Automated Payment Reminders

This article explains our process for automated payment reminders

For every deal that is created we want to send automated payment reminders. The following process is required in order to ensure a smooth reminder execution.

1. When an order is confirmed by either having a signed PO or some other binding confirmation the deal is moved to the deal stage "payment pending".
2. As soon as the deal stage is moved to "payment pending" a pop up shows all fields that are required for this deal stage.
   1. Payment due date: This is a new property! It's he date the payment must be on the bank according to the contractual agreement. This date has to be calculated by the sales manager and represents a binding payment date for the customer. It is used for the payment reminders. This date shall not be changed once set.
   2. Payment terms: The payment terms for recent orders placed. This helps you calculate the payment due date.
   3. Close date:
      1. Prior to closing: The date where you actually expect the payment. In an ideal world this is the same day as the "payment due date". This date is used for our deal pipeline and dashboard. In case a payment is delayed or expected to be delayed, the "close date" can be moved accordingly.
      2. After closing: The actual payment date as updated by accounting.
   4. Signing date: The day the contract was signed, resp. the order was confirmed in a binding way (i.e. by receiving an LPO/PO). The signing date also reflects the date the invoice was sent. 
   5. Amount: the exact amount in the invoice. This amount is used for the automated invoice reminder.
   6. # of drones: Numbers of drones per order. This number will be used for our monthly reporting.
   7. Type of order: Only deals that are "paid" receive automated invoice reminders. This property is used for our monthly reporting.
      
3. Upon changing the deal stage to "payment pending" the actual invoice has to be issued by the sales manager and sent to the customer. The signing date also reflects the date the invoice was sent. 
4. Once a payment is pending, automated invoice reminders are sent to all associated contacts of a deal. Accountants should therefore be associated to the deal! Unfortunately, right now it’s not possible to send the email to anyone else than associated contacts.
   
5. Reminder workflow:
   1. Invoice due soon: 1 email 5 days before payment due date
   2. Invoice Reminder: 1 email 5 days after due date
   3. Final invoice reminder: 1 email 15 days after due date
6. If there is a split payment for an order, create a deal for the second payment and fill the required properties accordingly. Please note that the "# of drones" must be = 0. Otherwise, they are counted double for the reporting.