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

• 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()

• sync views to sheet

  Im looking to sync my views aka reports in analytics to zoho sheets, when data is updated in analytics it also should be updated in sheets, till now zoho sheets only offer raw data connection and it is not enough as these reports are difficult to re-do

• How to update the Status in a custom module?

  Hi, I have a custom module "cm_payment_registry" in Billing, I am trying to change the status which is "Draft" with: array = {"custom_status":"Approved"}; zoho.billing.update("cm_payment_registry",organization.get("organization_id"), XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, array,"connectionname");

• how to add email to existing organization i w

  I am already registered my organization and i have an email id. I need one more email id but i can't find anywhere .i want the cheapest email id . how to add ?

• is it possible to add more than one Whatsapp Phone Number to be integrated to Zoho CRM?

  so I have successfully added one Whatsapp number like this from this User Interface it seems I can't add a new Whatsapp Number. I need to add a new Whatsapp Number so I can control the lead assignment if a chat sent to Whatsapp Phone Number 1 then assign

• Replace Zoho Invoice with QuickBooks

  We are implementing Zoho FSM for a cleaning business in the US with 50+ field workers. This business has been using Quickbooks for accounting for decades and will not migrate to Zoho Books. A major issue in the integration is the US sales tax calculation.

• Reply and react to comments

  Hi everyone! We're excited to bring to you a couple of new features that'll make your sprint process simpler. A cloud application brings with it an array of social media features that can be efficiently used in your organizational setup. As an agile scrum

• Possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox with Zoho Creator's Sandbox?

  We are making some big changes on our CRM so we are testing it out in CRM's Sandbox. We also have a Zoho Creator app that we need to test. Is it possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox to Zoho Creator's Sandbox so that I can perform those tests?

• 2025 Highlights: A Year of Steady Progress and Significant Developments

  As we come to the end of 2025, let's take a moment to reflect on the significant progress and developments we've made to improve your travel and expense management. In the Spotlight Introducing Online Booking (US edition only - Early access) Enable online

• Hide/Show Subform Fields On User Input

  Hello, Are there any future updates in Hide/Show Subform Fields "On User Input"?

• Zoho Sheet for Desktop

  Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?

• e-mail bloqueado

  Estou com meu e-mail lucas@peplus.me bloqueado, preciso desbloquear para retorno de usos em minhas atividades.

• ¿Cómo puedo configurar las contraseñas creadas bajo una directiva para que nunca caduquen y no aparezcan como caducadas en los informes?

  ¿Cómo puedo configurar las contraseñas creadas bajo una directiva para que nunca caduquen y no aparezcan como caducadas en los informes? La razón por la cual contraseña estas no deben caducar es porque su actualización depende de mi cliente y no de mí.

• Function #42: Show the actual rate of items on invoices

  Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! In Zoho Books, you have the ability to create Price Lists, wherein you can mark up and mark down the item rates by a specific percentage or set custom rates. Generally, when you apply a price list to an

• Ability to Set Text Direction for Individual Cells in Zoho Sheet

  Dear Zoho Sheet Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement in Zoho Sheet that allows users to set the text direction (right-to-left or left-to-right) for individual cells, similar to what is available in Google Sheets. Use

• New in CRM: Dynamic filters for lookup fields

  Last modified on Oct 28, 2024: This feature was initially available only through Early Access upon request. It is now available to all users across all data centers, except for the IN DC. Users in the IN DC can temporarily request access using this form

• Warehouse fast processing

  Hey guys, would anyone be interested in something like the attached image ? If there's any interest I'd be willing to develop it further for others to use, it's much faster than using Zohos native solutions, it can part pack, pack in full, part ship,

• Can't change form's original name in URL

  Hi all, I have been duplicating + editing forms for jobs regarding the same department to maintain formatting + styling. The issue I've not run into is because I've duplicated it from an existing form, the URL doesn't seem to want to update with the new

• Start/Stop Timmer in Chrome Extension

  The chrome extension is great and allows you to do allot however one of the most common things employees working on projects need to do is track their time. Having an easy start/stop timer to track time would be great.

• Invalid collection string

  I haven't changed anything in one of my functions. I'm trying to run it manually and suddenly "Invalid collection string" appears. My code has 6 lines and the error says that the error is on 7th line. Why? What does this error mean? Nothing has been changed

• Zoho Directory 2025: New Features | Security Enhancements | Enriched UI

  Hello everyone, Greetings from the Zoho Directory team! 2025 has been a highly successful year for Zoho Directory. We are delighted to introduce a fresh set of features, an enriched UI, and major product enhancements. These updates aim to deliver a smoother

• Bulk Schedule for Posting TikTok

  Hallo, We have a client whose business is a social media agency specifically TikTok. Currently they are handling 30 TikTok accounts from. I think zoho Social can handle it with Agency License + with Add on 10 Brands. Their concern is related to posting

• zoho people 5 report

  How do I customize my report in Zoho People Report? I understand that I can get the results of multi-table queries through SQL join statements, but I don't know the relationship between each table. I tried to create a report using Attendance User Report

• Leave Report Emailed Weekly

  I am wondering if someone knows how to have a report generated either weekly or monthly or both for department heads and ownership of upcoming employee leave. For instance, it would be nice to get an emailed report on Friday for the upcoming week of who

• Ability to Edit YouTube Video Title, Description & Thumbnail After Publishing

  Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Social that enables users to edit YouTube video details after the video has already been published. Your team confirmed that while Zoho Social currently allows editing the

• Zoho Flow Decision Continuing Despite Not Meeting Conditions

  I have a picklist field called Lead Status in the leads module, with the following lead Statuses: New Lead Attempted Contact - 1 Attempted Contact - 2 Attempted Contact - 3 Attempted Contact - 4 Attempted Contact - 5 Attempted Contact - 6 Attempted Contact

• Add RTL and Hebrew Support for Candidate Portal (and Other Zoho Recruit Portals)

  Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you're doing well. We would like to request the ability to set the Candidate Portal to be Right-to-Left (RTL) and in Hebrew, similar to the existing functionality for the Career Site. Currently, when we set the Career Site

• zoho labels api not working

  We're using n8n to automte email reply using zoho api. I'm facing issue with label api. I added the required scopes but its not working. i followed zoho api documentation but didn't work. also, where do i find/how do i create zoho oauth token mentioneeed

• Zoho Books Sandbox environment

  Hello. Is there a free sandbox environment for the developers using Zoho Books API? I am working on the Zoho Books add-on and currently not ready to buy a premium service - maybe later when my add-on will start to bring money. Right now I just need a

• Tip #55- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Exploring Vision Settings- 'Insider Insights'

  As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good moment to reflect on how we can make our tools more inclusive and easier to use for everyone. Remote support often involves long hours in front of screens, varied lighting conditions, and users with different

• Zoho Recruit Slow and Freezing on all screens

  We have had an issue with Zoho Recruit for weeks being extremely slow and at times freezing.  We have 100 mega internet, and I went into each computer and updated the virtual memory so there is more available.  Also restarted all computers daily.  Still having the issues.  Almost unable to work.

• Credit Management: #2 Configuring Right Payment Terms for Credit Control

  Think about the last time you ordered something online and saw that little note at the checkout, "Pay on Delivery" or "Pay later". It's simple, but it actually sets the tone. As a business owner, you know exactly when payment is expected. Now, imagine

• Dependent (Conditional) Fields in Zoho Bookings Forms

  Hello Zoho Bookings Team, Greetings, We would like to request the ability to create dependent (conditional) fields in Zoho Bookings registration forms. Current Limitation: There is currently no way to make one field’s available options depend on the value

• Bug Report: Search fails to find existing notes after Evernote import

  Hello, I recently migrated from Evernote (~2600 notes across 23 notebooks), but the search functionality is currently broken. The Issue: I can manually browse to a specific note and see it exists. However, when I type the exact or partial title of that

• Marketing Tip #13: Win repeat customers with post-purchase emails

  The relationship with your customer doesn’t end after the sale; that’s when it begins. A thoughtful post-purchase message shows customers you appreciate them, keeps your brand top of mind, and can even lead to another sale. You can thank them, ask for

• Zoho Form

  I have problem with Zoho Form. One of form i don't received the PDF version. Others okay except this one. W904533

• Introducing the Zoho Projects Learning Space

  Every product has its learning curve, and sometimes having a guided path makes the learning experience smoother. With that goal, we introduce a dedicated learning space for Zoho Projects, a platform where you can explore lessons, learn at your own pace,

• Create & Update Zoho Vault Passwords via Zoho Flow

  Hi Zoho Flow / Zoho Vault Team, We’d like to request an enhancement to the Zoho Vault integration in Zoho Flow. Current Limitation: At the moment, Zoho Flow supports only the following selected Zoho Vault actions, such as: Fetch passwords, Share passwords

• Is Zoho Communityspaces now part of Zoho One?

  Is Zoho Communityspaces now part of Zoho One?

• Next Page