

Chase stages can also invite the customer to promise a date themselves through a link in the email. See What your customers see.

Snooze

Pauses the case until a chosen date.

Required: a Snooze Until date, which must be after today.

Important: a snooze is implemented as a hold blocking contact, charges and restriction, so it appears in the Safeguard holds panel like any other hold.

Add Hold and Release Hold

Pause selected Credit Control activity for the whole case or a single chased invoice.

Required: the Hold Type, a Reason, and at least one of the three controls:

• Block Customer Contact - no automated or manual chase communications.
• Block Late Payment Charges - no fee or interest assessment.
• Block Restriction Review - the case is not put forward for restriction or suspension.

Optional: an Invoice Scope to limit the hold to one chased invoice, and a Hold Until date. Leave the date blank for a hold that must be released by hand.

What happens: a contact-blocking hold immediately cancels any scheduled or queued chase correspondence for the items it covers.

Hold types: Billing Dispute, Complaint, Vulnerability Support, Payment Arrangement, Customer Status Not Eligible, Manual and Other.

Important: two hold types are placed by the platform and should not be added by hand.

• Customer Status Not Eligible is refused by the form and cannot be released by an operator.
• Billing Dispute holds are placed by Record Dispute on a case, and released by Resolve Dispute - but only the holds that dispute placed, never one you added yourself.
• Complaint holds come from the complaints register.

Update Service Status

Records the customer’s service state as normal, restricted or suspended.

Required: a reason.

Important: this records the operational status. It does not restrict or suspend anything. Needs Approve Chase Actions.

Change Pipeline, Add Note and Create TODO

Move the case to another pipeline, record a note, or raise a task. The TODO due date defaults to the case’s next action date.

Resolve, Escalate and Abandon

Resolve closes the case as settled. Escalate closes it as handed on, for example to a collections agency. Abandon closes it as not worth pursuing further.

Important: abandoning a chase case is not the financial write-off. The debt remains outstanding, and the customer is only chased again once further debt becomes overdue. Use the customer’s Write Off Debt action for the bad-debt credit note.

Approve, Reject and Complete a review

Where a stage puts a restriction or a late-payment charge forward for review, holders of Approve Chase Actions decide it. A rejection needs a reason. Once it has enough approvals, complete it. A review is blocked while a hold or an arrangement covers the case.

Reopen

Reopens a closed case.

How recovery is attributed

When a chased invoice clears, the CRM records why, and freezes that judgement so a published figure never moves.

Attribution	Meaning
Recovered After Contact	Paid on or after the first chase contact. The only one that counts as a Credit Control win
Paid Before Contact	Paid before anything was sent
Settled Without Contact	Cleared without chasing having reached them
Cleared Without Payment	Cleared by a credit or an adjustment rather than money

That distinction is what makes the Results page honest: it will not claim a recovery it cannot attribute to something you did.

Ageing always uses the contractual due date. Payment grace days shift only the first action after the due date, never the ageing buckets or whether an invoice counts as overdue.

Field reference

Case

Customer, pipeline, stage and current status for this chase case.

Field	Description
Customer	Customer being chased
Currency	Currency captured from the customer when this case was opened
Pipeline	Chase pipeline this case follows
Stage	The earliest active item stage on this case; blank when no item is currently actionable
Status	Overall status of the case (open, resolved, escalated or written-off)
Safeguard Class	Safeguard class captured when this case was opened
Classification Source	Customer classification source used to select the pipeline
Classification Value	Ofcom classification or Customer Class identifier captured when the pipeline was assigned

Ownership

Users responsible for opening, managing and closing this case.

Field	Description
Owner	Credit controller responsible for this case
Opened By	User who opened this case
Closed By	User who closed this case; blank when resolved automatically

Schedule

Dates controlling when this case is next due for attention.

Field	Description
Opened	Date this case was opened
Opened Time	Exact time this case was opened
Next Action Due	The earliest due date across active chase items
Closed	Date this case was closed
Closed Time	Exact time this case was closed
Last Activity	When activity was last recorded against this case

System Information

Field	Description
Last Modified	Timestamp of the most recent modification to this case

Chase item fields

Chase Item

Invoice, stage, status and balance details for this chase item.

Field	Description
Case
Invoice
Stage
Status
Starting Balance
Balance Snapshot
Recovered Amount

Lifecycle

Dates and outcome recorded as the item moves through Credit Control.

Field	Description
Opened
Action Sequence
Next Action Due
Last Action
Resolved
Closed
Close Reason
First Chase Contact	The chase action a recovery on this invoice is credited to
Recovery Payment Date	The payment date the recovery was judged on when the invoice closed
Recovery Attribution	Whether the payment can be credited to Credit Control