Best practice - Invoicing methods and unpaid invoices
Report menu > Customers > Statement (unpaid invoices)
This report clearly lists all unpaid jobs, with original and remaining balances. If you run the report setting the Tax Date appropriately (the last Tax Date in your chosen period eg. end of last month), your report's Total Amount Due and aged balances will match your customer's perspective of what they owe you and for how long.
Regarding unpaid invoices
If you invoice your customer for goods or services and it becomes overdue, simply email/post them the 'Statement (Unpaid Invoices)' report mentioned above.
If you are asked for a copy of the original invoice; reprint it and annotate it with 'OVERDUE COPY - PLEASE REMIT'. In the case of Summary Invoices, ensure the copy has the same date period. The printed date however, is not significant. To email copies, instead of choosing 'Email to Customer', do so from the preview window: click the email icon on the toolbar, enter the customer's email, and enter 'Copy Invoice - Overdue please remit' in the subject.
Send as many reminders as you like to your customer, in the form of overdue copies, and/or aged statements.
If the above method still results in outstanding invoices, there are a number of debtors letters available which are worded differently depending on how urgent the case has become.
You can find these in Report menu > Letters > Debtors Letters.
These can also be run from the Batch Report Manager.
This is down to the manager's preferred way of working
Method option A - Invoice at completion time
As each job is Booked Out Completed, LabManager prints or emails the customer with the invoice. Delivery Notes are optional. A statement is produced monthly or as often as required.
Note:
Customer Tags can be used to mark certain customers such that LabManager knows what to do when you book out. eg. Customer Tag : 'Invoice With Goods - Email' or 'Invoice with Goods - Printed'. Monthly: produce a Statement Monthly or Statement Unpaid Invoices.
Method of Invoicing
This is down to the manager's preferred way of working
Method option A - Invoice at completion time
As each job is Booked Out Completed, LabManager prints or emails the customer with the invoice. Delivery Notes are optional. A statement is produced monthly or as often as required.
Note:
Customer Tags can be used to mark certain customers such that LabManager knows what to do when you book out. eg. Customer Tag : 'Invoice With Goods - Email' or 'Invoice with Goods - Printed'. Monthly: produce a Statement Monthly or Statement Unpaid Invoices.
When a customer is tagged, you can use Setup Wizard > Printing Rules, to create rules to apply on booking out. Also, customers can be selected by their customer tag when using the Batch Report Manager at month-end.
Method option B - Summary Invoice for all jobs booked out completed in the period (eg. month).
As each job is Booked Out Completed, only Delivery notes are (optionally) printed. The jobs are assigned a Tax Date as they are booked out completed, however the customer is not invoiced for these jobs until the end of the month (or other chosen regular period) when a Summary Invoice is raised (only once) for each period. The Tax Date given on the Summary Invoice is the last date in the period.
Note:
The Tax Date printed on the Summary Invoice is the date that the invoice becomes DUE. The Summary Invoice becomes OVERDUE terms days after the Summary Invoice's TAX DATE. Terms days is specified in the customer record.
Customer Statements can be produced as required but for greater clarity administrators should take care to use the same date periods. eg. If Summary Invoices are produced for monthly periods, then produce Statements for the same month period. In this way the AMOUNT DUE, and the AGED DEBT will be aligned.
Method option B - Summary Invoice for all jobs booked out completed in the period (eg. month).
As each job is Booked Out Completed, only Delivery notes are (optionally) printed. The jobs are assigned a Tax Date as they are booked out completed, however the customer is not invoiced for these jobs until the end of the month (or other chosen regular period) when a Summary Invoice is raised (only once) for each period. The Tax Date given on the Summary Invoice is the last date in the period.
Note:
The Tax Date printed on the Summary Invoice is the date that the invoice becomes DUE. The Summary Invoice becomes OVERDUE terms days after the Summary Invoice's TAX DATE. Terms days is specified in the customer record.
Customer Statements can be produced as required but for greater clarity administrators should take care to use the same date periods. eg. If Summary Invoices are produced for monthly periods, then produce Statements for the same month period. In this way the AMOUNT DUE, and the AGED DEBT will be aligned.