CLAIMS & DEDUCTIONS SOFTWARE

When you see everything, you can handle anything

Thanks to intelligent dashboards featuring packaged KPIs and easy-to-read charts and reports, Customer Service and AR managers can track deductions, days deductions outstanding (DDO) and aging claims process trends in real-time, while also analyzing claims by type, date or customer, and identify bottlenecks in the workflow.

Compliance concerns? Esker’s got you covered. A complete audit trail of every claim touch point is retained so that full transparency and accountability are ensured during the verification and approval process.

Portal fatigue? Bots to the rescue!

Many AR and Customer Service departments are painfully familiar with portal fatigue, as it’s often their job to retrieve supporting deduction documents from a customer portal or proof of delivery, bill of lading or delivery notes from carrier or transporter portals. Considering the number of different portals used, and the fact that not every user is trained on each one, it’s easy to see why portal fatigue is a real concern for today’s businesses.

Say “goodbye” to the pains of manual data entry

To facilitate claims investigation, Esker uses different layers of Al technology that extract data from documents and enrich claims with reliable information — no more manual data entry! Built on a set of technologies designed to mimic human intelligence, Esker Synergy AI captures data on customer-supporting documents such as payment remittances, debit notes, promotional invoices, credit requests or simple emails.

Esker Synergy identifies key header information (claim reference, customer name, amount or invoice number) as well as line information (products, quantities, prices or promotion references) and classifies the claim in the appropriate category (promotional agreement, price discrepancy, shortage, damaged products) based on the document content.

Accuracy is improved along the way thanks to Esker Synergy’s ability to automatically adapt to layout changes by learning from user corrections.

Approve or dispute claims quickly & accurately

Esker embeds a multi-level approval workflow within the solution that’s pre-configured based on the claim type (typically trade vs non-trade) and amount. This allows users from different departments to investigate and approve/dispute customer claims (e.g., sales reps for matters related to sales agreements and promotions, supply chain reps for issues related to delivered products, etc.).

Easily adapted to specific needs, workflow users can enrich the claim case with additional information and related documents, as well as add other coworkers to the claim workflow on a case-by-case basis. What’s more, by linking the customer claim with the associated internal documents (payment, promotion, invoice, delivery note or order), employees have easy access to all the information they need for fast and accurate approval/dispute of claims.

Increasing visibility into approved claims

Esker’s solution integrates with any ERP system thanks to a connectivity suite that provides multiple ERP integration options using middleware, APIs or managed file exchange — ultimately easing the pain when setting up a solution in a hybrid ERP environment.

When applied to Esker’s Claims & Deductions solution, the system integration capabilities allow claims to investigate to be automatically created from a residual item/debit in the ERP, resulting from a short payment. Once claims have been settled/approved in Esker’s solution workflow, they can be automatically accounted for in the ERP as a credit note or on a G/L account, also clearing any residual debit if the customer already short paid.

Enhanced collaboration meets improved communication

An internal chat tool allows users to add participants to a given claim and informally gather additional information without having to go through the more formal approval workflow. These internal conversations are visible to all contributors directly on the claim.

Users can also clarify or dispute claims directly with customers, using external conversations. Predefined templates are available for email communications, which helps ensure consistency while adding a personal touch. When customers reply, their answers are automatically attached to the claim to make sure that the context is clear and no information is lost.