{"id":65664,"date":"2022-11-03T10:41:37","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T09:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cashontime.com\/en\/?p=65664"},"modified":"2025-04-18T16:23:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T15:23:13","slug":"customer-reminder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cashontime.com\/en\/articles\/customer-reminder\/","title":{"rendered":"The complete guide to customer reminders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Customer reminders are a delicate subject for many companies. More often than not, they are afraid of damaging the commercial relationship they have with their customers. Yet customer reminders are an integral part of the accounts receivable management process.<\/p>\n<p>By optimizing this step, you can gain greater control over your cash flow. So, how do you go about customer dunning and achieve <a href=\"\/en\/articles\/effective-collection\/\">good collection<\/a>? What are the best practices to adopt? How do you optimize customer dunning? We explain.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"qu%e2%80%99est-ce-que-la-relance-client\" class=\"ez-toc-section\"><\/span>What is a customer reminder?<\/h2>\n<h3>Customer reminder: definition<\/h3>\n<p>A customer reminder consists of formalizing a payment reminder to a customer who has not paid their invoice within the allotted time.<\/p>\n<p>At this stage, you simply inform the customer that the payment date for their invoice has passed, and ask them to regularize their situation in your books. A customer reminder is not a formal notice. It is therefore an <a href=\"\/en\/articles\/amicable-collection\/\">amicable collection<\/a> operation.<\/p>\n<p>In practice, companies make two or three reminders before moving on to the next stage, depending on the relationship with the customer and the amount <a href=\"\/en\/articles\/customer-outstandings\/\">outstanding<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Would you like to send a dunning letter to your creditor? Download our dunning letter template, fill in the essential information and send your letter.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" data-obflink-url=\"aHR0cHM6Ly9scC5jYXNob250aW1lLmNvbS9lbi9zYW1wbGUtZHVubmluZy1sZXR0ZXIv\" class=\"\" tabindex=\"0\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-71676\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cashontime.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/invoice-dunning-letter-710x295.png\" alt=\"invoice dunning letter\" width=\"710\" height=\"295\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cashontime.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/invoice-dunning-letter-710x295.png 710w, https:\/\/www.cashontime.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/invoice-dunning-letter-360x150.png 360w, https:\/\/www.cashontime.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/invoice-dunning-letter.png 721w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>The importance of customer reminders<\/h3>\n<p>Although it may seem tedious, dunning plays an essential role in the management of receivables and a company\u2019s commercial relations.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, a well-established customer dunning procedure makes it possible to :<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>reduce payment times;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/en\/articles\/dso\/\">reduce DSO<\/a> (Days Sales Outstanding) ;<\/li>\n<li>limit the risk of non-payment, and hence <a href=\"\/en\/articles\/debt-collection\/\">debt collection<\/a> procedures;<\/li>\n<li>control cash flow, especially unforeseen timing differences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s also important to remember that most of the financial difficulties experienced by companies stem from cash flow problems. By adopting an effective customer reminder strategy, you can limit the risk of unavailable cash.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"comment-faire-une-bonne-relance-client\" class=\"ez-toc-section\"><\/span>How to make a good customer reminder?<\/h2>\n<p>To make your customer reminder management easier and more efficient, it\u2019s important to know the best practices.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what you need to know:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify overdue invoices and the reasons why;<\/li>\n<li>plan an evolving follow-up message;<\/li>\n<li>personalize the message ;<\/li>\n<li>attach invoices to customer reminders;<\/li>\n<li>multi-channel management of customer reminders;<\/li>\n<li>choose a <a href=\"\/en\/articles\/credit-management\/\">credit management<\/a> tool.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-obflink-url=\"L2VuL2R1bm5pbmctcmVjb3ZlcnktcmVjZWl2YWJsZXMv\" class=\"bouton vert\" tabindex=\"0\">DISCOVER OUR CREDIT MANAGEMENT TOOL<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Identify overdue invoices and the reasons for them<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-43584 size-medium alignleft\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/gestion-poste-clients-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"gestion poste clients\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\"><\/p>\n<p>First of all, to make a good customer reminder, your company needs to be fully aware of which invoices have passed their due date, which customers are concerned and the amounts involved.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t make the mistake of dunning a customer who\u2019s up to date. Likewise, don\u2019t delay too long before sending the first reminder.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also a good idea to identify the causes of an unpaid invoice. For example, you can check with your company\u2019s sales department or after-sales service if there is an ongoing dispute with this customer. Customer dissatisfaction is a major cause of late invoice payment. However, it\u2019s easier to find solutions in this case than if your customer is in financial difficulty.<\/p>\n<p>In all cases, remain open to discussion and send a simple message. This is a reminder, not a payment order.<\/p>\n<h3>Plan an evolving follow-up message<\/h3>\n<p>The content of your reminder e-mail is very important. It must be clear and precise. However, the first reminder should be gentler than the last.<\/p>\n<p>So, while the first reminder is a simple request for payment of the invoice, the last reminder is a firm reminder before a letter of formal notice is sent.<\/p>\n<p>Your reminder e-mail is therefore intended to evolve over the course of the pre-collection procedure.<\/p>\n<p>And if you want to reduce your payment times, don\u2019t wait until invoices are due to remind your customers, as they rarely pay on the same day. In order to obtain payment of invoices on their due date, it is therefore essential to take action, and therefore to follow up before the due date.<\/p>\n<h3>Personalize your message<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-43588 size-medium\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/gestion-relance-clients-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"gestion relance clients\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\"><\/p>\n<p>Just as your dunning message needs to be gradual, it also needs to be personalized.<\/p>\n<p>Write your dunning message as you would any other exchange with the customer concerned. The idea is not to create a distance between you, but to inform the customer of the delay in paying the invoice.<\/p>\n<p>You can also personalize your message by referring to a telephone exchange you may have had on the subject or concerning a dispute, for example.<\/p>\n<h3>Attach invoices to customer reminders<\/h3>\n<p>Enclosing invoices with your customer reminder e-mail is certainly the simplest and best practice.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, by doing so, you enable your customer to quickly identify the unpaid invoice and therefore to proceed to payment more easily.<\/p>\n<p>However, we don\u2019t recommend attaching overdue invoices to dunning notices. In today\u2019s increasingly digital world, it\u2019s better to allow customers to access documents themselves, via portals for example.<\/p>\n<h3>Multi-channel management of customer reminders<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-43582 size-medium\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/relance-facture-impayee-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"relance facture impayee\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\"><\/p>\n<p>Depending on your customers, a reminder by telephone or e-mail will be much more readily accepted than one by post.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, if you\u2019ve done the first reminder by e-mail, you might consider doing the second one by telephone, so that you can talk to your customer face-to-face.<\/p>\n<p>Varying the channels (telephone, e-mail, postal letter, etc.) you use to reach your contact will enable you to attract their attention in a way that\u2019s best suited to their way of working.<\/p>\n<h3>Choosing a credit management tool<\/h3>\n<p>Using credit management software makes it much easier to manage the entire debt collection process, right from the customer reminder stage.<br>\nAs the primary function of credit management software is to automatically send out reminders using the right media and formats, you\u2019ll save a great deal of time in preparing, creating and sending your reminders, which will now be done automatically.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll also have access to a dashboard that centralizes the main key indicators, and you can calculate your DSO in real time. What\u2019s more, you can monitor the status of invoices, actions already taken and adjust the score for each customer.<\/p>\n<p>Adopting a credit management software solution therefore enables your company to make its customer dunning process more reliable, to have precise data on its financial management and to save time.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"peut-on-automatiser-la-relance-client\" class=\"ez-toc-section\"><\/span>Can customer reminders be automated?<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s perfectly possible to set up an automatic dunning system. In fact, it\u2019s highly recommended, to free up your teams\u2019 time to deal with the most complex files.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43586\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/lettre-relance-facture.jpg\" alt=\"lettre relance facture\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"><\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, automating customer dunning makes the process more secure, since you can be sure that the action will be taken at the time you specify. For example, you can schedule the sending of a first reminder e-mail if an invoice is unpaid after 7 or 15 days, depending on your receivables management policy.<\/p>\n<p>Collection software like CashOnTime enables you to script your debt collection process and create workflows. A triggering event, such as X days\u2019 late payment, generates the sending of the first reminder e-mail and schedules another action depending on the customer\u2019s reaction (regularization, request for extension or lack of response).<\/p>\n<p>This is an invaluable piece of software that facilitates the work of your employees and credit managers, who have all the economic and financial information they need at their fingertips.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Automate your customer reminders with CashOnTime.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a target=\"_blank\" data-obflink-url=\"aHR0cHM6Ly9scC5jYXNob250aW1lLmNvbS9lbi9yZXF1ZXN0LWRlbW8tY2FzaG9udGltZS8=\" class=\"bouton vert\" tabindex=\"0\">REQUEST A DEMO<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Customer reminders are a delicate subject for many companies. More often than not, they are afraid of damaging the commercial relationship they have with their customers. Yet customer reminders are an integral part of the accounts receivable management process. By optimizing this step, you can gain greater control over your cash flow. So, how do [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Customer reminder - Definition and best practices","_seopress_titles_desc":"How do you send out a reminder? What are the best practices to adopt? 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