The Reminders process handles functions for creating reminder proposals, printing proposals, printing reminders and cancelling reminders. A reminder history records statistical data of proposals and printed reminders. A reminder analysis facilitates queries to display statistical reminder data in several dimensions. All customers in a company must be linked to a Reminder Template. A default template is automatically suggested at customer entry, this can be changed. When invoices are entered, they are linked automatically to the template of the appropriate customer. But they can also be linked to another template by changing a single invoice or with an update function for all invoices of a customer.
The templates provide information and instructions on how reminder proposals are to be created and how reminders are to be worded. You can enter different reminder templates depending on factors such as what conditions apply to calculation of accrued penalty interest, delayed payment, and if invoices or credit invoices not yet due should be loaded into a reminder proposal. You can also specify whether invoices which have already reached the highest reminder level should be covered by the proposal. The reminder template facilitates with the exclude parameters to load open items into the proposal as excluded in order to avoid invoices to be reminded and printed in the reminder automatically. Such items are provided in the proposal with an exclude reason which explains why e.g. an invoice will not be automatically reminded. Exclude reasons can be related to a single installment in case of reminder block or when the amount due is below the defined threshold. All items from a reminder recipient are Excluded if the total reminder amount is below a threshold, or if at least one item of a recipient has reached the collection level defined in levels of reminder template.
Even if the customer or payer connected to the invoice is the reminder recipient, reminders can be set up per customer. If the customer for example, belongs to a corporation that handles all or most of the payments for the corporation members, reminders can be sent to that other payer instead of the customer. For regular customers, a separate reminder is created per reminder recipient, reminder template and currency. The reminder is sent to the default document address of the reminder recipient or to the email/fax address connected to the reminder recipient. For one-time customers, a separate reminder is created per invoice address ID. The reminder is sent to this address or to the email/fax address connected to this address ID.
It is possible to modify reminder proposals before reminders are printed. You can for example exclude a reminder recipient which implies that all invoices for that specific reminder recipient will be excluded from reminders. You can also include a reminder recipient in total or as a single invoice if those items have been loaded as excluded automatically into the proposal, e.g. due to a reminder block on the invoice installment. Separate totals of amount due for included items and excluded items in the proposal show at a glance how much is reminded per recipient and per customer.
The reminder template can be used to meet specific needs regarding the content and structure of the reminder printout. You can select different print options to print the AR contact or notes of the items in the reminder. Another option is to print the reminder text for each level or for the highest level only. If credit items are to be included in the reminder, you can specify whether credit items should be used to lower the reminder level to be used for the reminder text and reminder fee. The reminder report with the report layouts can be assigned to each reminder template individually. The reminder text can be entered with substitution variables for payment deadline (<PD>) and/or a date until payments are included (<PI>) . The reminder printout will then contain at the place of the substitution variables the actual date specifications.
Reminder fees can be defined in the reminder template per reminder level. The fee is printed in the reminder according to the highest level in the reminder in invoice currency. Interest can be calculated and printed on reminders. However interest for an invoice will always be calculated using the interest method WhenDueForPayment irrespective of the interest template used in the interest proposal where the invoice was included. Reminder fee as well as interest in reminders are only printed and will not be posted.
Before a reminder can be printed, it must be acknowledged.
When a reminder has been printed or sent to the reminder recipient by email, fax or using an XML file the invoice reminder level will be updated based on the latest reminder date. Additionally statistical information is created to view reminded items per proposal in the reminder history and to analyze the amount and frequency of reminders in several dimensions. The statistical data covers reminded items with amount due in accounting currency as well as in invoice currency, reminder fee and interest. Possible dimensions are e.g. Recipient, Country and AR Contact.
Reminders can be cancelled and the reminder level and last reminder date are set back per invoice installment to the previous level and the previous reminder date before the reminder was printed. You can cancel the reminders for a whole reminder proposal or for a single recipient only. If you reduce the reminder level on the invoice installment, the reminder will be cancelled just for the invoice installment.
Before you start entering information check that Basic Data Required (BDR) has been set up as per instructions in Define Financials Basics, Set up Basic Data Customer Credit Management process.