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Final step in Manage AR operations: use cases to connect exception workflows back to sequences and dunning.

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Purpose

Collection Cases give Jobin (AR manager) at Acme Corporation a standardized SOP for disputes, promises to pay, inquiries, routing problems, and more. Each case type maps to a sequence that runs the playbook while the case is open, so the team follows the same steps every time. When to use: Collection cases are for workflows that need a defined playbook and tracked follow-up. While collection programs handle aging-based dunning across the portfolio, collection cases handle promises to pay, disputes, and the other case types below — for example, Mesa Valley Construction (broken promise to pay), Orion Electric Supply (disputed pricing), or Sterling Logistics (contract dispute). Example: A customer emails that they’ll pay invoice INV-100 by May 30. Daylit classifies the message and surfaces a row in Cases → Suggestions — badges for Open case and Promise to pay, the customer name (Mesa Valley Construction), a rationale summary, a confidence score, and when the suggestion was made and expires. Jobin (AR manager) clicks the checkmark to accept, and confirms enrollment in the Promise to pay sequence. The sequence runs the follow-up until the case is closed.

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What cases are

A case represents one issue between you and one customer about zero or more invoices — not the message itself, and not the invoice alone. Each case includes:
  • One customer and zero or more linked invoices
  • A case type — dispute, promise to pay, inquiry, wrong contact, or other actionable
  • A status — open or closed
  • A wait state (while open) — who you’re waiting on: needs you, awaiting customer, awaiting internal (sales, finance, or another AR teammate), or snoozed
  • Attached threads, messages, and notes — the conversation on the case
  • An optional linked sequence enrollment — the playbook running for this case
  • A running summary — a short AI-generated overview of what happened, what’s blocking, and what’s next
A customer can have multiple open cases at the same time as long as they’re different case types or cover non-overlapping invoices — for example, a promise to pay case on INV-100 and a dispute on INV-200 run independently on the customer’s Cases tab.

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Case types

For Promise to pay cases, Daylit also tracks whether the commitment is a future promise (pay by a date) or in process (payment already initiated). Promise to pay cases store the promised date and, on close, whether the promise was kept, broken, or unknown. Inquiry cases also carry a subtype: Invoice copy, Statement, Payment instructions, Payment confirmation, or Other. The case badge reads, for example, Inquiry: Invoice copy. You can change the subtype from the Subtype dropdown in Details. To answer routine inquiries automatically, see Smart reply handling.

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Dispute reasons

Daylit tags every dispute with its most likely reason, so your team knows the problem before opening the email. Daylit can also suggest the playbook that fits that reason. The reason shows on the case badge in Cases → All cases, on the case detail page, and in Cases → Suggestions, for example Dispute: Pricing Issue. When a message raises more than one issue, each reason gets its own badge. Daylit’s built-in reasons are Pricing Issue, Quantity Mismatch, Quality / Return Claim, Payment / Credit Issue, Delivery Issue, Billing Error, Duplicate Invoice, Tax & Fees Issue, and Missing Documentation. Other Dispute is the catch-all and is always on. Example: Orion Electric Supply writes that INV-1041 was billed above their contract price. Daylit suggests a case tagged Dispute: Pricing Issue and recommends your pricing-review sequence instead of a generic dispute playbook.

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Correct a dispute reason

On the case detail page, choose the right reason from the Reason dropdown in Details. Daylit confirms with Dispute reason updated, and the case shows a Manually corrected badge. To fix a reason on a suggestion or email before a case exists, use Correct classification.

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Customize dispute reasons and their playbooks

1

Open Settings → Cases

Go to Settings → Cases and find the Dispute reasons card.
2

Choose which reasons Daylit uses

Under Daylit presets, select or deselect built-in reasons. Daylit only uses active reasons when it tags disputes.
3

Add your own reasons (optional)

Click Add custom reason. Enter a Name, a Definition, and a few Example phrases that customers typically use. Optionally choose a Default sequence. New reasons are saved as a Draft. Click Publish when you’re ready for Daylit to start using them.
4

Assign a sequence to each reason

In Default sequences by case type, the Dispute row is now the fallback. Under it, choose a sequence for each reason. If a reason has no sequence, turn on its toggle to use the Dispute fallback instead.
How you know it worked: The next dispute Daylit tags with that reason suggests the sequence you chose. Your team still reviews and accepts the suggestion before the customer is enrolled.

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Collection cases vs. programs and sequences

Sequences are the playbooks cases use. You create sequences in Settings → Sequences, then assign a default sequence to each case type in Settings → Cases. See Collection sequences for the full sequence walkthrough.

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One-time setup

Before your team works cases day to day, configure a sequence for each case type.
1

Create sequences for case types (if needed)

Go to Settings → Sequences. If you don’t yet have a sequence for a case type — for example, a Promise to pay follow-up cadence or a dispute escalation playbook with internal email steps — click New sequence, add your steps, and Activate it.
2

Assign default sequences to case types

Go to Settings → Cases. For each case type (Dispute, Promise to pay, Inquiry, Wrong contact, Other actionable), select the default sequence that should run when that case opens. At most one default sequence applies per case type.
3

Confirm settings

Review that every case type you use has a default sequence assigned. Cases without a linked sequence won’t generate automated follow-up steps.

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Daily workflow

After setup, Jobin (AR manager) works collection cases from the Cases section in the left sidebar.

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Cases views

Cases with open status and no wait state are your “needs me” queue — the morning triage surface. Cases awaiting customer reply, internal follow-up, or snoozed filter out of that queue until they need attention again.

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Review suggested case actions

1

Open Cases → Suggestions

Navigate to Cases → Suggestions. This is your daily starting point for case work.
2

Review and accept or reject

Each row shows the suggestion type, case type, customer, rationale, confidence score, and expiry. Click to expand for full details. Click ✓ to accept or ✕ to reject. Accepting an Open case suggestion can chain into the next step — confirming sequence enrollment — in one flow.

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Work a case from the detail page

From Cases → All cases, click the customer name to open the case detail page — for example, Mesa Valley Construction. On the detail page, you can:
1

Open a case from All cases

Go to Cases → All cases and click the customer name on the row you want to work.
2

Review the case detail page

Check the header badges (case type, status, wait state), read the summary, and work through any pending suggestions at the top of the page.
3

Manage links and sequence

Link invoices or threads as needed. Confirm the right sequence is enrolled, or Stop outbound if you need to pause automated follow-up.
4

Close the case

When the case is done, close it as Resolved, Superseded, or Abandoned.

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How cases interact with dunning and sequences

When a case opens, it can enroll in a case-scoped sequence tied to that case’s invoice set. A customer can run multiple case sequences simultaneously when cases cover different invoices — for example, a promise to pay case on INV-100 and a dispute on INV-200 side by side. If a higher-priority case (such as a dispute) overlaps invoices with a lower-priority case (such as a promise to pay), Daylit suggests pausing the lower-priority sequence until the dispute resolves, then suggests resuming with a shifted start date.

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Pause collection program outreach on disputed invoices

By default, invoices on a dispute case can still receive regular collection program reminders. Skipping them is a choice you make on each dispute case. Sending a past-due reminder for an invoice the customer is actively disputing with you can damage the relationship. Use the Collection program section on the case to skip only the disputed invoices. Every other invoice for that customer keeps getting outreach as normal. Example: Orion Electric Supply disputes INV-1041 and INV-1098, but INV-1104 and INV-1120 are not in question. You set the dispute case to skip its invoices. Orion’s next account-level reminder lists only INV-1104 and INV-1120. If every invoice on the account were on the dispute, Daylit would skip that reminder entirely.
1

Open the dispute case

Go to Cases → All cases and open the dispute case.
2

Find the Collection program section

In the right-hand column, below Details, find Collection program. This section only appears on Dispute cases.
3

Choose how outreach should work

Select Skip these invoices while the case is open (marked Recommended) to pause program reminders for the invoices linked to this case. Select Keep these invoices in collection program outreach to keep them in regular reminders.
4

Confirm the change

Review the summary in the dialog and click Confirm. Daylit shows Collection-program outreach updated.
How you know it worked: The section shows how many invoices on the case are currently being skipped. The change is recorded in the case history with who made it and when. What happens next:
  • Reminders already queued respect the change. Daylit checks again just before each send.
  • Invoices you link later are skipped too. Unlinking an invoice returns it to regular outreach.
  • Closing the case resumes outreach. The invoices go back into their programs from where things stand that day. Daylit doesn’t catch up by sending the reminders that were skipped. If you reopen the case, the skip applies again.
  • Overlapping disputes keep the invoice paused. If two open dispute cases skip the same invoice, it stays out of reminders until both close.
  • Recurring statements still go out. Calendar-based statement programs are not affected.
Anyone who can edit cases (Owner, Admin, Manager, or Collector) can change this setting. If you don’t see the Collection program section on a dispute case, ask your Daylit team to enable it for your workspace.

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Troubleshooting

Check Settings → Cases and confirm the case type has a default sequence assigned. Cases without a linked sequence can still be tracked, but they will not generate automated follow-up steps.
Daylit only shows suggestions when it has enough signal from messages, invoices, or customer context. If you expected a suggestion, check the customer’s communication history and linked invoices, then create or update the case manually from Cases → All cases if needed.
Confirm the case is open and linked to the relevant invoice or invoices. An unlinked invoice may still receive collection program touchpoints. On a dispute case, also check the Collection program section. If it’s set to Keep these invoices in collection program outreach, change it to Skip these invoices while the case is open. See Pause collection program outreach on disputed invoices.
Choose the correct reason from the Reason dropdown in Details on the case. If the same mix-up keeps happening, review that reason’s definition and example phrases in Settings → Cases → Dispute reasons.
Review the default sequence for that case type in Settings → Cases. From the case detail page, use the Sequences area to confirm the enrolled sequence or enroll the case in the right playbook.
If a higher-priority case, such as a dispute, overlaps the same invoices, review Daylit’s suggestion to pause the lower-priority sequence. Resume or shift the sequence after the dispute is resolved.
  • Smart reply handling — How Daylit reads replies, tags disputes and inquiries, and answers routine questions.
  • AI signals — How Daylit flags accounts that may need a case.
  • Collection sequences — Build the playbooks assigned to case types.
  • Inbox — Review program and non-case collection actions.
  • Email drafting — How AI drafts emails for case-related outreach.
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