Set up Collections reminders
Get staged reminders before and after invoices and bills fall due.
Collections raises reminders for your own team about money you are owed (invoices) and money you owe (bills). Open Accounts > Collections or go to Collections. You need access to the Collections module.
The reminders are in-app notifications only, shown in your notifications (see Notifications). At the bottom of the page the Email / SMS Channel card shows whether an email or SMS provider is connected. If it says Not Configured, nothing is emailed or texted, even when a stage has the Email or SMS box ticked; the in-app notification is still created.
Two policies
The page has one policy for each side of the books:
- Accounts Receivable (Sales Invoices) - reminds your team about money customers owe you.
- Accounts Payable (Purchase Bills) - reminds your team about bills you have to pay.
Each has an Enabled tick box and a table with three stages.
The three stages
| Stage | Offset (days) means | Starting value |
|---|---|---|
| Due Soon | Days before the due date to start reminding. Use a negative number. | -5 |
| Overdue | Days after the due date to start reminding. | 3 |
| Escalation | Days after the due date for a stronger, later reminder. | 14 |
For each stage you can set:
- Enabled - the stage is off until you tick it.
- Offset (days) - see the table.
- Repeat every (days) - leave empty for Once only, or enter a number to repeat the reminder at that interval.
- Notify - Company-wide, or Document creator (the person who created the invoice or bill).
- Email and SMS - extra channels, which only work once a provider is connected.
Click Save Policy. Nothing is sent until the policy and at least one stage are both enabled.
When reminders go out
Reminders are checked once a day. To check right now, click Run Now at the top. You see "Sent N reminder(s), skipped N."
A reminder is raised only for a posted invoice or bill that has a due date and an outstanding balance. Fully paid documents are skipped. The notification reads, for example, "Invoice INV-000012 - overdue" with the balance and due date. A document gets each stage's reminder once, or again after the repeat interval if you set one. A Due Soon reminder is only for documents that are not yet due.
The Scheduler Runs card lists the last 20 daily runs with a success or failure badge for each job, so you can check that the checks are running.
Good to know
- If you also use the simple Overdue Invoice Reminders on the Recurring Invoices page, you will get two reminders for the same invoice. The Receivables policy shows a warning when both are on, so use one or the other.
- Enter a Due Date on invoices and bills; without one they are never reminded.
- Reminders do not change the documents. Record the payment as usual; see Record a payment on an invoice and Pay or void a bill.