Recurring Billing And Dunning

Recurring billing creates repeated invoices from approved schedules. Dunning helps teams follow up overdue invoices.

Open Billing -> Setup -> Recurring Billing Setup to maintain schedules where enabled. Open Billing -> Operations -> Recurring Billing or Billing -> Operations -> Dunning for day-to-day review.

Workspace Reference

Workspace	How Users Reach It	What Users Usually Do There
Recurring Billing Setup	Billing -> Setup -> Recurring Billing Setup where enabled	Define repeat billing schedules, recurrence, amounts, party, status, and approval behavior.
Recurring Billing Operations	Billing -> Operations -> Recurring Billing where enabled	Review due schedules, generated invoices, failures, and duplicates.
Dunning	Billing -> Operations -> Dunning where enabled	Review overdue invoices, reminders, escalation state, disputes, and follow-up notes.
Invoices	Billing -> Operations -> Invoices	Confirm invoice balance, approval, payment, credit note, write-off, and posting state.

Recurring Billing

Use recurring billing for predictable charges such as:

• subscriptions
• rent
• service retainers
• monthly fees
• membership charges
• standing service charges
• scheduled penalties or recurring recoveries

Recurring billing should only be used when the amount, party, recurrence, and start rules are clear.

Recurring Schedule Setup

Before activating a schedule, confirm:

Field Or Check	Meaning
Party	Party that will be billed.
Charge description	What the invoice will say.
Amount and currency	What will be billed each run.
Recurrence pattern	Daily, weekly, monthly, annual, or configured interval.
Start date	First date the schedule can generate an invoice.
Next run date	Next expected invoice generation date.
End date	Optional date after which billing should stop.
Approval behavior	Whether generated invoices require review before issue.
Status	Whether the schedule is active, paused, completed, or cancelled.

Use descriptions that will make sense on statements months later.

Recurring Operations

In operations, users review due schedules and generated invoices.

Before running due schedules:

• confirm the schedule is still valid
• check whether the party agreement has changed
• verify the amount and currency
• confirm the next run date
• review previous generated invoices for failures or duplicates

Recurring schedules should be reviewed periodically. Do not leave expired contracts active.

Generated Invoices

Generated invoices should still be reviewed where policy requires it.

Check:

• party
• invoice date
• due date
• line description
• amount
• tax treatment
• approval status
• posting status

If a generated invoice is wrong, correct the schedule before the next run.

Dunning

Dunning supports overdue follow-up. It helps users identify invoices that need reminders, escalation, dispute review, collection review, or write-off assessment.

Dunning may show:

• overdue invoice
• party
• outstanding balance
• days overdue
• last reminder date
• next reminder or follow-up date
• current follow-up status
• assigned user or team
• notes or reminder history

Dunning Review

Before sending a reminder or escalating:

1. Open invoice detail.
2. Confirm the invoice is still outstanding.
3. Check recent payments.
4. Check credit notes or write-offs awaiting approval.
5. Review dispute notes.
6. Confirm the correct contact method.
7. Record follow-up notes.

Dunning should support professional collection follow-up, not replace finance review.

Escalation

Escalate overdue balances when:

• the balance is old
• reminders have been ignored
• the party disputes the balance
• management approval is needed
• legal, collection, or write-off review is required

Escalation should include clear notes and supporting references.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Better Practice
Leaving inactive contracts on recurring schedules.	Pause or end schedules when agreements change.
Running recurring billing without reviewing failures.	Review generated invoices and posting status.
Sending reminders after payment was received.	Check recent payments before dunning.
Escalating disputed invoices as normal overdue items.	Review dispute details first.
Using vague recurring descriptions.	Make invoice lines clear and customer-readable.

Related Guides

• Invoices
• Aging And Statements
• Applying Payments
• Credit Notes And Write-Offs