The world of debt collection and credit management is full of technical terms, acronyms, and concepts that can sometimes be complex.
To assist CFOs, credit managers, SME/mid-market executives, and finance teams, Aston AI has developed this comprehensive glossary, which brings together essential definitions related to accounts receivable, collections, and electronic invoicing in 2026.
This glossary is a practical tool for :
Quickly understand the key concepts of collections and credit management.
Familiarize yourself with performance indicators (DSO, aged trial balance, overdue receivables).
Master the regulatory concepts associated with electronic invoicing (PDP, PPF, Factur-X, e-invoicing, e-reporting).
Discover best practices for reducing overdue payments and securing cash flow.
A glossary designed for professionals
Each term is defined clearly and concisely, using language suitable for both practitioners and decision-makers.
Whether you are a CFO looking to optimize working capital, a credit manager seeking operational methods, or an executive seeking to secure your cash flows, this glossary provides a common foundation for understanding.
In addition, this glossary also covers concepts related to the digitalization of debt collection:
Intelligent tracking of disputes.
Artificial intelligence applied to credit management.
How to use this glossary
Navigation is simple: browse the alphabetical list to go directly to the term you’re looking for.
Each definition is written to be actionable and placed in its business context, with links to our other resources (how-to guides, tutorials, videos, and webinars).
You can also use this glossary as an internal training tool for your finance and collections teams.
Lexicon
- Account reconciliation (lettrage)
- Accounts receivable
- Actual outstanding balance
- Aged balance
- Allowance for doubtful accounts
- AR24
- Assignment of receivables
- Aston AI scoring
- Automatic escalation
- Automatic payment matching
- Behavioral scoring
- Collaborative tracking
- Collection timeline
- Contractual payment terms
- Credit insurance
- Credit insurance claim
- Credit limit
- Credit note
- Credit note (accounting entry)
- Custom dunning scenario
- Customer accounting
- Customer DSO
- Customer outstanding balance
- Customer risk
- Customer scoring (Z-Score, behavioral, financial)
- Customer supporting document
- Debtor chat
- Deconsolidated factoring
- Dispute hold
- Dispute management
- Doubtful customer
- DSO (Days Sales Outstanding)
- Dunning suspension
- Dynamic aged balance
- ERE (electronic registered mail)
- Factor
- Factoring
- Financial scoring
- Fixed recovery fee (€40)
- Formal notice
- Interactive customer portal
- Invoice correction
- Invoice dispute
- Late payment interest
- Litigation
- Low customer score
- Multichannel dunning
- Not-yet-due receivables
- Past-due receivables
- Payment link
- Payment reminder
- Payment schedule
- Processing workflow
- Receivable
- Registered mail
- Retention of title clause
- Target DSO
- Trade credit
- Unpaid invoice
- Validation workflow
- Z-Score
Aston AI special collection software glossary
The Aston AI Lexicon is not just a theoretical glossary: it is an educational and strategic tool designed to support the digital transformation of finance departments.
It helps you make more informed decisions, raise awareness among your teams, and better prepare for today’s major challenges:
Dispute management
E-invoicing compliance 2026
Digitalization and artificial intelligence
Take a look at our glossary to learn more about the concepts that are driving developments in collections and credit management.
Read more in the Aston AI Blog:
Aston AI x Pennylane: A Partnership to Speed Up Collections and Simplify Financial Management
Read more »
