Follow-up on invoices

Follow-up messages can be sent to customers when payments are overdue. eYssen ERP helps identify late payments and lets you schedule and send the appropriate reminders using follow-up levels according to the number of overdue days. Reminders can be sent through several channels: email, SMS, postal letter, an online Pay Now link, and scheduled activities.

Configuration

Follow-up levels

To configure the escalation ladder, go to Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Accounting ‣ Follow-up Levels. Each record is a level that applies once an invoice reaches a given number of days past its due date. When several levels qualify, the highest one that the oldest overdue invoice has already reached is the one that applies.

Default follow-up levels

A ready-to-use ladder of seven levels is created automatically when the application is installed, so reminders can be reviewed and sent without any configuration:

Level

Due Days

Purpose (default channel: email)

Payment Due Today

0

Friendly notice that the amount falls due today. Nothing is overdue yet.

Payment Overdue

1

The due date has passed and payment has not been received.

Payment Reminder

8

Reminder that the invoice is still unpaid.

Repeated Reminder

15

Repeated reminder, as the invoice remains unpaid.

Urgent Notice

30

More insistent notice, urging immediate payment.

Warning

45

Warning before the final step.

Final / Legal Notice

60

Last step before legal recovery, marked Final / Legal Level.

Important

Every default level ships with Automatic switched off. Installing the application therefore never sends anything on its own: each reminder is only sent after someone reviews and sends it. Automatic sending starts only once an administrator enables Automatic on the individual levels that should be sent unattended (see Automatic follow-ups).

Tip

The default ladder is safe to edit or delete — an application upgrade will not restore it. On a multi-company database, add one ladder per company.

screenshot: accounting-follow-up-levels-list
menu
Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Accounting ‣ Follow-up Levels
shows
Accounting ▸ Configuration ▸ Accounting ▸ Follow-up Levels list view, showing the seven default levels (Due Days 0/1/8/15/30/45/60), with the Send Email / Send SMS / Send Letter / Show Interest / Automatic / Final columns visible — the Automatic column unticked on every row.
data
Demo company "YourCompany HU" with a few overdue customer invoices.
module
account_payment_followup
notes
English UI, light theme, 1440px width, crop tightly to the relevant panel.

To modify a level, click the record. From the form view, set the Level Name and the number of Due Days before the reminder is sent, then choose the channels and options:

  • Send Email: send the reminder by email. Select a per-level Email Template; when left empty, the application’s default reminder template is used.

  • Send SMS: send an SMS text message, using the level’s SMS Template.

  • Send Letter (Post): send the reminder as a postal letter through Snailmail.

  • Attach Overdue Invoices: attach the customer’s overdue invoices to the email and/or letter as separate PDF files.

  • Show Late-payment Interest: display the informational interest and collection-fee block on this level’s reminder (see Late-payment interest (informational)).

  • Automatic: let the daily scheduled action send this level without manual review (see Automatic follow-ups). When disabled, the level is only ever sent after a human reviews it.

  • Final / Legal Level: flag the last, legal-notice level. This is informational and can be used on the reminder wording.

Note

Sending SMS messages or postal letters requires In-App Purchase (IAP) credit. Email and the online Pay Now link do not.

screenshot: accounting-follow-up-level-form
menu
Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Accounting ‣ Follow-up Levels ‣ Repeated Reminder
shows
a single follow-up level form (e.g. "Repeated Reminder"), left column Level Name / Due Days / Automatic / Final-Legal, right column Send Email + Email Template / Send SMS + SMS Template / Send Letter / Attach Overdue Invoices / Show Late-payment Interest.
data
Demo company "YourCompany HU" with a few overdue customer invoices.
module
account_payment_followup
notes
English UI, light theme, 1440px width, crop tightly to the relevant panel.

Tick Schedule Activity, at the bottom of the form, to automatically create an activity when the level is triggered. Ticking it reveals the Activity section, which holds the checkbox itself together with the Activity Type, Assign Activity To, Activity Summary, and Activity Note fields.

Late-payment interest (informational)

To display a late-payment interest amount and, for business customers, a fixed collection fee on reminders, go to Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings and, in the Customer Invoices section, enable Late-payment Interest on Reminders:

  • Late-payment Interest on Reminders: turn the block on and set the annual interest rate (in %).

  • Collection fee (B2B): optionally add a fixed collection fee, applied only to company (business) customers.

The block is only shown on levels whose Show Late-payment Interest option is enabled.

Important

These amounts are display-only. They are computed and shown on the reminder for information, but the application never creates a journal entry — no interest or fee is posted to accounting.

screenshot: accounting-follow-up-interest-settings
menu
Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings
shows
Accounting ▸ Configuration ▸ Settings, the "Late-payment Interest on Reminders" setting expanded, with the rate % field and the Collection fee (B2B) toggle + amount visible.
data
Demo company "YourCompany HU" with a few overdue customer invoices.
module
account_payment_followup
notes
English UI, light theme, 1440px width, crop tightly to the relevant panel.

Invoices treated as paid

Go to Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings and, in the Customer Invoices section, set Invoices treated as paid. The choice applies to the daily automatic reminders and to every manual send (from a customer, a customer list, or the invoices list).

  • Fully Paid (default): only fully paid invoices are skipped. Invoices in In Payment — a payment was registered but has not yet been matched on the bank statement — are still included, even when an open amount remains.

  • Fully Paid and In Payment: also skip invoices in In Payment. Use this when a registered payment should not trigger a reminder while it waits for bank matching.

Reversed invoices are always skipped. Unpaid and partially paid invoices are always included.

screenshot: accounting-follow-up-settled-settings
menu
Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings
shows
Accounting ▸ Configuration ▸ Settings, Customer Invoices section, the "Invoices treated as paid" radio with Fully Paid / Fully Paid and In Payment.
data
Demo company "YourCompany HU" with a few overdue customer invoices.
module
account_payment_followup
notes
English UI, light theme, 1440px width, crop tightly to the relevant panel.

Follow-up process

Note

Reconcile all bank transactions before starting the follow-up process to avoid sending reminders for invoices that have already been paid. To also skip invoices that are still In Payment while they wait for bank matching, set Invoices treated as paid to Fully Paid and In Payment (see Invoices treated as paid).

Follow-ups for one customer

For a detailed overview of a customer’s follow-up status, go to Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Customers, open the customer’s form, and click the Payment Follow-up tab. The tab shows:

  • Follow-up Status: No Action Needed, In Need of Action, or With Overdue Invoices.

  • Next Follow-up Date: the throttle date before which the customer will not be dunned again; set automatically after a reminder is sent and manually adjustable.

  • Follow-up Responsible: the user who handles the follow-up.

  • Total Overdue and Total Due: the customer’s overdue and total open receivable amounts.

screenshot: accounting-follow-up-partner-tab
menu
Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Customers ‣ (open a customer) ‣ Payment Follow-up tab
shows
a customer form open on the "Payment Follow-up" tab, showing Follow-up Status = In Need of Action, Next Follow-up Date, Follow-up Responsible, Total Overdue / Total Due, the internal note, and the "Send Reminder" button.
data
Demo company "YourCompany HU" with a few overdue customer invoices.
module
account_payment_followup
notes
English UI, light theme, 1440px width, crop tightly to the relevant panel.

Click Send Reminder to open the review window, adjust the Level if needed, and click Send. The reminder covers the customer’s full overdue statement.

Note

  • The contact information on the customer form is used to send the reminder. A customer with no usable contact for the chosen channel is skipped and the skip is recorded.

  • The chatter keeps a full record of every follow-up action.

Follow-ups for several customers

To act on several customers at once, go to Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Customers, switch to the list view, and select the customers requiring follow-up (filter by Overdue Invoices to narrow the list). Then click (Actions) and select Send Payment Reminder. A review window lists one line per customer with the resolved Level; adjust if needed and click Send. Each customer receives their full overdue statement. Customers whose overdue balance nets zero or negative are skipped automatically.

Follow-ups from the overdue invoices list

You can also start reminders from the invoices list. Go to Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Invoices, filter on Overdue, and select the invoices to dun. Then click (Actions) and select Send Payment Reminder. The selected invoices are grouped by customer in the review window.

Important

Unlike the customer-level entry points, a reminder started from the invoices list is scoped: it covers only the selected invoices (content, attachments, logged record, and interest), not the customer’s full statement.

screenshot: accounting-follow-up-invoice-bulk
menu
Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Invoices
shows
Accounting ▸ Customers ▸ Invoices list filtered on Overdue, several rows ticked, the Actions (gear) menu open with "Send Payment Reminder" highlighted.
data
Demo company "YourCompany HU" with a few overdue customer invoices.
module
account_payment_followup
notes
English UI, light theme, 1440px width, crop tightly to the relevant panel.

Reminder history on invoices

On a customer invoice, the Reminders smart button and the Payment Reminders tab list the reminders that covered the invoice, with their date, channel, level, subject, recipient, and the invoices included.

Automatic follow-ups

A daily scheduled action (Payment Follow-up: process overdue partners) processes overdue customers automatically. By design it is generate-then-review: it only sends levels that are explicitly flagged Automatic. Levels left non-automatic are never sent by the cron and always require a manual review, so no reminder leaves the system unattended unless you opt a level in.

Follow-up letter

The reminder document is a plain A4 PDF letter listing the customer’s overdue invoices, the totals, the optional interest and collection-fee block, and — in the email — an online Pay Now link to the customer portal. The same content is shared between the PDF letter and the reminder email, so both always show the customer the same figures.

screenshot: accounting-follow-up-report
menu
Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Customers ‣ (open a customer) ‣ Send Reminder ‣ (generated PDF letter)
shows
the generated follow-up letter PDF — header with company details, the overdue invoice table, totals, and (when enabled) the late-payment interest + collection-fee block.
data
Demo company "YourCompany HU" with a few overdue customer invoices.
module
account_payment_followup
notes
English UI, light theme, 1440px width, crop tightly to the relevant panel.

Follow-up log

Every reminder that is sent — and every skipped customer — is written to an append-only audit trail. To review it, go to Accounting ‣ Reporting ‣ Payment Follow-up. Each entry records the date, customer, level, channel (email, SMS, letter, activity, or skipped), the invoices covered, and a note. Log entries cannot be edited or deleted.

screenshot: accounting-follow-up-log
menu
Accounting ‣ Reporting ‣ Payment Follow-up
shows
Accounting ▸ Reporting ▸ Payment Follow-up list, several rows showing Date / Customer / Level / Channel / Invoices / Note.
data
Demo company "YourCompany HU" with a few overdue customer invoices.
module
account_payment_followup
notes
English UI, light theme, 1440px width, crop tightly to the relevant panel.

Payment risk banner on invoices

With the Payment Warning module installed, a colored banner is displayed at the top of every customer invoice and credit note, summarizing how the customer has been paying. It appears automatically; there is nothing to configure.

The banner states the customer’s average payment delay over the last twelve months (for example, This customer pays on average 12 days after the due date) and lists the customer’s open overdue invoices with their date and remaining amount. The figures are computed on the commercial partner, so a contact and its parent company are evaluated together, and the invoice being edited is not counted against itself.

Its color reflects the risk:

Level

Shown when

Info (blue)

No open overdue invoice, and the average payment delay is 8 days or less (including customers who pay early or on time).

Warning (orange)

There is at least one open overdue invoice, or the average payment delay is more than 8 days.

Danger (red)

An invoice is more than 30 days past due, or the average payment delay is more than 30 days.

When there is no payment history and no overdue invoice, no banner is displayed.

screenshot: accounting-follow-up-payment-warning
menu
Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Invoices ‣ (an invoice of a late-paying customer)
shows
A customer invoice with the red payment-risk banner above the invoice number, stating the average payment delay and listing two overdue invoices with their dates and residual amounts.
highlight
The banner (red frame).
data
Customer "Deco Addict" with two overdue invoices and an average delay of 35 days.
module
account_payment_warning
notes
English UI, light theme, crop to the top of the invoice.