From the day an invoice is generated to the day a service is suspended, every step of collection runs on a schedule you set once. This brief walks the timeline and names the setting behind each step, all of them under Settings › Automation.
Generation
An invoice is created a fixed number of days before a service's next due date, so the customer sees it early and a saved payment method has time to settle it. The lead time is Invoice Generation; the default is 14 days, and monthly, quarterly and annual cycles can each have their own. Services that share a customer and a due date are combined onto one invoice.
Payment capture
An invoice with a saved card or bank account is charged automatically, Process Days Before Due days ahead of its due date. A declined charge is retried weekly for as long as Retry Every Week For says, and the customer is told each time. Invoices without a saved method wait for a payment from the client area.
Reminders and late fees
Unpaid invoices are chased by email: the Invoice Unpaid Reminder goes out before the due date, and up to three overdue reminders after it, on the days you choose. A late fee, fixed or a percentage, can be added on the Add Late Fee Days day and appears as its own line on the invoice.
- Invoice generated and emailed - Invoice Generation days before the due date.
- Automatic capture for customers with a saved payment method - Process Days Before Due.
- Unpaid reminder before the due date, then the first, second and third overdue reminders after it.
- Late fee applied on the Add Late Fee Days day, once a late fee amount is set.
- Service suspended on the Suspend Days day; a payment lifts it automatically.
- Service terminated on the Termination Days day, if termination is enabled.
Suspension and termination
Enable Suspension and Enable Termination are separate switches with separate day counts, and both send a notice first. A suspended service is restored the moment its invoice is paid; a terminated one is not, so set the termination day generously and leave termination off until you are sure.
| Step | Setting | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice generated | Invoice Generation | 14 days before |
| Reminder before due | Invoice Unpaid Reminder | 7 days before |
| Overdue reminders | First, Second, Third Overdue Reminder | 1 day after; second and third off |
| Late fee | Add Late Fee Days | 5 days after |
| Suspension | Enable Suspension, Suspend Days | On, 5 days after |
| Termination | Enable Termination, Termination Days | Off, 30 days after |
The scheduler
All of this runs from the daily automation task. If invoices stop appearing on time, the scheduler is the first thing to check: Utilities › Automation Status shows when it last ran and what it did.
