Collections Management: #4 Before, During & After Payment Processing

Collections Management: #4 Before, During & After Payment Processing

"Mark, I think the payment link isn't working. Can you send it again?" Staring at a message, Mark got on his phone. This was the third time the same customer had asked him that week.


A few minutes later, another message came, "Hey, the invoice total seems different this month. Can you check?" Before he could respond, a new email appeared: "Our payment failed. Should we try again or wait?"

Mark leaned back in his chair and laughed, certainly not from humour but with exhaustion. Payments were supposed to be simple. Why so many questions, interruptions, and follow-ups? "Isn't payment just, send invoice ---> customer pays ---> done?" he murmured.

But as his business grew, he realised something important. Getting paid is not a simple action; it's a journey that starts even before the customer begins paying for the service. Yes, it starts long before the customer clicks "Pay Now" and it continues long after the money arrives.

It is crucial to analyse where your business needs control and where it needs to be automated. Having a system with that kind of flexibility will definitely help as you scale.

Zoho Billing brings that kind of comfort to business. It doesn't just help in collecting payments; it also allows companies to manage everything before, during, and after the transaction is created.

Before Payment Process 

Preparing Customers for a Smooth Onboarding 

The payment experience begins with the invoice itself. Zoho Billing generates invoices that promptly reflect usage charges, proration, add-ons, discounts, taxes, and more. The accuracy and clarity eliminate billing disputes and prevent the confusion that delays payments, such as "why is this amount different?"


Predictable Billing 

Whether the business uses milestone billing, recurring cycles, a prepaid model or usage-based pricing, Zoho Billing aligns every billing event seamlessly. Even mid-cycle plan changes are recalculated automatically, keeping charges consistent and predictable. 


No/Less Extra Effort for Collection 

Invoices come with embedded payment options, hosted payment pages, and a customer portal, providing customers with immediate access to make payments. They don't need to search for payment instructions.


Proactive Communication 

Zoho Billing handles all reminders leading up to the due date. From invoice notifications to upcoming due alerts and expiring card notices, customers stay informed and prepared, significantly reducing the risk of overdue payments. You can even configure reminders on trial subscription where it will prompt the customer before trial is about to expire.



Idea
Reports based on upcoming payments  (Top 3) 
  1. AR Ageing SummaryDisplays outstanding receivables categorised by the number of days. This helps identify which customers or invoices are approaching overdue status, allowing payment follow-up to begin even before the due date.

  2. Upcoming RenewalsHelps businesses forecast upcoming subscription renewals, ensuring they know who will be charged soon. This works perfectly for pre-payment communication and customer readiness.

  3. Card Expiry: Payment failures mostly happen due to issues with the card or an expired card. This report helps you with the list of customer cards with expiring payment methods. This is crucial in preventing future failed transactions and ensuring smoother upcoming payments.

During Payment Process 

Multiple Payment Methods 

Zoho Billing integrates with multiple payment methods/gateways, including Stripe, Razorpay, PayPal, PayTabs, and GoCardless. This gives customers the freedom to pay using cards, UPI, ACH, direct debit or whichever works best for them. The best part is that businesses can now configure a backup payment method in addition to the primary payment method in use. This helps increase the likelihood of receiving payment successfully and without requiring manual or retry attempts.


Effortless Auto-pay 

Once a customer approves a payment mandate, Zoho Billing automatically handles renewals. Payments are charged on schedule without customer intervention, ensuring predictable cash flow.


Intelligent Failure Handling 

If a payment fails, Zoho Billing instantly captures the failure reason, notifies the customer, and triggers the configured dunning process. Customer can update their payment method directly from the notification. Retries occur automatically based on predefined rules, converting failures into recoveries.


Instant Updates 

Successful payments update invoices, issue receipts, trigger provisioning workflows in real time, making everything in sync without any manual effort or follow-up needed.



Idea
Reports based on Processing Payment  (Top 3)
  1. Payment ReceivedDisplays all recent payments collected, facilitating monitoring of the inflow as payments are processed.

  2. Payment FailuresEssential during the payment phase to identify failed attempts in real-time, enabling quicker resolution or automated dunning actions.

  3. Under Risk:  Displays invoices currently in dunning and at risk of churn. This acts as a key report for understanding which customers are in the middle of the recovery process.


After Payment Process 

Consistent Post Payment Communication 

Zoho Billing automates thank-you messages, renewal confirmations, usage summaries, and future billing reminders. These touchpoints maintain transparency and build customer trust.


Handling Adjustments 

Whether a customer needs a partial refund, a correction or a credit note, Zoho Billing applies all changes while maintaining accurate records across billing and accounting modules.


Visibility on Unpaid Invoices 

Zoho Billing highlights accounts that need attention, allowing businesses to intervene before revenue loss occurs. Invoices that remain unpaid enter an automated dunning flow and appear as overdue, clearly indicating the outstanding receivables.



Idea
Reposts based on processed payment  (Top 3)
  1. Recognised Revenue: Shows the actual revenue recognised from payments over time. This is a crucial report that provides financial accuracy after payments are complete.

  2. Refund History: Tracks refunds issued to customers. Essential for understanding post-payment adjustments and their impact on customer satisfaction.

  3. Renewal Summary: Shows which subscriptions have been successfully renewed after payment. Critical for recurring revenue tracking and retention analysis.

Zoho Billing Ensuring Seamless Payment Journey 

Zoho Billing brings structure to the entire payment workflow by guiding customers even before a payment attempt is made. It delivers clear invoices, predictable billing cycles and timely reminders that reduce confusion and delays. During the payment process, Zoho Billing eliminates friction with various payment options and provides intelligent handling of failed payment attempts, ensuring the process remains smooth and dependable.


After payment, it maintains accuracy through automated receipts and proper insights on the payments collected. With Zoho billin,g payment collection becomes predictable, automated and friendly with all possibilities to scale in the future.


Notes
Up Next: Self-checkout: Next level convenience

 

 

 


      • 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

        • Print a document from Zoho Writer via Zoho Creator

          If i use the code below i can get writer to create a new document or email it to me but i want to be able to print it directly from the browser and not have to send it via email and then print. Below is the code im using. Attached options form zoho writer
        • Custom View and Custom Fields on Zoho Books

          Hi, I have some custom fields on Estimates and Invoices. I also use Custom Views so I can have a lot of information at a glance. I want to include my custom fields as columns in my custom views of estimates / invoice, but it looks like is not possible.
        • %PaymentLink%

          Does not work. Software creates a BAD link. ....and yes payment options are turned on. Link on the invoice pdf once opened will work but this template is a joke.
        • Syncing calendar with Google Calendar doesn't work when events are sent to auto repeat

          Hi... The ZOHO CRM -- GOOGLE CALENDAR sync is broken. If I create a single event on either side, sync works, but if I create an event with auto repeat on either side it doesn't work. Furthermore, events created before the sync don't show up in the calendar.
        • Allow Global Admin to access/edit all forms without changing owners

          Hi there, Please consider adding a feature where the Global Admin of the account an automatically access/edit any form in the Company Account. I'm the Global Admin on our Zoho One plan, and we have multiple users that use/create forms. But for me to access
        • Can Zoho Marketing Automation send OTP codes via WhatsApp during user registration?

          The flow I would like to implement is: A user signs up in the mobile app and enters their phone number. The system generates a one-time verification code (OTP). The OTP is sent to the user via WhatsApp message. The user enters the code in the app to confirm
        • Related lists New option in missing

          hi I have created quite a few modules and added as related lists to my main module. Some have new, some dont I can not see why?
        • Where to show Customization Field ?

          Dear Sir, I have made some New Field in Item Field Customisation. Now I don't require that field in Estimate, Sales Orders etc. I just wants that field in Sales Invoice to Show/Hide... Is that possible ?
        • What's New in Zoho Analytics - February 2026

          Hello Users! We're back with another round of updates for Zoho Analytics. This month's release focuses on giving you greater flexibility in how you visualize, manage, and act on your data - with new features like custom visualizations, remote MCP server,
        • Zoho Books (and other Finance Suite Apps) - Clickable Item Name on Invoices and Reports

          Hi Zoho Books team, It would be really helpful if the Item Name on Reports were clicable to take me to the item. The same on Invoices, often I am looking at an invoice and I want to look at the deails of a product. A link here would be helpful to jump
        • ZOHO Reports are taking longer time to get refresh

          Hi Team, Since last few days, I'm facing issues in getting updated reports. For eg: right after making an expense entry or even posting a journal, it is taking longer then expected for the updated reports. Refer below: "You are viewing the report that
        • Display actual mileage on an invoice

          My users are creating expenses in Zoho expense. For example, they expense 10 miles and get paid 7 dollars (10 miles * IRS rate of .70). If I look at the expenses in Zoho Books, it does show them at 10 miles at .70 cent When I add these expense to an invoice
        • 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
        • Mail template DYNAMIC attachments

          Hello, I see there's been a lot of requests for having non static attachments in mail templates be automatically added. So not manually attached static attachments from record, but actual automatically attached attachments which are configurable in the
        • Can you create relationships BETWEEN contacts within the same module

          I am setting up my CRM, and I want to have a way to connect contacts within the same module.  Is there a way to do this?  If not - how do I decide how to split up contacts to make connections?  What are best practices for this? We have clients who need
        • Zoho Projects - Cloning a task does not trigger task workflow when created

          Hello! I have a Project where my team uses a set of tasks from a tasklist as templates, so we could simply clone it and drag it to another list in kanban view to avoid creating a new one from scratch. The process works well, but after cloning it the new
        • Function and workflow to create customer payment and send receipt

           I am attempting to set up a workflow/custom function for the automatic creation of a customer payment and sending the email receipt, but am receiving the error "Improper Statement Error might be due to missing ';' at end of the line or incomplete expression" I've been over everything several times and cannot see where the error is (code is copied into the attached document).  I haven't used custom functions before with Deluge, so it's very likely something very simple, or I've completely mucked
        • Disable Sign Up option in Zoho Creator Portal and show only Sign In page

          Is it possible to disable the Sign Up option in a Zoho Creator portal? The requirement is to show only the Sign In page and completely remove or hide the Sign Up page, so users cannot create accounts directly from the portal login page. Is there any setting
        • Restrict Payment Methods

          Allow us to restrict certain payment methods specific for each customer.
        • 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?
        • Power up your Kiosk Studio with Real-Time Data Capture, Client Scripts & More!

          Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to announce a powerful set of enhancements to Kiosk Studio in Zoho CRM. These new updates give you more flexibility, faster record handling, and real-time data capture, making your Kiosk flows smarter and more efficient
        • Can I view the KB in the same way as a customer logged in as my Agent?

          Sorry if this seems a mad question.  I have some Articles that I want to be seen by my Agents and the status of these is set to Agents only.  We also have some that are set to Public. When I sign in with my private email address (as a customer) I can
        • What’s New in Zoho Inventory — Latest Features, Integrations & Updates | December 2025

          Zoho Inventory has evolved significantly over the past months, bringing you smarter, faster, and more connected tools to streamline your operations. Whether you’re managing multichannel sales, complex fulfillment workflows, or fast-moving stock, our newest
        • Push Notification for New Bookings in Zoho Bookings App

          when a someone schedules an appointment through the booking page, is there any option to receive a push notification in the mobile app?
        • Which user's capacity is used for Shared Mailbox storage?

          We use shared mailboxes at our company, and their size is increasing daily. Which user(s)'s total mailbox limit is being used up by this space?
        • Incorrect Functioning of Time Logs API (Version 3)

          We need to fetch the list of time logs for each task for our company internal usage. We are trying to achieve it by using the next endpoint: https://projects.zoho.com/api-docs#bulk-time-logs#get-all-project-time-logs Firstly, in the documentation the
        • Evernote (ENEX) import limitations

          I have been with Evernote since 2010, but the latest price increase is ridiculous. I am currently testing Zoho Notebook as a replacement. I am impressed so far - if it were not for critical need to import legacy Evernote notes, I would 100% migrate to
        • Internal Fillable Contract with Zoho Writer (Before Sending to Client)

          Hi everyone, I’m trying to automate the following process in Zoho CRM and would appreciate some guidance. Process: When a Deal moves to a specific stage, CRM triggers an automation. CRM sends a contract template to an internal team member so they can
        • Can I create a CODE 128 custom field for my items in Zoho Inventory and then use it for generating Sales Orders?

          Can anyone helps me, I don't want to use the SKU code for scanning my products.  ​Because all my products have a CODE-128 label attached.
        • Prevent duplicate with custom fields?

          I was wondering something about custom field/custom modules in Zoho Desk. For some reason you can make a custom field mandatory but not unique? For example, if I create a custom module to manage equipment and renewal and make a field serial number no
        • Zoho Books' 2025 Wrapped

          Before we turn the page to a new year, it’s time to revisit the updates that made financial management simpler and more intuitive. This annual roundup brings together the most impactful features and enhancements we delivered in 2025, offering a clear
        • Multiple Vendor SKUs

          One of the big concerns we have with ZOHO Inventory is lack of Vendor Skus like many other inventory software packages offer. Being able to have multiple vendor skus for the same product would be HUGE! It would populate the appropriate vendor Sku for
        • Create Invoice automated with Package

          Does anyone knows how to create an invoice from a SO when we have created the package? We do these manually. and validate that the product packed is the product invoiced (if the order is partially packed) Regards, JS
        • Unable to integrate Zoho Projects and Zoho Workdrive

          I'm a Zoho One subscriber. When I go to Zoho Projects > Settings > Marketplace > Zoho Apps I do not see an option for Zoho Workdrive but I do see one for Zoho Docs that does nothing. How do I get the option to integrate Zoho WorkDrive and Zoho Proje
        • Disable payment thank-you emails

          Hello, can someone please tell me how to disable sending of the "Payment Thank-You" emails? 
        • How to backdate record payment for the invoice

          I would like to record a payment which happened 2 days ago, but I am not able to select any date later than today. I backdated the invoice, too, but it doesn't change anything
        • Help with deluge script

          Hi Community, this is my first Deluge script. I've pieced it together from reading various articles I want to use it in a workflow to 1 Convert a lead to a contact 2. Create a record in a custom module Below is what I have got so far but it does not fire
        • Marketer's Space: Why email authentication matters in Zoho Campaigns

          Welcome back to another post in Marketer's Space! If you've recently started using Zoho Campaigns, you've probably come across terms like SPF and DKIM. You may have also noticed emails that show "via zcsend.net" in Gmail when testing or sending campaigns.
        • Feature Request: "Send Invitation" Toggle for Events

          I am writing to request a critical "Quality of Life" update for the Activities module. Currently, adding people to the Participants field in an Event triggers an automatic email invitation/acceptance tracking with no way to opt-out. For general events
        • Edit email address that appears on invoice

          Hi How do I change the email address that appears on invoices, it is showing the email address that i used to sign up to zoho with but I want to change it to another email address that we use for accounts. also is there a way to edit the position of a
        • Next Page