Avaza can remind your customers about unpaid invoices for you, before the due date and after it. You set up to five reminders once, and they go out for every invoice that's still unpaid.
Only Administrators and Finance Managers can change the reminder settings and templates. Automatic reminders need a paid plan. On the Free plan, Avaza won't switch them on, and moving to the Free plan switches them off.
Turn reminders on
Go to Settings › Invoice & Bill Settings and switch on Automatic Invoice Reminders.
Set up each reminder you want, from Reminder 1 to Reminder 5.
Under Send when Invoice is, choose Due In for a reminder before the due date or Overdue By for one after it, then type the number of days. Tick Active for each reminder you use. The reminders must be in date order, so Reminder 1 comes first.
Choose the other options.
- Include a PDF version of the invoice attaches the invoice to each reminder.
- Send reminders shortly after this time sets the time of day.
- Send replies to picks the person who gets your customers' replies. The list shows your Administrators and Finance Managers.
Click Save.
Each reminder uses its own email template. To change the wording, go to Settings › Email Templates and edit Invoice Auto Reminder 1 to Invoice Auto Reminder 5. Placeholders such as [Customer Contact Firstname], [Invoice Number], [Invoice Total], [Amount Due], [Due Date] and [Web Invoice Link] fill in each invoice's details. [Amount Due] is what's still owed, so a part-paid invoice shows the remaining balance rather than the total. See email templates.
Which invoices get reminders
A reminder goes to an invoice's Customer Contact only, so choose a contact on every invoice you want reminders for. Without one, no reminders are sent. If the contact's email address isn't valid, Avaza switches reminders off for that invoice, notes it in the invoice's Activity History and emails your Administrators and Finance Managers. Fix the address, then switch reminders back on.
Once reminders are on, every new invoice gets them, including recurring and retainer invoices, unless its customer doesn't allow reminders (see below). For invoices created earlier, open the invoice and choose Actions › Turn Auto Reminder On. Turn Auto Reminder Off in the same menu stops them for one invoice.
To stop reminders for a whole customer, click the customer's name on an invoice, click Edit next to Financial Details and untick Allow Automatic Invoice Reminders. It's ticked for new customers. While it's unticked, the invoice menu doesn't offer Turn Auto Reminder On.
Reminders only go out while an invoice is Sent, Late or Partially Paid. They stop once it's paid or void, and drafts never get them.
When reminders are sent
Avaza checks for reminders every hour, so each one arrives shortly after the time you chose, on its day. If you change an invoice's due date, the reminders are worked out again from the new date. If several reminders are already overdue when you switch them on, for example on an old invoice, only the latest one is sent.
Reminders come from clientinvoices@mail.avaza.com as "name via Avaza", using the name of your Send replies to person, and replies go to that person. See why invoice emails come from this address.
See what's been sent
An invoice with reminders on shows a bar under its status with the Next Reminder date and time, and how many reminders have been sent.
Each reminder also appears in the invoice's Activity History, and in the Activity Feed of your Administrators and Finance Managers.
The Invoices list has a Reminder column while reminders are on. A bell marks each sent, late or partly paid invoice, with the number of reminders sent beside it. Point at the bell to see the last reminder and its date, or whether reminders are switched off for that invoice.
To chase an invoice yourself, choose Actions › Send Reminder on a sent or late invoice. That email uses the Send Invoice Reminder template.