“A square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not necessarily a square.” My fourth grade math teacher calmly repeated this phrase as we all murmured that the statement didn’t make sense. It took a few days for the idea to sink in to us all, and it left a memorable impression on me.
When people ask what the difference is between a Credit Manager and a Collector, I can’t help but smile and think back to that class period in the fourth grade. So here it comes:
A Credit Manager is a Collector, but a Collector is not necessarily a Credit Manager.
Confused? Let’s explain this one out.
Let’s say we have a team of Collectors. These people all will use the Collections Management module, send out emails, and make phone calls:
Each of these people will be assigned a Collector ID in Collections Management. They can create new notes and queries, and have tasks assigned to them.
That’s all you really need at an absolute minimum. Everyone can create tasks, assign them, and use the product to its fullest. But this can become tricky. With everyone contacting customers independently, what happens when some of your accounts fall severely behind? Who takes charge to correct this? Put another way, at the end of the day, which Collector can say “The buck stops here”?
Enter Credit Managers. Credit Managers are just like any other Collector. They have a Collector ID, can make notes, tasks, etc. The only real difference is that the Credit Manager is the primary Collector assigned to a customer account.
You set the Credit Manager in the Customer Information window (Sales pane —> Cards —> Customer Info).
Once set, you will see them listed on the Collection Main window. Essentially, the Credit Manager is the primary Collector responsible for this customer account.
Whenever Collection Plans are run, unless otherwise specified, the Collection Actions will always be assigned to the Credit Manager. So if a Collection Plan step says to make a phone call, that phone call tasks will show up in the Collection tasks of the Credit Manager assigned to the customer account..
Of course, any Collector can take action on the account if they don’t have any type restricted security. So even if a Credit Manager was out for the day, another Collector could step in and do the tasks for them instead.
So that’s basically all there is to it! A Credit Manager is just another name for “Primary Collector responsible for this Customer”.
My fourth grade teacher would be proud.
A Credit Manager is a Collector, but a Collector is not necessarily a Credit Manager.