Overview
In AR Remittances, Document Classification determines how each incoming file is treated in SmartCustomer. The classification engine analyzes email messages and attachments (PDF, CSV, XLS, XLSX) and assigns a document type such as Remittance or Other.
Classification drives:
Whether the document appears in the AR Remittances workflow.
Which fields are extracted and shown in Active Data and on the Document Information page.
Whether actions like Write to SoR are enabled or disabled.
For AR Remittances, the primary classifications are:
Remittance – Valid remittance/payment documents, fully processed by AR Remittances.
Other – Documents that do not meet remittance criteria (for example, general statements, unrelated spreadsheets, or files with insufficient payment structure).
Note: Only documents classified as Remittance participate in the AR Remittances processing flow and can be written to the System of Record. Documents classified as Other cannot be written to SoR.
Where You See Document Classification
1. Documents – Active Data
In SmartCustomer > Documents > Active Data, the File Type / Document Classification column indicates how each document has been classified.
Typical values for AR Remittances include:
Remittance
Other
Users can:
Filter by Document Classification to focus only on remittances or to locate non‑remittance items for cleanup.
Use Dismiss or reclassification (if enabled) when items are incorrectly classified.
Example: If a CSV file with random data is sent to the AR Remittances mailbox, it may be classified as Other. You can leave it as Other and Dismiss it, since it is not a valid remittance.
2. Document Information Page
On the Document Information page for a specific record, classification appears in the header area alongside Customer, Customer Match Status, and Document Status.
Classification shows the current type (for example, Remittance).
Depending on configuration, you may be able to change the classification when the document was misclassified.
When the classification is Remittance:
AR Remittances extracts header fields such as Customer Name, Payment Number, Payment Date, Currency, Total Amount, Entity, Payment Type, and Transaction Reference.
The document is eligible for reconciliation, review, and Write to SoR (subject to customer, validation, and configuration rules).
When the classification is Other:
AR Remittances does not treat the file as a structured remittance document.
Only minimal metadata may be available.
Write to SoR is disabled; the record can be reviewed and typically Dismissed.
Classification Types in AR Remittances
Remittance
Definition
Documents that contain structured payment/remittance information and are suitable for AR Remittances processing (for example, remittance advice, payment detail spreadsheets, bank remittance CSVs).
Behavior
Extracted as Remittance and routed into Active Data for review.
Eligible for:
Customer matching and Customer Hints.
Header and line‑level extraction (as configured).
Reconciliation checks (for example, line‑level invoice references vs. open items).
Write to SoR (manual or automatic, depending on configuration).
Examples
CSV or XLSX with payment lines, invoice numbers, and amounts.
PDF remittance advice listing invoice numbers and amounts for a customer payment.
Other
Definition
Documents that are not recognized as remittances, or that fail AR Remittances’ classification criteria (for example, general account statements, unrelated spreadsheets, or malformed files).
Behavior
Classified as Other and shown in Active Data as non‑remittance documents.
AR Remittances does not extract full remittance structure.
Write to SoR is not enabled.
These documents are typically:
Reviewed and dismissed, or
Reclassified only if there is clear evidence they are remittances and your configuration supports reclassification.
Examples
Invoice statements that summarize AR balances but are not explicit remittance/payment detail.
Non‑payment spreadsheets that happen to arrive in the same mailbox.
Multi‑tab files or vendor‑specific formats that do not meet current remittance detection rules (these may be tuning candidates if they truly are remittances).
Note: Several Jira issues (for example, mis‑tagging remittance statements as Invoice or labeling valid remittance files as Others) reflect tuning defects, not intended behavior. The intended behavior is: remittance advice → Remittance; generic statements or unsupported structures → Other.
Changing Classification on a Document
Depending on your configuration and permissions, you may be able to update the Classification on the Document Information page when the system gets it wrong.
Classification
Purpose
Indicates the document type that AR Remittances has identified—typically Remittance or Other.
What you see
A Classification field on the document showing the current type (for example, Remittance).
In some tenants, the classification value is read‑only. In others, you can click to change it when you know the document has been misclassified.
User actions (where editable)
Click the Classification value to update it if needed.
If you change the classification from Remittance to a non‑remittance type (for example, Other), a confirmation dialog appears:
“Would you like to continue with updating the document classification from remittance to other document type? This will dismiss the record.”
A Reason to Dismiss field appears. Adding a reason is recommended for audit purposes.
Click Dismiss to proceed or Cancel to keep the current classification.
This ensures all classification changes are intentional and auditable.
Figure X. Classification change confirmation – Reason to Dismiss dialog
Important: Changing a document’s classification from Remittance to Other typically removes it from the AR Remittances flow and disables Write to SoR. Use this only when you are certain the document is not a valid remittance.
Classification and Write to SoR
Classification directly affects whether Write to SoR is enabled:
Remittance
Write to SoR can be:
Manual (user clicks Write to SoR on the Document Information page or via bulk actions in Active Data).
Automatic (if configured to auto‑write when a remittance matches a known, enrolled customer).
Validation dialogs (Soft Warnings, Blocking Errors, Success) apply only to eligible remittance‑classified documents.
Other
Write to SoR is disabled in both manual and automatic modes.
For automatic write configurations, documents classified as Unknown or Other should not trigger Write to SoR; if they do, this is treated as a defect (for example, MAIN‑19322).
Using Classification Filters
In Documents > Active Data, you can use filters to work with specific classification types:
Document Classification = Remittance
Focus only on remittance‑type records for review, matching, and write actions.
Document Classification = Other
Identify files that:
Need to be dismissed (noise, wrong mailbox content).
Might be misclassified remittance documents (tuning candidates).
Tip: When investigating issues, combine Document Classification with Status filters (for example, New, Needs Human Attention, Failed to Reconcile) to find records that are both remittances and require manual review.