Credit Management: #6 Tackling Common Mistakes in Credit Based Billing

Credit Management: #6 Tackling Common Mistakes in Credit Based Billing

Businesses extend credit to build relationships, make buying easy, and drive more sales. But somewhere between extending and collecting, things begin to slip. A few late payments here and there, an overlooked invoice, and a backlog make cash flow feel tighter than it should.

It's not that businesses don't care about credit control. They often underestimate how quickly it can spiral when left unmanaged.

Let's explore some of the companies' most common mistakes when managing credits and how they can be handled effectively.

1. Extending Credits without Defined Limits 
We've always trusted them; they'll pay when ready." That's a familiar phrase when you're working with loyal customers. At first, it works fine, but without defined credit boundaries, even dependable customers may intentionally hold up value beyond what your business can safely play with. Soon enough, you're wondering whether you should accept a new order or wait for the earlier one to clear.


Idea
With Zoho Billing, you can assign a personalised credit limit per customer. The system tracks their outstanding balance in real time and flags when the limit is nearing or exceeded. That means you keep giving credits within a safe, measured, controlled limit.

2. Relying on Memory for Follow-up 
"I'll remind them next week," someone says. But next week becomes two weeks, and the customer's invoice quietly drifts into overdue territory. Without timely reminders, credit becomes ageing receivables, and good customers become bad debt risks.

IdeaZoho Billing sends automated scheduled reminders before, on, and after the due date. You don't need to rely on someone to manually remember and do a follow-up. The system does it for you. Payments get nudges, outstanding balances stay visible, and nothing gets buried in the "we'll deal with it later".

3. Not Tracking Partial or Split Payments 
Does a customer split their payments into several parts or pay partially because one department reimburses later? It often happens. The problem is when these payments aren't linked and tracked properly. "I paid half last month, why is it showing as overdue?" a customer might ask. That kind of ambiguity damages your firm's reputation.

IdeaZoho Billing is a robust billing system that lets you record and reconcile partial payments under each invoice and customer account. You see exactly what's still owed and what's been applied. Your team stops answering "Where is my payment?" questions and starts driving growth.

4. Letting Credit Overuse Go Unchecked 
A growing business might hesitate to push back on a long-time client over the credit limit. "They've been with us for years, we'll send the invoice anyway". But that's the moment risk creeps in. Before you know it, overdue balances multiply and cash flow tightens.


Idea
Zoho Billing lets you automatically block or restrict new invoice creation once a customer exceeds their threshold limit. This isn't about pushing the customer, it's about transparent collaboration. You avoid the issue, encourage timely payment, and reduce risk without awkward conversations.

5. Using Common Terms for All 
Using the same credit policy for every customer is tempting because it's simple. However, flexibility suffers when your most reliable clients feel restricted and your new ones are treated the same way as seasoned ones. One client might deserve more leniency, another less.
Idea

In Zoho Billing, you can configure different payment terms per customer, including limits, due dates, and payment conditions based on history. This keeps your relationship fair and acknowledged and adjusts risk appropriately.

6. Missing out on Available  Credits
When you owe credits to your customers, keeping them visible and ready to redeem is essential. However, several businesses miss the available credit and attempt to charge the customer the full amount against the invoice raised.
Idea

With Zoho Billing, you can view the available credits and apply them before sending the invoice to your customers in case of offline payments. For invoices that are paid online, it provides a more seamless process of automatic credit redemption when available, which makes the process even more hassle-free.

Credit Risk to Credit Offering 
Credit management isn't often discussed in boardrooms, but it underpins business health. Extending credit thoughtfully, following up reliably, tracking payment precisely, enforcing limits proactively, and customising when needed will keep your cash flow alive.

Zoho Billing supports all of that with real-time visibility, configured limits, automated communication, and personalised terms. Use it to manage credit and "
manage credit wisely."



      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          • 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

          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Zoho Sprints - Q3 updates for 2025

                                    The updates for the third quarter of 2025 are out. A few significant features and enhancements have been rolled out to improve user experience and product capabilities. The following are the updates: Manage tags and cluster tags Record and maintain project
                                  • Kaizen #208 - Answering your Questions | Functions, AI and Extensions

                                    Hello Developers! Welcome back to a fresh week of Kaizen! We are grateful for your active participation in sharing feedback and queries for our 200th milestone. This week, we will answer the queries related to Functions and Extensions in Zoho CRM. 1.
                                  • Zoho CRM still doesn't let you manage timezones (yearly reminder)

                                    This is something I have asked repeatedly. I'll ask once again. Suppose that you work in France. Next month you have a trip to Guatemala. You call a contact there, close a meeting, record that meeting in CRM. On the phone, your contact said: "meet me
                                  • Creating Restaurant Inventory Management on Zoho

                                    Hi,  We run a small cloud kitchen and are interested to use Zoho for Inventory and Composite Item tracking for our food served and supplied procured to make food items.  Our model is basically like subway where the customer can choose breads, veggies,
                                  • To Zoho customers and partners: how do you use Linked Workspaces?

                                    Hello, I'm exploring how we can set up and use Linked Workspaces and would like to hear from customers and partners about your use cases and experience with them. I have a Zoho ticket open, because my workspace creation fails. In the meantime, how is
                                  • Zoho Forms to Zoho CRM : First/Last Name to just Name ?

                                    When integrating a Zoho Form into the Accounts menu of the CRM I'm having trouble with how names are formatted ; In Forms the data is available as First Name or Last Name In the CRM there is only one field called Name How can I ensure that "John" "Smith"
                                  • This festive season, offer discounts with coupon code support in Stripe Checkout

                                    Hello form builders! It’s the festive season, the perfect time to spread joy and great deals! Now, with Zoho Forms’ latest enhancement for Stripe Checkout, you can do exactly that with coupon codes! Your payment forms integrated with Stripe Checkout can
                                  • Cómo creo una factura negativa o de abono?

                                    NEcesito anular una factura y crear una nueva igual pero en negativo. El sistema no me lo permite
                                  • Power of Automation::Streamline log hours to work hours upon task completion.

                                    Hello Everyone, A Custom Function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as to when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:-
                                  • CRM : Function to add user name to text field

                                    I have a lookup field in a module that is linked to the CRM users so we can assign a Project Lead to the customer. Sadly Zoho Marketing Automation doesn't sync Lookup fields so I need to extract information from the lookup to text fields: Lookup field
                                  • Zoho CRM - Restrict Login based on work hours

                                    Hi there, I'm wondering if we can restrict users to login during works - For example the users would be able to login from 8am to 5pm. I have seen the IP address restriction - the only downfall is what if the customer has dynamic IP. thanks Jiri
                                  • Tips and Tricks #46: Customize themes and templates using Show's Master View

                                    Hi All!  Let's say you want to revamp your presentation and make changes to its visual design. You can do this easily using the Master Slide and its associated layouts. The Master Slide stores information about all the layouts used in the presentation.
                                  • Sheet View in CRM portal

                                    Hi, When will it be possible for my CRM portal users to edit/add records with Sheet View? George
                                  • What's New in Zoho Invoice | July - September 2025

                                    Hello everyone! We’re back with the latest updates and enhancements we’ve rolled out in Zoho Invoice from July to September 2025. Here’s what’s new this quarter: Introducing the Singapore Edition in Zoho Invoice Share Invoices through WhatsApp GST 2.0
                                  • Alert: Audio Call Support to be discontinued for Old Live Chat Widget from December 31, 2025

                                    Action Required: Upgrade to the New SalesIQ Live Chat Widget We're reaching out with an important update regarding the SalesIQ Live Chat Widget that requires your immediate attention. Effective December 31, 2025, audio call functionality will no longer
                                  • multiple contacts for one account

                                    We currently use Zoho CRM where each Account represents a club or organization, and each Contact represents a manager or owner. However, some of our managers own or manage multiple clubs, and Zoho only allows a contact to be linked to one account at a
                                  • Rich text Merge field - Not using font specified in HTML

                                    I have a rich text merge field in a writer template which is creating a table. I have chosen to use this method instead of a repeat region because I need to specify specific cell background colours which change every time the document is created. The
                                  • ヒートマップ詳細設定について

                                    はじめまして マーケティング担当の浅田です。 PageSenceのヒートマップ設定について質問です。 単一ページ毎の設定は上手くできるのですが 詳細設定にて、トップページのURLを含ませ全体のヒートマップを計測できないか試したところ お知らせ:データを受信していません。と表示されてしまいます。 トップページURLで始まるページの条件も試しております。 全頁を反映させたいと思い、詳細設定を上手く設定できたらと考えております。 どなたか詳しい方がいらっしゃいましたら、教えて頂けませんでしょうか 宜
                                  • Automatic category assignment

                                    Hi, I’d like to ask if there is a way to automatically assign an expense category based on the recognized Merchant. What would be the simplest way to set up automatic category assignment? Alternatively, is there an option to first choose the category
                                  • Experience with Zoho Vertical Studio

                                    I'm considering Zoho Vertical and would love to hear from some devs who've been using it. The Zoho ecosystem is pretty solid, so I assume the experience has been pretty good, but sometimes Zoho has its quirks. Overall, has your experience been positive?
                                  • LinkedIn Chrome Extension

                                    Hello - I believe it is a known issue that the LinkedIn extension Resume Extractor has stopped working and they are working on potential fixes. Wondering how others users are finding this issue and if there are any better workarounds for this issue? It
                                  • Advance PDF creation from CRM data

                                    I'm trying to create a PDF export of data in the CRM. My problem is I want a pretty complicated format for the data. I'm trying to export multiple modules worth of data, with nested one-to-many relationships between the modules. Along with that, I want
                                  • Sub-Form Padding in CSV Export

                                    Hi, When you use the Sub-Form, and for example you have a Date Field on the Main Page, then Option 1 and Option 2 fields on the Subform, when you export this to CSV the Date column will only have the Date in 1 row, the first row, it would be nice to pad
                                  • More Formula Functions

                                    Hi, I would like for example to be able to have a Date Field and Formula Fields, and then in the Formula Fields I would like to grab just the Month of the above Date Field or the Week Number of the above Date Field. So more "Functions" than the current
                                  • File upload size limits

                                    I am designing a contact form in Zoho Creator with File upload facility. I am not sure where and how to set the following properties for the same: Allowed File Types Maximum Size of the Attachment Number of Attachments
                                  • Composite Services and Account Tracking

                                    I am looking to garner support/request the ability to make composite services. A quick search in the forums brings up multiple requests for this feature. I fail to see why an item is mandatory while services are optional. I also would like to see the
                                  • All operation codes getting Not applied in WO-TT22J1025WOR0471, SR-TT22J1025PRE0423,FOR VIN-W1K6G2AB2SL005130.

                                    Dear Support Team, Please refer attached screenshot. All operation codes getting not applied in work order. Request you to please check and update ASAP.
                                  • Exclude Segment from Campaign Recipients

                                    I've created two Segments in order to separate Non-Marketing Contacts from Marketing Contacts. I'd like to send an Eblast to all Marketing contacts in my lists, but when I go to select Recipients, I have two options: 1. To Choose Lists to Send to; 2.
                                  • Reschedule Multiple/Mass Calls at Once

                                    When we go into a Call record, we have the option to "Reschedule Call." How can we select multiple Calls at once from the Activities tab and Reschedule them? The big use case for us: We have many leads that our reps are supposed to call on a daily basis.
                                  • Option to Empty Entire Mailbox or Folder in Zoho Mail

                                    Hello Zoho Mail Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Mail that would allow administrators and users to quickly clear out entire folders or mailboxes, including shared mailboxes. Current Limitation: At present, Zoho Mail only
                                  • I want to Make the due date of the project appears automatically

                                    hello everyone I want to know if the zoho projects app can add automatically the END DATE of the project I added the duration, start after dates of each tasks in the project template & the starting date of the project itself and the end date of it doesn't
                                  • Drag 'n' Drop Fields to a Sub-Form and "Move Field To" Option

                                    Hi, I would like to be able to move fields from the Main Page to a Sub-Form or from a Sub-Form to either the Main Page or another Sub-Form. Today if you change the design you have to delete and recreate every field, not just move them. Would be nice to
                                  • Deluge Tips & Tricks: Mastering dates and times

                                    Hello everyone! We're bringing back our Deluge Tips & Tricks series, where we show you how to make the most of Deluge for achieving a wide range of use cases. Working with dates and times is a fundamental part of almost any business application. Whether
                                  • Adding a Button in a Form in Zoho Creator App

                                    Hi I want to know how can I add a Button in Zoho Creator form. I have options that I select from a multiselect options and I want the button to add those selected options in a Subform. I do not want to add on a Page Builder I want it inside a specific
                                  • Internal Exception for Creator function

                                    I have been running a script successfully for several days using the scheduler in my application. Now today it suddenly creates and Internal Exception error. Nothing has changed about the script. The data is still retrievable from the web service it is using. Why would this suddenly be happening for no apparent reason? Also noticed that my usage logs are not up to date. Is something changing behind the scenes?
                                  • How to Set Up a Custom Domain and Customize Homepage

                                    Hello, I am experimenting with Zoho Creator to build applications for my own use case and have encountered a couple of issues: 1. Custom Domain Access: Is it possible to access my Zoho Creator application through a domain that I own? If so, how does the
                                  • Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (1.26.0)

                                    Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v1.26.0) is here with new updates to securely manage your passwords, locally save your emails, and protect against emails with suspicious URLs. Let's take a quick look at them. Manage passwords with Zoho Vault eWidget.
                                  • Default Value on a Number

                                    Hi, I would be nice to also be able to set the Default Value for a Number Field, not just the Initial Value shown, so if not on the screen so not enetred it can have a value of 0 for example. Thanks Dan
                                  • Having trouble fetching contents of Zoho Connect Feeds using the API, requesting alternative API documentation.

                                    I'm trying to retrieve feed/post data from Zoho Connect using the API but facing challenges with the current documentation. What I've tried: OAuth authentication is working correctly (getting 200 OK responses) Tested multiple endpoints: /pulse/nativeapi/v2/feeds,
                                  • Tip#45: Custom Tags and Cluster Tags

                                    Tagging your work items helps categorize and label work items within your Zoho Sprints workspace. Now, this feature is expanded across multiple modules, along with the introduction of cluster tags that offer an advanced tagging mechanism. Manage Tags
                                  • Next Page