Understanding Payment Reminder Statuses

When you set up your Invoice, you have the option to use payment reminders to send to your clients at a later date! When setting up your reminders, you can track the statuses of when the reminder sent and when the client paid! Sometimes, the statuses may not update- it could be an invalid email or a payment made outside the reminder link! This article will explain what to look for and how you can match up your payments! 

We will focus on the statuses of the reminders in this article, but if you want to learn how to set up these reminders, learn more here: Setting Up Payment Reminders for Invoices 

Email Reminder Status

When you set up your payment reminders, you'll select a date when the payment is due and when to send out this reminder to your client. When the reminder shows up on the invoice, the first status shown is to let you know when or if the email has sent! 

Status Color Meanings:

• Yellow = Email has not sent client
• Green = Email has sent to client

The email reminder will send around the time you've scheduled it! Our system can batch send notifications, so sometimes your email reminder might send a little earlier or a little later than the scheduled time! 

Why didn't my email status turn green?
If it is past your scheduled time and the email did not turn green, a few things might have happened: 

• You scheduled your payment reminder for a past date/time than the current time (it happens!).
• You didn't give enough of a buffer time between the scheduled time and the current time. It's always great practice to allow yourself a 2 hour window from the current time and when you want to send out your reminder! 
  
  
• The client's email might be invalid (You can check the invalid email list in the Contact tool.
  
  
• Your connected email in your account is invalid or disconnected (Check the Communications Settings- you might see a "Fix Connection" button.)

In most cases, you can find the reason from the information above, make your fix, and readjust the scheduled time! If you need additional help, please email our support team and fill them in on what's going on! 

Payment Statuses

When you send an email reminder to your client, it creates a 'thread'. The pay now button from the email reminder is tied direction to the payment reminder itself. Sometimes, a client may get the email and pay outside of that reminder. You'll still see the payment reflected on the invoice, but that reminder may not update. Let's break it down: 

• You send a Payment Reminder with the pay now option to your client. They receive the email and click the "Pay Now" button in the email. They add in their information and complete the payment. The Payment Reminder status will turn green.
  
  
• You send a Payment Reminder with a pay now button to your client. They receive the email. Instead of going through the email, they log into their client portal account and made their payment there. You still see the payment on the invoice. But the Payment Reminder Status will stay red. (When in doubt- look to the Invoice payments- they are your source of truth.)

Okay, so they paid, but the reminder is red- can I update it to reflect a paid status? 

Yes! We've made a recent change in the Payment Status to allow you to match a current payment with the Payment Reminder or to log it as a new payment! This option is found when you click the down arrow in the reminder and select "Mark as Paid."

Please check out this video to learn more:

If you have any questions, please feel free to email Support@Planningpod.com - make sure you let them know the invoice number you are referring to if you have specific questions!