Collections Management: #2 Late Payment Automation

"Sir, I'll process the payment by evening, please don't apply any late payment charges", the customer said while arranging papers on his desk.

Sanjay stood there with a tired smile. He had already visited twice that week. Payment collection was one thing. Explaining and justifying late fees was a whole different battle. After he left the office, he stopped at a small tea stall, opened his laptop, and stared at the spreadsheet he maintained every month, listing customer names, due dates, follow-up dates, and late fees applied.

The frustrating part was that the late fee column was always empty. Not because customers were paying on time, but Sanjay didn't want to go through another awkward conversation about why the late fee existed. He was tired of sounding like he was punishing customers for paying late, when in reality, late fees existed to protect cash flow, not to harm relationships.

He sipped his tea and thought, "If I can automate invoices and reminders... why can't the late fee be automated too?"

That moment changed everything.

Automating Late Fee 

At some point, for some businesses, applying a late fee may seem less empathetic. If you prioritise your relationship over revenue, it might feel unethical, but when you consider the lag that a payment delay creates for your business, it will feel genuine.

When late fees are automated, there is no debate and no room for negotiation. If a payment is delayed beyond the due date, the system automatically applies the late fee based on the rule you set. Late fees shift from being a personal enforcement to a standard business policy.

Instead of Sanjay saying, "I have added a late fee," the system silently states, "According to your billing terms, a late fee has been applied."

Ways to Automate Late Fee 

Zoho Billing supports late fee automation in two ways, based on the plan you are subscribed to.

Method 1: Using Custom Function Workflow 

You configure an automation in Zoho Billing that runs on a certain number of days after the invoice due date. When it triggers, it executes a custom function that posts a late fee charge to the customer's subscription. Everything happens behind the scenes, and no manual action is required.

​
Here is the deluge script used within the workflow.

lateFeeAccountID = ""; // -- Paste your latefee Ledger Account ID in the below variable.

lateFeeAmount = 10; // -- Change the late fee amount and invoice description as per your needs.

invReason = "Late Payment Fee";

invDescription = "Charges for late payment for the invoice " + invoice.get("number");

organizationID = organization.get("organization_id");

subscriptionID = invoice.get("subscriptions").get(0).get("subscription_id");

domain = "https://www.zohoapis.com/billing/v1";

payloadMap = Map();

payloadMap.put("account_id", lateFeeAccountID);

payloadMap.put("amount",lateFeeAmount);

payloadMap.put("name",invReason);

payloadMap.put("description",invDescription);

url = domain + "/subscriptions/" + subscriptionID + "/charge?organization_id=" + organizationID;

request = "Charging Late Fee for " + invoice.get("number");

response = invokeurl

[

url :url

type :POST

parameters:payloadMap.toString()

connection:"YOUR_CONNECTION_NAME"

];

// -- If the custom function fails to execute, an email will be sent to admin's email address.

if(response.get("code") != 0)

{

errorMessage = response.get("message");

sendmail

[

from :zoho.adminuserid

to :zoho.adminuserid

subject :"Error occurred in Custom Function while " + request

message :"<b>Affected url :</b><br>" + url + "<br><b>Error Message</b><br>" + errorMessage

]

}

Once configured, businesses no longer need to check overdue invoices manually. Zoho Billing handles it by itself.

Method 2: In-app Late Fee Configuration 

Zoho Billing also includes a built-in Late Fee configuration for specific pricing plans. Instead of scripts or workflow, you can define your rules.

You can choose whether the late fee is a fixed amount or a percentage-based, decide how many days after the due date the late fee should be applied, and select whether late fee invoices should be automatically created as draft or sent to the customer. The system acts accordingly without any intervention.

Note: The in-app Late Fee configuration is available only in plans over premium plan. Know the pricing of Zoho Billing. If you are in the plan that supports Late fee configuration, reach out to support@zohobilling.com to gain access to the feature.   

What Does a Late Fee Do to Business 

Late fee imposition brings more logic to the payment collection. It streamlines the payment collection. A Few months down the line, customers start to pay before the due date. You notice fewer overdue invoices, fewer follow-ups, and zero awkward conversations. The late fee no longer feels like a punishment. It becomes a predictable rule of business.

Whether through custom function automation or the built-in late fee settings, Zoho Billing transforms late fees into a standardised, system-driven action. This changes the payment collection pain point into a predictable revenue stream.

Up Next: Tackling Payment Failures

• Topic Participants

• Hari Hara Sudhan. S

  

• Sticky Posts

• Community Learning Series | Digest #5 — September 2020

  Dear customers, We're happy to bring you the September edition of our #CommunityDigest! Keep track of your subscription KPIs right from your smartphone: Last month, we enhanced our Android mobile app to help our customers get daily updates on their business health. We got to know from a lot of customers that this has made their job much more easier because they no longer have to keep a reminder to manually check on the previous day's revenue or activations. If you have not downloaded it yet, here's

• Community Learning Series | Digest #4 - August 2020

  Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. I'm happy to bring you the fourth edition of our #CommunityDigest with some brand-new updates from us. 1. Daily Business Updates (for Android users) The Zoho Subscriptions Android app has got a cool new update: You can now get a push notification to your smartphone that lets you know how many activations and cancellations have taken place, and what's the net revenue for the previous day. The best part is, you can tell the app when exactly you

• Community Learning Series | Digest #3 - July 2020

  Dear customers, We hope you're staying safe and healthy. We're glad to bring you the July edition of our #CommunityDigest. New community members can view our previous newsletters here. This time, we have two major updates and three interesting topics for you: 1. Zoho Subscriptions Developer Community Since the inception of Zoho Subscriptions, our team believed that the recurring billing platform we provide should be able to offer an extensive API library that empowers businesses to automate most

• Introducing: Community Learning Series | Digest #1 - May 2020

  Dear customers, We hope you are staying safe and healthy. Helping businesses manage their customer subscriptions more efficiently has always been, and always will be, our goal at Zoho Subscriptions. We strongly believe this is possible if we grow together as a community and share what we know with each other. To nurture this shared learning experience, here is our brand-new Community Learning Series! ​ Welcome to the first edition of our digest! Each edition of our community digest includes guides

• Recent Topics

• Move record from one custom module to another custom module

  Is it possible to create a button or custom field that will transfer a record from one custom module to another? I already have the 'Leads' module used for the Sr. Sales department, once the deal is closed they convert it to the 'Accounts' module. I would like to create a 'Convert' button for a custom module ('Locations') for the department that finds locations for each account. Once the location is secured, I want to move the record to another custom module called 'Secured Locations'. It's basically

• Convert Lead Automation Trigger

  Currently, there is only a convert lead action available in workflow rules and blueprints. Also, there is a Convert Lead button available but it doesn't trigger any automations. Once the lead is converted to a Contact/Account the dataset that can be fetched

• Notes Not Saving

  Hello,  My notes are continuously not saving.  I make sure to save them, I know the process to save them.  It is not operator error.  I go back into a Leads profile a while later and do not see the previous notes that I have made.  I then have to go back and do unnecessary research that would have been in the notes in the first place.  Not a good experience and it is frustrating.  Slows me down and makes me do unnecessary work.  Please resolve.   As a quick heads up, deleting cookies is not a fix

• Integration between "Zoho Sprints Stories" and "Zoho Projects Tasks/Subtasks"

  We have two separate teams in our organization using Zoho for project management: The Development team uses Zoho Sprints and follows Agile/Scrum methodology. The Infrastructure team uses Zoho Projects for traditional task-based project management. In

• Prefill form with CRM/Campaigns

  I created a form in zForms and created prefill fields. I added this to the CRM and selected the fields so when sending from the CRM, the form works great. However, I want to use the same form in Campaigns and I want it to pull the data from CRM (which

• Notes badge as a quick action in the list view

  Hello all, We are introducing the Notes badge in the list view of all modules as a quick action you can perform for each record, in addition to the existing Activity badge. With this enhancement, users will have quick visibility into the notes associated

• Triggering a campaign automation from a Form

  I used Forms to create a lead form that is accessed by a button on my website. The field information flows into the CRM. However, I am trying to figure out how to use Campaign automations to start a workflow (series of campaign emails) that is triggered

• Name changed in settings for mailbox but still not changed when typed in To field

  In the email account secretary@ i have updaetd the new staff members details but the old members name still appears when I type secretary@ in the To field. I cant work out where Zoho is finding the old name from. I have deleted the browser cache. If I

• Employee Appraisal Applicability - Why is Date of Joining Hard-Coded?

  In the new (to me, at least) Performance Appraisal Cycle wizard, it's possible to set criteria to determine for whom the appraisal process should apply. This makes sense on its face. However, one MUST use the Date of Joining criterion as a filter. Why

• Formula fields

  Zoho People now supports formula fields. This post illustrates it. Formula fields are fields whose value is calculated instead of being entered by the user. Using this, number, decimal and date manipulations can be done. The value of this field could be numeric or date depending on the output of the formula. In date manipulations, the result will be given in milliseconds, which you can format as per you need. The operators we support are +, - , *, /. Formula fields get recalculated automatically

• Copy paste from word document deletes random spaces

  Hello Dear Zoho Team, When copying from a word document into Notebook, often I face a problem of the program deleting random spaces between words, the document become terribly faulty, eventhough it is perfect in its original source document (and without

• Is it possible to use module field filters via URL parameters?

  It would be really convenient if I could quickly link to a filter. For reference, this is the filter functionality I'm referring to: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/customize-crm-account/advanced-filters/articles/advanced-filters For example: My

• Transitioning FESCO Bill Project to Zoho Sheets and Integration Options

  Hello Zoho Support, I'm considering transitioning my FESCO bill project from Google Sheets to Zoho Sheets and wanted to know if there are integration options to seamlessly migrate our existing work. You can view our platform here, any guidance would be

• Support for Custom Fonts in Zoho Recruit Career Site and Candidate Portal

  Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you're doing well. We would like to request the ability to use custom fonts in the Zoho Recruit Career Site and Candidate Portal. Currently only the default fonts (Roboto, Lato, and Montserrat) are available. While these

• Lightbox Pop-up form

  I would like to embed my form using the lightbox pop up. I don't want it to load automatically. I want it to load when some clicks the button. I can see this option, however when I use the "show pop-up launch button" on the website, the button automatically

• Unable to remove the “Automatically Assigned” territory from existing records

  Hello Zoho Community Team, We are currently using Territory Management in Zoho CRM and have encountered an issue with automatically assigned territories on Account records. Once any account is created the territory is assigned automatically, the Automatically

• Data Processing Basis

  Hi, Is there a way to automate the data processing for a candidate every time an application arrives from job boards, without requiring manual intervention? That is, to automatically acquire consent for data processing. I've seen a workflow that allows

• Lightbox Pop-up form

  I would like to embed my form using the lightbox pop up. I don't want it to load automatically. I want it to load when some clicks the button. I can see this option, however when I use the "show pop-up launch button" on the website, the button automatically

• Zoho CRM for Everyone's NextGen UI Gets an Upgrade

  Hello Everyone We've made improvements to Zoho CRM for Everyone's Nextgen UI. These changes are the result of valuable feedback from you where we’ve focused on improving usability, providing wider screen space, and making navigation smoother so everything

• Customer Management: #5 Never Let the Customer Slip

  When Rahul started Knight's Watch Consulting, his focus was simple: deliver good work and keep clients happy. He offered one-time consulting projects, monthly advisory retainers and usage-based support for growing clients. Business was steady, and customers

• 10GB Email Storage Limits in Zoho CRM

  We’ve had Zoho One for almost 5 years and have always synced our emails from Gmail via IMAP… As of late, we’ve run into issues with our emails not syncing, due to being over the 10GB storage cap… What’s very odd is that we haven’t changed a thing? I know

• Zoho Projects Android and iOS app update: Mobile device permission based on user profiles

  Hello everyone! We have brought in support for mobile device permissions based on the user profiles which are configured in organization level. Administrators can now configure the permissions on the web app(projects.zoho.com) by following the steps mentioned

• Good news! Calendar in Zoho CRM gets a face lift

  Dear Customers, We are delighted to unveil the revamped calendar UI in Zoho CRM. With a complete visual overhaul aligned with CRM for Everyone, the calendar now offers a more intuitive and flexible scheduling experience. What’s new? Distinguish activities

• How to import data from PDF into Zoho Sheet

  I am looking to import Consolidated Account Statement (https://www.camsonline.com/Investors/Statements/Consolidated-Account-Statement) into zoho sheet. Any help is appreciated. The pdf is received as attachment in the email, this document is password

• Unlocking New Levels: Zoho Payroll's Journey in 2025

  Every year brings its own set of challenges and opportunities to rethink how payroll works across regulations and teams. In 2025, Zoho Payroll continued to evolve with one clear focus: giving businesses more flexibility, clarity, and control as they grow.

• Zoho Projects Android and iOS app update: Timesheet module is now renamed as 'Time Logs', delete option has been renamed to 'Trash'.

  Hello everyone! We have now renamed the Timesheet module as Time Logs and the delete option as 'Trash' on the Zoho Projects Android and iOS app. Time Logs Android: Time Logs iOS: Trash option Android: Trash option iOS: Please update the app to the latest

• Zoho Mail app update: Manage profile picture, Chinese (Traditional) language support

  Hello everyone! In the latest version (v3.1.9) of the Zoho Mail app update, we have brought in support to manage profile picture. You can now set/ modify the profile picture within the app. To add a new profile picture, please follow the below steps:

• Reminders for Article Approval

  Is there a way to send reminders for approvers to review articles and approve/deny them? I'm not seeing that option anywhere.

• To print Multiple delivery notes in batches

  In Zoho Books, we can print a Delivery Note from an Invoice using the Print Delivery Note option, but it is non-editable and always prints all line items from the invoice. Our requirement is to deliver invoiced items in batches and print delivery notes

• Add Full-Screen Viewing for Quartz Recordings in the Client Interface

  Hi Zoho Team, We would like to request an enhancement to the Zoho Quartz client interface when viewing submitted recordings. Current Limitation: When viewing a Quartz recording from the client (user) interface, there is currently no option to switch the

• 2025 Recap: A Year to Remember | Zoho Inventory

• Important Update : Pipedrive deprecated fields no longer supported in Zoho Analytics

  Dear Pipedrive users, We would like to inform you about a recent update related to your Pipedrive integration with Zoho Analytics. The Pipedrive team has deprecated certain fields from their application. You can find more details in the official Pipedrive

• Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | November 2025

  Hello Workplace Community, Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that went live across all Workplace applications this November. Zoho Mail Format comments easily using Slash Commands With Slash commands, you can easily format text, insert

• Right-Click Pipeline to Open in New Tab

  Please add the ability to right-click on a pipeline to open it in a new tab

• Adjusting Physical Inventory

  Not getting very far with support on this one, they say they are going to fix it but nothings happened since November. Please give this a thumbs up if you would like to see this feature or comment if you have some insight. Use Case: Inventory set to be

• How to install Widget in inventory module

  Hi， I am trying to install a app into Sales Order Module related list, however there is no button allow me to do that. May I ask how to install widget to inventory module related list?

• Deluge date time issue

  The deluge function info zoho.currentdate.toString("MMM/YYYY") returns Dec 2026 instead of 2025

• Sending automated messages that appear in the ticket's conversation thread

  Good morning, esteemed Zoho Desk community, warm greetings Today I am here to raise the following problem, seeking a solution that I can implement: I need to implement an automation that allows me to send reminder messages to customers when I am waiting

• Issue with Zoho Creator Form Full-Screen View in CRM Related List Integration

  Hi Team, We have created a custom application in Zoho Creator and integrated it into Zoho CRM as a related list under the Vendor module, which we have renamed as Consignors. Within the Creator application, there is a form named “Pickup Request.” Inside

• Set connection link name from variable in invokeurl

  Hi, guys. How to set in parameter "connection" a variable, instead of a string. connectionLinkName = manager.get('connectionLinkName').toString(); response = invokeurl [ url :"https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/freeBusy" type :POST parameters:requestParams.toString()

• Next Page