Payment Reminder, Payment Notice, and Manual Collection

This guide explains how to create and send payment reminders, notices, and collection letters for overdue sales invoices, as well as how to handle collection fees. The guide also covers manual collection and recording of collection fees.

When a sales invoice is overdue, meaning the due date is in the past, a payment reminder can be created from the invoice. The invoice automatically moves from open to overdue when the due date has passed. The due date on the payment reminder is the same as on the original invoice.

The reminder, notice, and collection letter will print the original invoice date, which allows the recipient to identify which invoice the collection letter refers to. This date also provides information on how long the invoice has been unpaid. In Netvisor, for example, a payment notice is a copy of the original invoice, possibly with added late fees, and therefore retains the original invoice date. This way, the recipient can add the notice directly to the accounts receivable without needing to request a copy of the original invoice separately.

Creating a payment reminder

Note! A reminder cannot be made from an interest invoice, nor can collection fees be added to it.

A payment reminder can be sent from an overdue invoice in the Open Sales Invoices view. Start by selecting the invoice(s) for which the payment reminder will be created and choose Process Overdue > Send Reminder, Notice, or Collection Letter from the bottom of the page.

When an overdue invoice is processed, a collection fee can be added:

If "Add Collection Fee" is selected, the amount of the collection fee is determined in the next step. The suggested amount comes from the collection fee amount defined in the Sales Basic Information.

Invoices can be sent in their original form by selecting Process Overdue > Send as Original Invoices.

When sending payment reminders, notices, or collection letters, it is suggested to add a collection fee to the invoice if there are invoices without a collection fee or payment plan. In the Open Sales Invoices view, there is a column available that shows the amount of the collection fee. 

Collection fees for potential individual customers are informed separately:

A collection fee can be added to an individual sales invoice through the Sales Invoice Functions menu. If a payment reminder is sent directly from the sales invoice under "Send Invoice," it is also suggested to add a collection fee at this point.

In the sending process view, the invoice is sent to the customer through the selected channel. More details on sending sales invoices can be found here.

The invoice can also be sent to the Visma Duetto notice service. Detailed instructions can be found  here.
Reminders for individual customers cannot be sent as e-invoices (consumer e-invoice), but these should be sent, for example, through a PDF printing service.

Removing a collection fee from an invoice

A collection fee can be removed from an invoice through Sales Invoice Functions > Edit Collection Fee. To remove the collection fee, no payment should have been added to the invoice.

Creating a payment notice

When a sales invoice is in the Reminded state, a payment notice can be sent from it. This is done in the same way as sending a payment reminder from an overdue invoice. 

Sending reminder invoices as e-invoices

To send payment reminders and notices, as well as collection letters, as e-invoices, their due date is automatically changed to 5 banking days in the future from the sending date during the sending process. The system changes the due date only for the invoice data, the original due date remains unchanged on the invoice itself. It is possible to change the due date to the desired one during the sending process. When sending an e-invoice, this must be at least 5 banking days in the future.

Manual collection letter

When the invoice is in the Notified state, a collection letter can be sent from it. When using manual collection, the correctness of the collection texts generated for the invoice should be checked under Sales > Sales Basic Information and Settings > Collection Texts. More details on this topic can be found here.

If you want to use Visma Duetto's electronic collection, instructions can be found here.

A payment reminder, notice, or collection letter can also be created using the "Interest and Collection" menu's "Invoice Collection" function. Detailed instructions can be found here.

Collection texts

Printing the original invoice

The invoice can be printed in its original form, even if it has already been reminded, notified, or is in manual collection. This can be done in the Open Sales Invoices view by selecting the invoice(s) and Process Overdue > Send as Original Invoices.

Interest invoices

Interest invoices are always created separately in the system. Interest cannot be added to the printing of payment notices, payment requests, and collection letters. Instructions for interest invoices can be found here.

Recording collection fees when payment is received

When a payment is received for an invoice, the payments received for the invoice amount are processed normally. The recording of collection fees uses the setting given in the default accounts (Financial Management > Accounting Settings > Default Accounts Used) which can be modified if necessary.

If collection fees are also added to the payment, it is processed in the same way as a "normal" payment. The allocations for the calculation objects of the lines are also done automatically, and the invoice is recorded as paid.

For example, if the open amount of the invoice is 100 euros and a collection fee of 10 euros has been added:
1. The customer pays 110 euros with the corresponding reference -> The invoice is fully paid, and the collection fee part of 10 euros is recorded as interest income.
2. The customer pays 100 euros with the corresponding reference -> The invoice is fully paid, and it is up to the company to decide if they want to continue collection for the fee part.
3. The customer pays an amount x without a reference number -> The payment ends up in unmatched reference payments.
4. The customer pays with the corresponding reference, but the paid amount is over 110 euros -> The payment ends up in unmatched reference payments.
5. The customer pays with the corresponding reference, but the paid amount is less than 100 euros -> Normal partial payment; the collection fee part is considered only when the open amount is paid.

Is the collection fee paid or not?

If the invoice is paid, all paid invoices with collection fees can be searched through the sales invoice list. 

In the invoice list, there is a field "Collection Fee to be Added." If there is a warning triangle here, the collection fee is unpaid.

Keywords: Payment Reminder, Collection Letter, Collection Fee, Manual Collection, Interest Invoice, Recording Payment

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