Common terms for regulated financial services.
A working dictionary for collections, receivables, compliance, and payments, written for operators, not lawyers.
The Automated Clearing House (ACH) is a U.S.-based electronic network that facilitates secure, low-cost bank-t…
AI-driven recovery uses artificial intelligence to support tasks such as account prioritization, communication…
Accounts receivable management is the process of administering amounts customers owe for goods or services sup…
An aged debtors report, also called an accounts receivable aging report, lists unpaid customer balances at a r…
Aging buckets group unpaid receivables into time ranges using a stated reference date, usually the contractual…
The Altman Z-score is a financial-ratio model used to assess corporate financial distress. Its original form w…
Antitrust laws protect competition by prohibiting specified anticompetitive agreements, conduct, and transacti…
Automated collections uses software to perform defined payment follow-up tasks, such as sending reminders, ass…
Bad debt is an amount owed to a business that is judged unlikely to be collected, in whole or in part. Recogni…
A balance sheet is a financial statement showing an entity's assets, liabilities, and equity at a specified da…
A bankruptcy discharge is a U.S. bankruptcy court order releasing a debtor from personal liability for specifi…
A bankruptcy filing commences a court case under the applicable bankruptcy law. In the United States, a petiti…
A billing cycle is the recurring period used to group account charges, payments, and adjustments for billing. …
Chapter 11 is a U.S. bankruptcy process for court-supervised reorganization or other plan-based resolution of …
Chapter 7 is a U.S. bankruptcy process in which a trustee administers the estate and may liquidate nonexempt a…
Collateral is property subject to a security interest or other lien that supports an obligation. It can provid…
A third-party business called a collection agency is employed to collect past-due payments, usually when invoi…
The Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI) compares receivables collected during a period with receivables avail…
Credit bureaus, also called credit reporting companies, compile information about borrowing and repayment to p…
Credit insurance transfers specified nonpayment risks to an insurer under a policy. Trade credit insurance pro…
A credit limit is the maximum credit a lender or supplier authorizes for an account, subject to the agreement'…
Credit risk is the potential for financial loss when a borrower or customer fails to meet agreed payment oblig…
Days sales outstanding (DSO) estimates how many days of credit sales are represented by accounts receivable. I…
Debt consolidation combines multiple debts into a new borrowing arrangement, such as a consolidation loan or b…
Debt default is a failure to meet an obligation that constitutes an event of default under the agreement or ap…
Dental accounts receivable is the remaining amount recorded as owed to a dental practice for services already …
Dental billing software supports financial tasks such as preparing claims, tracking payer responses, posting r…
Dental collections is the process of resolving and recovering valid unpaid dental balances through accurate bi…
Dental insurance verification checks eligibility and relevant benefit information for a proposed service date,…
Dental revenue cycle management coordinates the financial processes surrounding treatment, from registration a…
Dispute resolution is the process of investigating and addressing a disagreement about an obligation, charge, …
A dunning letter is a written communication requesting payment of an overdue account or invoice. It identifies…
E-invoicing is the exchange of invoice information in a structured electronic format that allows systems to pr…
An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system integrates selected business processes and records, such as accou…
Early-stage delinquency is the initial period after a required payment becomes past due. Its day range is defi…
End of month collections is the review and follow-up of receivables around a monthly reporting cutoff, coordin…
An engagement score summarizes selected customer interactions over a defined period using a documented scoring…
Escalation in collections is the controlled transfer of an account, issue, or decision to a person or workflow…
In collections, exempt payments are income or benefit funds protected from specified creditor enforcement acti…
A FICO Score is a credit risk score developed by Fair Isaac Corporation using credit-report information. Multi…
A failed insurance premium payment is an attempted premium transaction that does not complete as intended, suc…
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a U.S. federal law that restricts abusive, deceptive, and un…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a U.S. federal agency that enforces consumer protection and competition …
HIPAA compliance means meeting the applicable U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act require…
Healthcare collections is the process of resolving and receiving amounts owed for healthcare services from ins…
In collections, high-risk accounts are accounts classified as having an elevated likelihood of a specified adv…
Insolvency describes financial distress assessed through applicable legal tests, commonly inability to pay deb…
Installment payments divide an agreed amount into multiple payments due on a defined schedule. In collections,…
An insurance premium is the amount charged for coverage under a policy, payable on the agreed schedule. It dif…
Insurance premium receivables are premium amounts recorded as owed to an insurer and not yet settled, subject …
Insurance premium reconciliation compares billing, policy, payment, bank, and accounting records to explain di…
Invoice aging groups unpaid invoice balances into time bands as of a reporting date, using a stated basis such…
Late fees are charges assessed because a required payment was not made by the applicable deadline, where permi…
A letter of credit is a bank undertaking to honor a complying presentation under its stated terms. In trade, a…
A line of credit is a borrowing facility that permits draws up to an approved limit under agreed conditions. W…
Liquidation is the conversion of assets into cash. In a business wind-down or insolvency process, proceeds may…
Litigation is the process of pursuing or defending a dispute through the courts. In collections, it can determ…
Live sentiment analysis uses automated models to estimate expressed tone in text or speech during, or shortly …
A lockbox is a service in which a bank or processing provider receives payments and remittance documents at a …
Manual collections is a process in which people review unpaid balances, contact customers, record outcomes, an…
Month-end reconciliation is the process of comparing account balances and transaction records as of the close …
A monthly statement is a dated summary of account activity and balances for a monthly reporting period. It can…
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is New York's financial-services regulator. It sup…
Net terms specify when the full invoice balance is due, using an agreed number of days from a defined starting…
An open invoice is an issued invoice with a remaining balance that has not been fully settled or otherwise clo…
Operating cash flow (OCF) is the net cash generated or used by a business's operating activities during a repo…
An outstanding balance is the amount remaining unpaid on an account or invoice at a specified time. It can inc…
A partial payment refers to any payment made that is less than the total amount owed on a debt, invoice, or lo…
A payment plan is an agreed arrangement for repaying an amount over a defined schedule. It specifies amounts, …
Portfolio risk is the potential for adverse financial outcomes across a group of assets or obligations. In len…
A promise to pay is a recorded commitment to pay a stated amount by an agreed date. It is a future payment exp…
A promissory note is a written promise by a maker to pay money under stated terms. Its enforceability, negotia…
Recovery rate measures the amount recovered from a defined debt or receivables population relative to a specif…
A remittance is money sent to a recipient, often to satisfy an obligation. In receivables workflows, remittanc…
Repossession is the recovery of property securing an obligation after default, subject to the agreement and ap…
A collections risk score is a numerical or categorical estimate of a defined account outcome, such as becoming…
Secured debt is an obligation backed by a security interest or lien in specified collateral. The creditor's ri…
A secured loan is borrowing backed by specified collateral in which the lender has enforceable security rights…
Skip tracing is the process of researching and validating current contact information for a person who cannot …
Tele-collections is payment follow-up conducted through inbound or outbound telephone conversations. It may in…
Third-party collections is the recovery of unpaid obligations by an outside organization acting for a creditor…
Time-barred debt is debt for which the applicable statute of limitations for bringing a collection lawsuit has…
An unconfirmed letter of credit is an LC to which another bank has not added its confirmation. The issuing ban…
Underwriting is the assessment and acceptance of risk in a financial transaction. Its meaning differs across l…
Unearned insurance premium is the portion of premium attributable to coverage not yet provided. It differs fro…
The Uniform Commercial Code is a set of model commercial-law provisions enacted through state law. The governi…
Unpaid invoices are issued invoices with an amount that has not yet been fully paid or otherwise resolved. The…
Utility arrears are valid electricity, gas, water, or other utility charges that remain unpaid after their due…
A utility payment arrangement is an approved schedule for repaying a specified balance under agreed amounts, d…
Working capital is current assets minus current liabilities. It is a balance-sheet measure of a business's sho…
A write-off is an accounting action that removes all or part of an asset's recorded value. For receivables, it…
Year-to-date (YTD) collections is the cumulative amount of qualifying collections from a defined calendar or f…
Year-end reconciliation compares financial balances and transaction records at the fiscal reporting date with …