Overview

Introduction and overview of the changes to Clarification Management 2.0.

Dispute Management 2.0

The second generation of the Bilendo dispute module. From a workflow tool to a collaboration and reporting layer for open items.

Dispute Management 2.0 is the biggest release in the Bilendo Receivables product since the module was introduced in 2020. It addresses six structural weaknesses of the previous version and replaces it with an event-based architecture in which it is clear who needs what from whom, when it should happen, and why an item is open.

This document describes the new version from the user and configuration perspectives and walks you through the two-stage release process.

Our webinar from 05/11/2026

Bilendo - Klärungsmanagement 2.0 (DE)

Why a New Version

The clarification module was designed in 2020 as a workflow engine: condition met → clarification created → response possible → workflow rechecked. This architecture has withstood six years of production use with many tens of thousands of users, but it has also revealed six recurring weaknesses.

Known Weaknesses of Version 1.0

Clarification Management 2.0 is the answer to each of these six weaknesses.

Major Features

1. Event Timeline

Every clarification is now a chronological stream of events. All occurrences since creation – comments, escalations, dunning blocks, closures, reopenings, approvals, rejections – appear on a single timeline with a timestamp and the person responsible.

The timeline replaces the previous point-in-time view and eliminates the need to search: "Who did what, when, and why" is no longer a question only for the database, but one the interface can answer.

Structure of the clarification view:

• Expectations – Initial question to the colleague about why the items are open

• Context – Customer, posting, workflow

• Extended context – Debit and related documents

• Events – Comments, escalations, dunning blocks, status changes

2. Info & Action Area

Between the context and the timeline is a new block with two clearly separated functions:

Info area: What has happened and what will happen.

• Upcoming and completed escalations ("Upcoming 1st escalation – next auto escalation scheduled on …")

• Upcoming follow-ups ("Schedule restart in one day")

• Completed closures and reopenings ("Re-opened 1 time")

Action area: What needs to happen next and who is responsible.

• Expected action (response, approval, conflict resolution)

• Closing & reopening

• Escalation

If there is currently nothing to do, the action area is empty. This is intentional: no visual noise when no action is needed.

3. Next Action & Next Action For

The module now explicitly answers three questions on every clarification:

• Who needs what from whom?

• Whose turn is it right now?

• What action is expected?

Reporter and assignee are displayed separately. Above the action box, every clarification shows a status line such as Waiting for answer from Marina Freund (Assignee) or Awaiting review from Maximilian Stuber (Reporter).

This settles the question "Whose turn is it, actually?" once and for all.

4. Bidirectional Communication

Clarifications are no longer a one-way street. Right on the document, you can:

• reply to any comment (reply threading)

• ask follow-up questions on any reason

• carry on informal communication without creating a new reason

Everyone involved in the clarification is notified of new communication. The conversation stays visible in the timeline, so there's no need to switch to email or Teams.

Practical impact: The context of a clarification stays with the document. Anyone who opens the case three months later sees the complete conversation history.

5. Standardization of Reasons

This is probably the most consequential change. Previously, reasons were embedded in response templates – a reason such as "Buyer insolvency" could exist in ten different workflows in ten slightly different variants. Reporting on them was practically impossible.

New: Reasons are standalone master data objects.

A reason consists of:

• Title (short keyword, e.g., "Financing failure")

• Description text (longer, explanatory)

• Color-coded categorization for main reasons (e.g., liquidity risk · process/admin · technical · contractual · dispute · fraud/legal)

The same reason can now be used in any number of response templates and workflows. This makes cross-workflow reporting possible for the first time:

"Open items by reason, count and volume, comparable across company codes, business units, or regions."

Top Reasons (Industry Reference)

For the automotive retail sector, Bilendo has compiled a top-20 reference list (sources: ZDK annual report, DAT Report, Atradius Payment Practices Barometer, German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), practical experience in DACH automotive retail). It can serve as a starting point for your own configuration:

New & Used Vehicles: Financing default · Warranty dispute · Trade-in difference · Delivery delay · Withdrawal / rescission · Fleet terms difference · Dealer bonus dispute · Odometer fraud · Discount payout error · Buyer insolvency

Aftersales: Repair cost dispute · Goodwill posting error · Warranty billing error · Estimate overrun · Insurance reimbursement outstanding · Parts complaint · Fleet service difference · Lost workshop invoice · Mobility guarantee reclaim · Debtor cannot be located

6. Approval Process

The new approval process formalizes Bilendo's role as orchestrator between Accounting and Sales / After-Sales.

Accounting
("I'd like to send a dunning notice. May I?")
        ↓
   ┌─────────┐
   │ Bilendo │  ← Orchestrator: follows up, sets expectations,
   │ Module  │     forwards, approves
   └─────────┘
        ↓
Sales / After-Sales
("Please no dunning notice. Sensitive customer.")

Specific mechanics:

• Approve response → The reason is set, and the clarification is ready to be closed

• Reject response → Responsibility goes back to the recipient of the clarification, and a new response cycle starts

Conflict Resolution for Ambiguous Reasons

Escalated clarifications can be answered by several people with different reasons. When that happens, the reporter (or an admin) can resolve the clarification as the final authority:

• Accept one of the proposed reasons, or

• Set a different reason of your own (e.g., "Financing failure" instead of the proposed "Delivery delay" and "Fraud")

• With a comment as justification

• The clarification is closed with the final reason

7. Related Documents (Pull-in / Pull-out)

Bilendo automatically pulls all related documents into a clarification as soon as they can be identified via the assignment field or the interface. In practice, this means:

• Related documents appear in the context area of the clarification

• They are netted against each other – the open amount is displayed at the line-item level and in the clarification overview

• If configured, they receive a dunning stop automatically while the clarification is active

• When the clarification is closed, the documents are released again (pull-out)

Practical effect: A clarification about a complaint with ten follow-up invoices attached is no longer handled in ten parallel clarifications. One case, one conversation, one closing time.

Additional Functionality

In addition to the major features, the release brings a number of other improvements:

• Inbox 2.0 – New overview of all clarifications with better filters and visibility into upcoming follow-ups

• More flexible workflow scope (AND / OR) – More complex conditions for clarification creation

• Clarification stop at document and customer level – Prevents duplicate clarifications and excessive clarification workload

• Follow-up limit – Protection against the abuse pattern "clarification as a dunning block extension"

• Reporting by clarification reason – Cross-workflow, comparable across company codes and business units

• Dynamic clarification recipients – Recipient determination from the customer master or company code

• Duplicate clarification warning – If a document is already in clarification (even if it is closed but a follow-up is scheduled), a warning appears before a second clarification is created. This prevents loss of context due to parallel processes.

• Reopened tracking – For reopened clarifications, you can see who reopened them, when, and how often. For automatic reopenings (Bilendo Automation Bot), the user is also prompted for a reason.

Migration & Release Plan

Clarification Management 2.0 will be rolled out in two stages. Data and settings are fully migrated by Bilendo – customers do not need to migrate on their own.

Timeline (expected)

Note: The release originally planned for calendar week 22 has been postponed based on customer feedback to allow sufficient lead time for preparation.

What Bilendo does automatically

• Migration of all existing reasons – The current description text is carried over into both the new title field and the description field so that no gaps arise

• Migration of all clarifications to the new data model

• Transfer of all workflows – Existing workflows continue to run with identical functionality after the Part 1 release

• No interruption – Clarification and dunning processes continue without any disruption in functionality

What we recommend to customers

You don't have to do anything – but if you prepare the following, you'll benefit sooner from the new reporting capabilities:

1. Take an inventory of reasons List all existing response reasons once. Based on experience: 15–20 reasons on average, 50 at most.

2. Define keywords for the titles For each reason, use one to three words as a concise title (e.g., "Financing failure" instead of "Bank or leasing company rejects application; dealer payment does not arrive.").

3. Consider color-coded categorization E.g., liquidity risk (red), dispute (yellow), process/admin (blue).

4. Prepare training materials A generic training environment will be provided before the release, where key users can get to know the interfaces and record their own training videos for internal distribution.

Recommendation for the release timing

We recommend performing Release Part 1 on a Wednesday and pausing workflows for Thursday and Friday. This creates a 1–2 day "learning window" in which key users can:

• Adjust the reasons configuration

• Take screenshots from their own system

• Hold internal training sessions (e.g., record them as a Teams meeting and share them on the intranet)

Workflows are reactivated over the weekend or on the following Monday.

Important Notes

Global Release Without Opt-Out

Bilendo is a cloud application. The release takes place simultaneously for all customers worldwide. There is no option to stay on the old module—just like updates to Google services or other SaaS platforms.

The advantage: You don't have to install updates, schedule maintenance windows, or reconcile system states.

Functional Continuity

After Release Part 1 (CW 25), the interface will be new, but all workflows, automations, and processes will continue to run unchanged. The structural workflow improvements won't arrive until Release Part 2 (CW 27). This separation is deliberate, so users can first get used to the new interface before any workflow logic changes.

Support During the Release Phase

The Bilendo Customer Success Team will be available throughout the entire release phase. In addition, we will:

• offer regular webinars covering the relevant new features

• publish recordings on the Bilendo website

• send out checklists for release preparation (CW 22)

• provide a generic training environment for key users