A payment term says how long a customer has to pay: On Receipt means straight away, Net 30 means within 30 days. Every invoice takes its due date from a term, and payment reminders use that due date to decide when to chase.
The terms you start with
Every shop starts with six terms under Settings → Payment Terms:
| Term | Due in |
|---|---|
| On Receipt | Immediately |
| Net 7 | 7 days |
| Net 10 | 10 days |
| Net 30 | 30 days |
| Net 45 | 45 days |
| Net 60 | 60 days |
On Receipt is marked Default, the term ordinary customers pay on. Net 30 is marked Fleet default, the term company accounts pay on. Use Set as default or Set as fleet default on another term to change either.
New Term adds your own: a name and Days Due, with 0 meaning due on receipt. The optional note is for your team; it isn't printed anywhere.
- Disable takes a term out of use for new orders and customers. Orders that already carry it keep it.
- Delete works only on a term that isn't a default and isn't on any invoice yet. For anything else, disable it instead.
Which term an order gets
An order picks its term when it's created, in this order:
- The customer's own Payment Term, set on their customer record, as long as that term isn't disabled.
- Otherwise the Fleet default for a fleet, or the Default for anyone else.
- Otherwise the first term due immediately.
To bill one job on different terms, change Payment terms under Details in the order sidebar. It can be changed until the order is invoiced.
- Changing the order's customer picks the term again, for the new customer, unless you picked one by hand.
- Changing a customer's term applies to their orders from then on. Orders already open keep the term they started with.
Tip
Set the term once, on the customer, and every order for them starts right. An account customer who pays monthly is a customer with Net 30 on their record. See customers and vehicles.
The due date
When the order is invoiced, the due date is worked out from its term: the issue date plus the term's days. The invoice keeps its own copy of the term's name and days, so renaming or editing the term later doesn't change an invoice that's already out. Once an order is invoiced its term and due date are fixed.
The due date prints on the invoice PDF and shows on the customer's online invoice. Once it has passed, an unpaid invoice appears under Overdue on the Invoices page. On Receipt is due the moment the invoice is issued, so an unpaid On Receipt invoice shows there straight away. An invoice paid by bank debit that is still clearing doesn't count as overdue: the customer has paid, the money just hasn't landed.
Payment reminders
Included in GrowthPayment reminders email customers about unpaid invoices on a schedule you set. They're set up under Settings → Payment Reminders and are off until you switch on Enable payment reminders, so no customer hears from you until you've decided they should.
The schedule
| Setting | Starts at | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Before due date | 3 | Reminds this many days before the due date. |
| On the due date | On | Reminds on the day it's due. |
| After due date (overdue) | 3, 7, 14 | Chases this many days after the due date. |
Type several days separated by commas, up to 180 days. Leave Before due date empty for no early reminder. An invoice due On Receipt is due the day it's issued, so it only ever gets the on-the-day and overdue reminders.
Reminders go out once a day, at 09:00 UTC. Each one goes out once per invoice, on its exact day, and days are counted in your shop's time zone.
Note
A reminder whose day has already passed isn't sent late. Switch reminders on for an invoice that's five days overdue and its 3-day reminder is skipped; the 7-day one goes out on day seven.
What the customer gets
An email headed Payment reminder before and on the due date, and Payment overdue afterwards, with the invoice number, the amount still owed, the due date and a View my invoice button into their customer portal, where they can pay online if you take card payments. It's written in the customer's own language when you've set one on their record.
The amount is what's still owed: a part payment is taken off. To put your own words at the top, turn on the Payment Reminder template under Settings → Messaging. See talking to customers.
Each reminder also appears in the order's conversation in Messages, so you can see what went out and when. If the customer replies, the reply comes back into the same conversation.
Who doesn't get one
Reminders stop by themselves once an invoice is paid in full, so nobody is chased for money they've already sent. They're also not sent:
- While a bank debit is clearing. The invoice is waiting for funds, not unpaid.
- To a customer with no email address, or with Email opt-in switched off. Switching that off stops reminders, but not the invoices you send by hand.
- For a fleet's contacts. A fleet's reminders go to the email on the fleet's own record. A statement is how you reach the accounts team; see fleets.
Customer WhatsApp sends reminders over WhatsApp as well, to customers who have WhatsApp opt-in switched on. It only works once WhatsApp is connected under Settings → WhatsApp with an approved payment reminder template. Until then, only the email goes out.
Telling your team
Notify staff when overdue sends the shop's owners an alert in GarageFlow on each overdue reminder day, whether or not the customer could be reached. It starts switched on.
Troubleshooting
"The invoice is due on the wrong date." Check Payment terms in the order sidebar before you invoice, and set the right term on the customer for next time. An issued invoice's due date can't be changed.
"I changed the customer's term but the order didn't change." Open orders keep the term they started with. Change it on the order, under Payment terms in the sidebar.
"I can't delete a term." It's a default, or it's on an invoice. Disable it instead.
"Reminders aren't going out." Check that Enable payment reminders is on, that the customer has an email address and Email opt-in, and that today is one of the days in your schedule. Payment reminders need the Growth plan or above.
"A customer was reminded after they paid." The payment wasn't recorded before 09:00 UTC on the reminder day. Record payments as they come in.
"I can't see which reminders went out." Open the order's conversation in Messages: each reminder email shows there as Payment reminder sent. WhatsApp reminders and staff alerts don't.