How to maintain steady cash flow during the COVID-19 crisis using Zoho Invoice
Dear customers,
I hope this finds you and your loved ones in good health.
As we are witnessing, the COVID-19 pandemic has started taking a toll on businesses of all types. Here are some useful tips that could help you streamline your invoicing and AR processes to keep your business healthy.
1. Communicate clearly with your customers:
During this period, transparent communication with customers is a necessity. A lot of businesses have started displaying messages on their home pages, explaining their BCP (Business Continuity Process) and other important announcements they want to convey to their customers.
As an additional means of communication, you can use the banner message in the customer portal of Zoho Invoice. The banner message is visible in the home page of the portal, so it can help get the customer's attention quickly. You can set up this message under Settings > Preferences > Portal.
2. Relax the deadlines for estimates and invoices:
Your customers' priority at this moment will be keeping their family and loved ones safe, which might mean your estimates get accepted a little later than usual. Same goes for your invoice payments. Instead of bombarding the customer with multiple reminder emails, you can relax your policy and push back the expiration dates and due dates of your estimates and invoices.
To push back the dates on individual transactions, you can simply edit and make the changes. However, you can also perform this action in bulk (for up to 25 transactions in one go). Here's a screenshot that explains the steps:
You can follow the same steps in the Estimates section to update expiration dates in bulk.
3. Be approachable:
As a standard business practice, you might have set up automatic payment reminders in Zoho Invoice to go out on specific days before or after the invoice due date. However, given the current circumstances, you can definitely expect delays in payment.
Since you have control over the content that goes out in these reminder emails, think about rephrasing it to let your customers know that if they need any assistance, they can reach out to you by phone or email. This way, your finance team doesn't have to wait and wonder whether the customer will make their payment or not, or spend time sending extra emails. You can tweak your reminder email content under Settings > Reminders.
By making it easy for your customers to approach you and treating them on a case-by-case basis, you can actually bring down the number of unpaid transactions.
Let's say you have done this and have clearly stated how your customers can contact you. Now, what responses can you expect from them?
a) "I might not be able to pay the full invoice amount on time."
b) "I might not be able to pay the full invoice amount at all."
c) 'If you can offer me a discount, I can pay now."
Tips 4, 5, and 6 can help you handle these cases efficiently.
4. Enable partial payments for invoices:
Rather than waiting for your customers to be able to make a full invoice payment, you can encourage them to make partial payments for invoices so that you can have a steady cash flow. If you are collecting payments online, you can enable this option while creating or editing an invoice.
If you collect payments offline, you can convey this information through the 'Terms and Conditions' field on the invoice.
5. Offer discounts:
By offering discounts on your outstanding invoices, you are proving that you care about your customers enough to give them a bit of a break. If you don't see the option to apply discounts to existing invoices, please enable it under Settings > Preferences > General.
6. Write off invoices in special cases:
If you've extended the deadline for a payment, but your customer has really run out of funds and won't be able to make the payment any time soon, you can waive the invoice so you can move ahead with your accounting.
Since written-off invoices turn into bad debt, use the Bad Debt report in the Reports section of Zoho Invoice to make sure you're not accumulating too much.
7. Increase the credit limit for loyal customers:
If a customer has been with you for a long time and is sticking with you during this period, an increased credit limit is a good way to thank them for their business. By increasing their credit limit, you are letting them know that you continue to want their business. The option to set a credit limit is available when you create or edit a customer profile.
Though some of these tips might have a negative effect on your finances temporarily, they can gain you long-term benefits like customer loyalty and customer retention, which will help your business recover more easily.
Did you find these tips useful? Can you think of some other best practices that businesses can use to get through difficult times? Let us know in the comments.
Note from Zoho: If you need any assistance regarding Zoho Invoice, our support team is available 24 hours a day, Monday-Friday. You can also reach out to us through email (support@zohoinvoice.com), live chat, or phone.
Because Zoho recognizes that our own customers may be facing difficult times right now, we have rolled out an Emergency Subscription Assistance Program (ESAP) to help small businesses through this crisis. Learn more about this program.
Take care and stay safe! We'll get through this storm together.
Regards,
Harikrishna
Customer Relations | Zoho Finance
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Harikrishna
Buyers
garyhorsman
Sticky Posts
Zoho Finance Workshop 2023 is coming to the USA. Get exclusive training on Zoho Finance apps, one-on-ones, and more.
Hello all, We'd like to invite you to our biggest Zoho Finance workshop in the United States. After a brief break, we are excited to be back. This year, we're bringing together our customers and community members for two days of curated hands-on sessions,How to maintain steady cash flow during the COVID-19 crisis using Zoho Invoice
Dear customers, I hope this finds you and your loved ones in good health. As we are witnessing, the COVID-19 pandemic has started taking a toll on businesses of all types. Here are some useful tips that could help you streamline your invoicing and AR processes to keep your business healthy. 1. Communicate clearly with your customers: During this period, transparent communication with customers is a necessity. A lot of businesses have started displaying messages on their home pages, explaining theirIntroducing: Digital signature for estimates and invoices
Dear customers, We are pleased to announce that the much awaited Zoho Invoice - Zoho Sign integration is live! You can now sign your estimates and invoices before emailing it to your customers. Also, you can have them sign your estimates while accepting it. Here is our help document to help you get started: https://www.zoho.com/invoice/help/integrations/sign-integration.html Note: This feature is available across all editions of Zoho Invoice except the Indian edition. Out of all the feature requestsWebinar: Introduction to the Client Portal
Business owners know there is never enough time in the day. Not only do you have to beat the competition and make the sale, you then have to make sure you get paid. In fact, the sales process starts way before the sale, and never really ends. Preparing and getting estimates approved, collecting payments, and fielding customer requests for information related to past transactions are all part of the day in the life of a business owner. Well, Zoho Invoice can offer some relief to weary business owners.
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Looking to Flag or Tag contacts/ accounts on Zoho Desk?
I am looking for a way to flag certain accounts and make it obvious on the views pages. So for example if a has a certain package or needs extra attention it is clear before even clicking on the ticket. This could be via adding a tag or flag onto an account,setting date-time field from string
hello everyone, i hope someone could help me. i have a date-time field in a form that i want to fill in from two separate fields of date, and time. i need to combine the two fields to a one date-time field but can make it work. i tried to convert theCalendars and CRM Contacts
I'm finding having multiple calendars in Zoho One so confusing. I have a few questions so I can get this straight. We have a meeting room that we have set up as a resource in Calendar. Can this be set up in Bookings and the CRM Calendar? Using Zoho Calendar,Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (v1.23.0)
Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v.1.23.0) is here with interesting features and thoughtful enhancements to elevate your workplace communication and productivity. Here's a quick look at what's new. Record your meetings. You can now record audio andApplying a record template
Hi all, I can't figure this out. I hope you can help. The scenario: We have learners who have to complete a 'digital' journal with tasks in order to qualify. Those tasks, once completed, need a final signature from their 'Mentor', which will trigger theirQuickbooks invoice with Zoho Creator
Is it possible to push data from Zoho Creator directly to an invoice on QuickBooks? If so, where can I find information on how to do this?Help: Capture full page URL in hidden field when same Zoho Form is embedded on multiple pages (iframe)
Hi all, Goal Use one Zoho Form across multiple pages and record the exact page URL (incl. subdomain + path + hash) where the user submitted it. Example pages: https://www.example.com/cargo/ https://www.example.com/cargo/containers/#contact https://cargo.example.com/auto/Automatically Populate fields - HELP!
There have been many discussions on this but I still can't seem to get it to work for me. I am trying to create a lookup field and have other fields automatically populate. Based on the instructions in the Help Center, I should be using the "on user input". It's just not working, here is the layout... Both forms are in the same application. Current form is called Add Note, form to fetch records from is called Add Client. Lookup field is called Select_Client_ID related field in fetch form is calledPush notifications to portal users
Hi all, it is possible to send push notifications to portal users?Rename the attachment from record template pdf in the sendmail deluge script
Hello Zoho, I urgently need a feature to rename record templates that I send via the sendmail feature. The program I created sends emails to clients with an invoices that have been created in the invoice database. If the user selects 3 invoice numbers,Alt Text On Multiple Images
I'm using Zoho Social to post to a charity website. Often the posts have multiple images, but it seems there is only one field for Alt Text. Does that mean I can only include it for the first image? Or is there a way to add alt text for all the imag[SOLVED] Getting 401 when trying to download ticket attachment via API
I'm able to use the API just fine to access ticket content. But I cannot download ticket attachment, keep getting 401 Client Error. Example: https://desk.zoho.com.au/api/v1/tickets/{ticket_id}/attachments/{attachment_id}/content?orgId={org_id} For headers,Zoho project – Workdrive integration.
Hello everyone, I was wondering something, we did the Zoho projects integration with Zoho Workdrive but nowhere during this integration we could set the location of the folders that would be automatically created in Workdrive. As I understand it, it createsScriptを埋め込みたくてOn User Inputを探しているのですが・・・
編集モードで、Scriptを埋め込みたい項目を選択し、「項目のプロパティ」パネルで、その下のほうに「フィールドアクション（Field Actions）」という見出しがあると聞いたのですが、そもそも、それが見つかりません。そのために、On User Inputなどのイベントが選べません。 画面の英語を日本語に訳しているためにわけわからん状態になっているのかも知れませんが、わかる方、いらっしゃいますか？Problem with cloud query exceeded
When making a call I get this error, It is associated with a function in node that calls external APIs This is the code //tokenConsultar = thisapp.ObtenerToken(); //input.token = tokenConsultar.get("output").toMap().get("token");Showing Total of Funnel Chart Legend (With Values) Items
Hi, We are using the funnel type chart for displaying our zCRM sales pipeline stages and associated sum of deals in each stage. We have configured the legend to show the associated value (Deal Amount (Sum)) for each stage adjacent to the legend items (Stages). Is there a way to display the total of the values in the same chart? For example, at the bottom of the legend or maybe as a #merge placeholder in the legend title?How to Convert VCF Contacts to CSV using Excel
Many users switch from traditional address books to digital formats like vCard and CSV. These formats allow users to easily manage their contacts. However, a difficulty comes when you need to transfer your contact information to another application orField authorization for Linking module in Zoho CRM portal
Hi guys! Currently building a customer portal for one of my clients, and I ran into a bit of a roadblock while using a multi-select lookup field. The issue is that there is no way to hide or define access in the linking module created by this multi-selectKaizen #63 - Layout Rules in Zoho CRM
Hello and welcome to another week of Kaizen! This week, we will be discussing Layout Rules in Zoho CRM. If you need to modify the layout of a module based on user inputs, or to show or hide sections based on the value of a specific field, we have gotZoho CRM Portals - allow access per account
Hello all, I am trying to set up a portal for our customer but I seem to be hitting an obstacle and I am not sure if it is my problem or a limitation in the software. So basically the way I understand the portal Contact Email > Each Record or RelatedAndroid - Writer não acentua em Português com teclado bluetooth
Gosto muito do Zoho, tanto o Note quando o Writer. Infelizmente, o Writer sofre de um problema sério: ao usar um teclado bluetooth, forma mais cômoda de lidar com um processador de texto, os acentos (todos!) da Língua Portuguesa não são aceitos. TodosSet File Upload fields as mandatory
Currently the CRM for some reason lacks the ability to set a file upload field as mandatory So we have an issue We have a requirement that before a Deal stage is set as Deal is Won the member needs to upload a file Now for some weird reason in Zoho IEditing HTML in Zoho CRM Email Template
I am trying to create a template within the CRM email option, but need to be able to use custom HTML. There does not seem to be a way to do so.Ability to CC on a mass email
Ability to CC someone on a mass email.How to make attachments mandatory
I want the user to be unable to mark an opportunity as Closed – Won if it doesn’t have any attachments. I’ve already tried client scripts and functions, but nothing worked.SLA Ticket Report
From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports Service level agreement (SLA) ticket reports in a help desk system are crucial for ensuring that services are delivered according to established commitments. They help maintain accountabilityZoho Backstage - PCI Compliance / Web Security
I have a couple of questions related to Backstage and payment processing.... 1. my purchasing division is not giving approval to use Backstage yet because of some security issues. In order for us to take payments via a payment gateway like Authorize.netZoho Tables August 2025 Update: Faster and Smoother
We’ve been working behind the scenes to make Zoho Tables faster, lighter, and more reliable. Here are the highlights: Faster Response Times Optimised the way responses are generated. Reduced memory consumption by 20–25%, leading to smoother performanceVideo Upload from app says "unsupported aspect ratio" but is verified to be correct.
I and my social media person are experiencing a problem where Social will not accept video uploads to Instagram. The error we receive is "unsupported aspect ratio" but looking directly at the file in question we see that the width and ratio both matchDisposable Email Addresses
Dear zMail Team, Can you also bring out a few disposable email addresses for each accounts? That way occasional registrations and imminent spam from them can be largely solved right? ---- Deepak Vasudevan http://thamizhththendral.blogspot.com/Zoho sheet - Zoho expense
I want to schedule to create an expense using Zoho Sheet and flow. That is the EMI that I pay on a particular date to the bank and should be itemised, like principal and interest on the loan. Can someone help me in this regard??Ability to configure a schedule/shift for each user and/or crew in Zoho FSM
Hello, In our team of Field Agents, we have different shifts. Some field agent always work from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM while others work the evening shift like 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Sometime shift are on weekdays only or on weekend. It would be great to beFree webinar: Streamlining customer service paperwork with the Zoho Sign extension for Zoho Desk
Hello Everyone! Have you been wondering about bridging the gap between digitised customer service and business paperwork? Join our free webinar to learn how you can do this by connecting Zoho Sign, our digital signature app, with Zoho Desk, our onlineZoho Books | Product updates | July 2025
Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From plan-based trials to the option to mark PDF templates as inactive, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Introducing Plan Based Trials in ZohoMail Search should allow grouping by conversation like Gmail.
Having switched from gmail I have found the search function hard to use. Mostly because mail is not grouped by conversation in search. If I search for a word when looking for a conversation had with someone then sometimes 10 emails will come up from theImprove Zoho Learn updated article notifications
I noticed today while updating an article, that the notification users get says "[User Name] has published article [Article Name]..." My feedback to the product team is that it would be really helpful for an end user, if the system notification differentiatedSafari Support
Safari, the world's second largest browser, zoho desk does not officially or fully support. That needs to change.Can I get images from an "Image Upload" field in a webhook?
I want to send images from 2 "image upload" fields via a webhook. Is this possible?Ticket closure notification - all contacts cc'd on email thread
Hello, If a client sends an email to our service desk and cc's in other people that work at the same company - so that they are in the loop of the service request. When the we close the ticket, only the ticket owner (person who emailed us - which createdInactive account cleanup policy for Zoho Sign
Zoho Sign reserves the right to delete accounts that are license free and inactive for more than 120 days. The account deletion will be initiated only after the user receives prior email notice about possible data deletion and how to backup the data.Next Page