No one likes having money owed, it’s important to stay on top of your customer invoices. Businesses can prioritise sales and fall into the trap of extending credit to customers, offering discounts or ignoring payment terms if it means winning new sales. Regardless of how many sales your company makes, this becomes meaningless if you are not being paid on time. Not getting paid can lead to cash flow issues which can impact your ability to pay vendor bills, meet payroll or other obligations. You need to consider customers are sometimes not respectful or just forgetful in paying invoices, so keeping track of payment dates, when invoices are sent and due is fundamental. Accounts receivable alerts helps you stay in control of your invoicing.
SapphireOne Workflow with Accounts Receivable Alerts Enables Friendly Reminders to Employees and Customers
Collection efforts should be consistent and methodical. When processes are automated as much as possible you reduce the risk of errors from manual entry.
In SapphireOne ERP you can set up a workflow of alerts for ageing receivables. These accounts receivable alerts can be emailed to your relevant employees when the balance is near, due or outstanding. Friendly reminder emails can also be scheduled to your customers. You can create unlimited workflows with credit control reminders in SapphireOne.
Best email practices when asking for payments
It is always a good practice to set up an initial reminder one week before the Invoice Due Date. Keep it polite and in your Email Subject mention it is a follow up on the invoice #. The body of the email should be short, friendly and informative. This will also advise customers that you are on top of your invoices.
The next email should be created on the Day the Payment is due. In your Email Subject mention the invoice # and that it is due today. Keep it short and friendly and mention it is a reminder as technically the customers are not late in paying.
When the payment is overdue, and depending on your credit terms, you can send a more direct email. In the subject let them know which invoice is overdue and by how long. Ask for payment, list payment methods, and let them know what will happen to their account if not paid in time.
