In addition to deciding which customers should receive statements, you can decide which dunning messages are printed on each statement. Dunning messages are notices on customer statements that indicate how far the current account balance is overdue and usually demand prompt payment. Dunning messages can vary in severity depending on the length of time that a customer's account is overdue.
- To set up dunning messages for customer statements, select Maintain > Default Information > Statement/Invoices, and click the Dunning Messages tab.
You can set up to four different dunning messages in Sage 50 based on how long their account is overdue at the time statements are printed. The specific messages print when the number of days of the customer's most overdue invoice is lower or equal to the number in the box. For example, if the first message is to print for 30 days, customers whose invoices are 1 to 30 days overdue will see the message on their invoices. The fourth message will print on any invoices that are older than the number of days entered into the third message box. You can enter up to 40 characters for each message.
Below is an example setup:
- Invoices <0 days overdue: Thanks for your business.
- Invoices <30 days overdue: You may have forgotten this bill. Thanks for your attention.
- Invoices <60 days overdue: Please attend to this payment as soon as possible.
- All other invoices: Your account is severely overdue and has reached collection status.
Tip: You can set the first message at 0 days and enter a "Thank you for your patronage" message, advertising message, or announcement.