Payment Reminder, Payment Notice, and Manual Collection

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

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. Based on this date, the recipient can identify which invoice the collection letter refers to. The date also shows how long the invoice has been unpaid. In Netvisor, 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, and there is no need to separately request a copy of the original invoice.

Creating a payment reminder

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

You can send a payment reminder for an overdue invoice by selecting Sales > Sales Invoices > Open Sales Invoices.

Proceed as follows when sending a payment reminder in the Open Sales Invoices view:

1. Select the invoice or invoices for which the payment reminder will be created.
2. At the bottom of the page, select Process Overdue > Send Reminder, Notice, or Collection Letter.

When you process an overdue invoice, you can add a collection charge to the invoice.

If you select the Add Collection Charge function, define the amount of the collection charge in the next step. The suggested amount comes from the collection charge amount defined in the Sales Basic Data.

You can send invoices in their original form by selecting Sales > Sales Invoices > Open Sales Invoices, selecting the invoice(s), and Process Overdue > Send as Original Invoices.

When you send payment reminders, payment notices, or collection letters, the system suggests adding a collection charge to invoices that do not yet have a collection charge or a payment plan. In the Open Sales Invoices view, there is a selectable column that shows the amount of the collection charge.

Collection charges for potential individual customers are informed separately.

You can add a collection charge to an individual sales invoice by selecting Sales > Sales Invoices > Open Sales Invoices > open the sales invoice > Sales Invoice Functions.

Proceed as follows when adding a collection charge to an individual invoice:

1. Open the desired sales invoice.
2. In the Sales Invoice Functions menu, select the function related to adding a collection charge.
3. If you send a payment reminder directly from the sales invoice under Send Invoice, accept the suggestion to add a collection charge if you want to add it.

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.

You can also send the invoice to the Visma Duetto notice service. More detailed instructions can be found here.
Reminders for individual customers cannot be sent as e-invoices (consumer e-invoice); instead, they must be sent, for example, through a PDF printing service.

Removing a collection charge from an invoice

You can remove a collection charge from an invoice by selecting Sales > Sales Invoices > Open Sales Invoices > open the sales invoice > Sales Invoice Functions > Edit Collection Charge.

Proceed as follows when removing a collection charge from an invoice:

1. Make sure that no payment has been added to the invoice. It is not possible to remove the collection charge if a payment has been recorded for the invoice.
2. Open the sales invoice.
3. Select Sales Invoice Functions > Edit Collection Charge.
4. Remove the collection charge and save the changes.

Creating a payment notice

When a sales invoice is in the Reminded status, a payment notice can be sent from it. Sending a payment notice 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 payment notices, as well as collection letters, as e-invoices, the system automatically changes their due date 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 material, and the original due date remains unchanged on the invoice itself. During the sending process, you can change the due date to the desired one. However, when sending an e-invoice, the due date must be at least 5 banking days in the future.

Manual collection letter

When the invoice is in the Notified status, a collection letter can be sent from it. When using manual collection, the collection texts for the collection letter are generated from the collection texts defined in the Sales Basic Data.

Proceed as follows when using manual collection:

• Select Sales > Sales Basic Data and Settings > Collection Texts.
• Check that the collection texts are correct before sending the collection letter.

More details on collection texts and their definition can be found here.

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

You can also create a payment reminder, payment notice, or collection letter by selecting Interest and Collection > Invoice Collection. More detailed instructions for this function can be found here.

Collection texts

Printing the original invoice

You can print the invoice in its original form, even if the invoice has already been reminded, notified, or is in manual collection.

Proceed as follows when printing the original invoice:

1. Select Sales > Sales Invoices > Open Sales Invoices.
2. Select the invoice or invoices you want to print.
3. Select Process Overdue > Send as Original Invoices.

Interest invoices

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

Recording collection charges when payment is received

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

If collection charges have also been added to the payment, the payment is processed in the same way as a normal payment.

Example of handling collection charges when a payment is received, when the open amount of the invoice is 100 euros and a collection charge of 10 euros has been added:

1. The customer pays 110 euros with the corresponding reference → the invoice is fully paid, and the collection charge 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 whether they want to continue collection for the charge 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 → this is a normal partial payment; the collection charge part is taken into account only when the open amount has been paid.

Is the collection charge paid or not?

If the invoice is paid, you can check the payment status of the collection charge by retrieving, via the sales invoice list, all paid invoices that have a collection charge.

In the invoice list, there is a field Collection Charge to be Added. If a warning triangle is shown in this field, the collection charge is unpaid.

Sending reminder invoices via email

To send payment reminders and payment notices via email, first ensure that email sending for payment reminders and payment notices is allowed in the Sales Basic Data.

Proceed as follows when allowing reminder invoices to be sent via email:

1. Select Sales > Basic Data and Settings > Sales Basic Information.
2. Enable the selections for payment reminders and payment notices for email sending.
3. Save the settings.
4. Send the invoices by email according to the normal sending process.

Frequently asked questions

Question: When can I create a payment reminder from a sales invoice?
Answer: You can create a payment reminder when the sales invoice is overdue and has moved from open to overdue. The due date on the payment reminder is the same as on the original invoice.

Question: Can I add a collection charge to any invoice?
Answer: You cannot add a collection charge to an interest invoice, nor can a reminder be created from an interest invoice. You can add a collection charge to other overdue sales invoices in the Open Sales Invoices view or via the Sales Invoice Functions menu.

Question: How do I send a payment notice?
Answer: You can send a payment notice when the sales invoice is in the Reminded status. Sending is done in the same way as sending a payment reminder from an overdue invoice in the Open Sales Invoices view.

Question: How do I check whether the collection charge has been paid?
Answer: Retrieve from the sales invoice list all paid invoices that have a collection charge. Check the field “Collection Charge to be Added”: if a warning triangle is shown in the field, the collection charge is unpaid.

Question: Can I send reminder invoices as e-invoices or by email?
Answer: You can send payment reminders, payment notices, and collection letters as e-invoices, in which case the system moves the due date at least 5 banking days forward during the sending process. You can also send payment reminders and payment notices by email once you have allowed email sending in the Sales Basic Data. Reminders for individual customers cannot be sent as consumer e-invoices.

Question: How are collection charges recorded when the customer pays the invoice?
Answer: The principal amount of the invoice is processed as a normal payment. Collection charges are recorded to the default accounts defined in the Financial Management > Accounting Settings > Default Accounts Used view. If the customer also pays the collection charges, the collection charge part is recorded as interest income as in the examples.

Question: How can I edit the texts of the collection letter?
Answer: You can edit the collection texts used for payment reminders, payment notices, and collection letters by selecting Sales > Sales Basic Data and Settings > Collection Texts.

Question: Can I print the original invoice even if it is already in collection?
Answer: You can print the invoice in its original form in the Open Sales Invoices view by selecting the invoice and the function Process Overdue > Send as Original Invoices, even if the invoice has been reminded, notified, or is in manual collection.

Keywords: Payment reminder, collection letter, collection charge, manual collection, interest invoice, recording payment

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