Manage dunning letters
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters
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# Manage dunning letters
Manage dunning letters - overview
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/manage-dunning-letters-overview
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Dunning letters are letters of payment collection used to inform your customers of past-due invoices, debit notes, and overdue charges.
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# Manage dunning letters - overview
Dunning letters are letters of payment collection used to inform your customers of past-due invoices, debit notes, and overdue charges.
The form and content of dunning letters generally
vary depending on the country in which you run your business.
Usually, multiple letters are sent
in a sequence.
You can create the text of successive dunning letters, varying in tone and
content from a polite first letter informing the customer about unpaid invoices to a last letter
mentioning all allowable collection options.
We recommend that these letters be sent at carefully selected intervals so that a customer with intent to pay has enough time between letters to settle all invoices before the arrival of the next letter.
The functionality is available if the **Dunning letter management** functionality is enabled in the [Enable/disable functionalities (CS100000)](/visma-net-erp/help/common-settings/enable-or-disable-functionalites/enable-disable-functionalities-cs100000/) window.
The following topics describe how to set up and manage the dunning process.
## Topics
+ [About dunning process setup](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/about-dunning-process-setup/)
+ [About dunning process by customer](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/about-dunning-process-by-customer/)
+ [About dunning process by document](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/about-dunning-process-by-document/)
+ [Set up the dunning process](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/set-up-the-dunning-process/)
+ [Set up a dunning letter mailing](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/set-up-a-dunning-letter-mailing/)
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
About dunning process setup
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/about-dunning-process-setup
page
Visma Net provides you with capabilities that ease the process of producing dunning letters.
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# About dunning process setup
Visma Net provides you with capabilities that ease the process of producing dunning letters.
Visma Net provides you with capabilities that ease the process of producing dunning letters.
For
all customers, the dunning process checks customers' due documents and gives you the ability
to prepare and send reminder letters of different levels of severity.
To start producing dunning letters, you define the process settings that suit your company (one-time setup) and then you run the process when needed. As a result of executing the process, you have prepared dunning letters that can be emailed to customers or printed to be sent by postal mail.
In this topic, you will read about the dunning process options offered by Visma Net and the general steps of setting up the process.
## Dunning process options
In Visma Net, you can select how the system prepares dunning letters: by grouping overdue documents by customer account (the **By customer** option) or by grouping overdue documents by customer and by the dunning level of a document ( **By document** ). You select the appropriate option in the **Dunning process** field on the **Dunning settings** tab of the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window. By default, the **By customer** option is set. If you want more manual control over the process, you can select the **By document** option.
The dunning process workflow and the rules of generating dunning letters depend on the selected option.
We recommend that you make the **Dunning process** selection when you
begin implementing the process and keep that setting.
You can switch from **By customer**
to **By document**, but switching from **By document** to **By customer**is not
recommended.
You can use the following windows to view the history of dunning letters that have been produced:
+ [Dunning letter history by customer (AR408000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/dunning-letter-history-by-customer-ar408000/): Shows the history of dunning letters that have been produced for the selected customer account
+ [Dunning letter history by document (AR408500)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/dunning-letter-history-by-document-ar408500/): Displays the history of dunning letters that have been produced for documents of the selected customer account
## Dunning level of a document
In Visma Net, a dunning level is associated with a particular document (invoice or note).
The system assigns a dunning level to a document that is equal to the level
of the last dunning letter that included this document.
If the document has not been
included in a dunning letter yet, the system sets 0 dunning level for the document.
You can view the current dunning level of a document in the **Dunning information** section on the **Financial details** tab of the [Sales invoices (AR301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/sales-invoices-ar301000/) window. Also, in this section, you can view the date of the last released dunning letter that included this document.
## Exclusion from the dunning process
You can exclude a customer account from the dunning process, regardless of the dunning
process option selected.
To do this for a customer, you should clear both the
**Send dunning letters by email** and **Print dunning letters** check boxes in the **Print and email settings**
section on the **Invoicing settings** tab of the [Customers (AR303000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customers-ar303000/) window.
If you prepare dunning letters by document (that is, if the **By document** option is selected in the **Dunning process** field), you can exclude a particular document from the dunning process by selecting the **Revoked** check box that appears in the **Dunning Info** section of a document (the Sales invoices window). For instance, suppose that the dunning level of a particular document is 1, and it is time to prepare dunning letters; however, the customer has notified you that the invoice is settled, but due to bank holidays, the payment is late. By selecting the **Revoked** check box for the document, you can exclude this invoice from the dunning process to avoid negatively affecting your company's relations with this customer.
> [!NOTE]
> If you prepare dunning letters by customer, a particular document cannot be excluded from the dunning process.
## Dunning fee collection
You may want to charge your customers for the expenses your company incurs while sending
dunning letters.
On the **Dunning settings** tab of the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/)
window, you can specify the amount of the dunning fee for each level. You specify dedicated
non-stock item that provides a sales account and a subaccount (if applicable) to register
the collected fee, and a tax category.
> [!NOTE]
> Make sure that a correct account and a subaccount (if applicable) are specified for the non-stock item in the **Sales account** and **Sales sub.** fields on the **General ledger accounts** tab of the [Non-stock items (IN202000)](/visma-net-erp/help/inventory/inventory-windows/non-stock-items-in202000/) window.
When a dunning letter of a particular level is released, the system generates an invoice for customer with the fee amount specified for the level. This invoice is created with the **Balanced** status. You can adjust the fee amount, if needed, and then release the invoice in the [Sales invoices (AR301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/sales-invoices-ar301000/) window.
> [!NOTE]
> If the dunning fee amount is set to zero, no invoice is generated.
If you will not need to adjust any dunning fee invoices, you can configure the automatic release of the dunning fee invoices when a corresponding dunning letters are released. To do this, select the **Automatically release dunning fee documents** check box on the **Dunning settings** tab of the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window.
> [!NOTE]
> The amount of the dunning fee is converted to the customer's currency if the **Enable currency override** check box is cleared in the [Customers (AR303000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customers-ar303000/) window.
## Appearance and content of dunning letters
In Visma Net the [Dunning letter (AR661000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-reports/dunning-letter-ar661000/) is used to generate a printed
version of a dunning letter.
You can control the look and feel of this report in addition to
the reporting functions. You can use the default look and feel of the report, or customise
the report by using the Report
Designer. You can provide settings specifying who will receive the report-based email and which
format should be used, as well as possibly a specific template to be used as the email body
(for email personalisation).
By using the report window, you can print a dunning letter by using the **Print** action on the report toolbar or email it by using the **Send** action. By default, the system generates an email based on the **DunningLetterNotification** notification template, which you can edit by using the [Notification templates (SM204003)](/visma-net-erp/help/email/email-windows/notification-templates-sm204003/) window.
If you want to print or email multiple letters at once, you can use the [Print/release dunning letters (AR522000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/print-release-dunning-letters-ar522000/) mass-processing window. The mass-emailing process requires the mailing with the **DUNNINGLETTER** identifier to be configured for the customer accounts that you plan to notify.
## Dunning process configuration
You need to perform the following steps to set up the dunning process:
1. **Dunning process setup**: You can configure the process of generating and sending dunning letters on the **Dunning settings** tab of the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window. You can specify the settings for the levels, the dunning fee details, and the sending criteria for each letter in the sequence. Also, you can define the number of days you offer a customer to settle the due document.
1. **Report modification**: If the default design of the [Dunning letter (AR661000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-reports/dunning-letter-ar661000/) window report does not suit you, you can modify it by using the Report Designer.
1. **Mailing configuration**: If you plan to send dunning letter by email, you need to configure the **DUNNINGLETTER** mailing for a customer class or a customer. If you want to send an email attachment with the details of due documents, select the [Dunning letter (AR661000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-reports/dunning-letter-ar661000/) to generate it.
When you have finished setting up the process, you may proceed to preparing and sending dunning letters.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
About dunning process by customer
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/about-dunning-process-by-customer
page
You select the By customer option in the Dunning process field on the Dunning settings tab of the Customer ledger preferences (AR101000) window to define that the system groups overdue documents by customer account when it prepares dunning letters.
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# About dunning process by customer
You select the By customer option in the Dunning process field on the Dunning settings tab of the Customer ledger preferences (AR101000) window to define that the system groups overdue documents by customer account when it prepares dunning letters.
For more information: [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/).
In general, you prepare dunning letters as follows:
1. You select the customer accounts for which you want to prepare dunning letters and initiate the preparation.
> [!NOTE]
> Before you start preparing dunning letters, make sure that customers do not have open payments, prepayments and credit notes that can be applied against outstanding documents.
1. You print or send by email the prepared dunning letters.
In this topic, you will read about the letter generation rules, the dunning process workflow, and the way the system changes the status of the dunning letter.
## Dunning letter generation rules
When you group overdue documents by customer account, the generation of the letters is based on the following rules:
+ The letter of the **first** level is generated for a customer account if the customer has at least one invoice or note whose number of days past the due date exceeds the number of days specified for the first level in the **Days past due** field on the **Dunning settings** tab. The document is marked with the first dunning level when you initiate letter preparation.
+ The letter of the **second** level is generated if the customer has at least one document with the first level that is still unpaid and the number of days this document is past due exceeds the number specified for the second level in the **Days past due** field. If there are other overdue documents (with 0 level), the system includes in the letter these documents as well, and increases their dunning level to 1. The system increases the dunning level to 2 for the document whose number of days past due exceeds the number specified for the second level.
+ The letters of the **next** levels in the sequence are generated similarly to the letters of the second level.
+ The letter of the **last** level for the customer is generated if at least one document listed in the previous letter is unpaid and the number of days this document is past due exceeds the number of days specified for this level. When this letter is prepared, the system selects the **Final reminder** check box for this letter in the [Print/release dunning letters (AR522000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/print-release-dunning-letters-ar522000/) window. In this case, after letter generation, the customer account is excluded from the dunning process and can be selected on the [Manage credit holds (AR523000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/manage-credit-holds-ar523000/) window, so you can put this account on the credit hold.
> [!NOTE]
> If for some reason the process of dunning letters preparation was delayed for a period of time, the system will shift the dates of dunning letters generation for the period of the delay.
In your company's dunning letters, you can notify customers receiving the letters about all open documents, unpaid (the due date is still in the future) and overdue (the due date has passed). To do this, you select the **Include other unpaid documents** check box on the **Dunning settings** tab of the Customer ledger preferences window. In the printed version of these letters, the unpaid due documents will be listed at the end, and the **Falling due** column contains the word **Current** instead of the due date.
> [!NOTE]
> The system generates the printed version of a dunning letter with the help of the [Dunning letter (AR661000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-reports/dunning-letter-ar661000/) report. You can use the default look and feel of the report or customise the report by using the Report designer.
## Dunning letter statuses
During the processing of a dunning letter, the system changes the status of the letter as follows:
Released
: This status indicates that the dunning letter has been prepared and released and can be printed, sent by email, or voided. If a non-zero dunning fee was specified for the level of this letter (on the **Dunning settings** tab of the Customer ledger preferences window), the system also creates the invoice for the dunning fee during the release of the dunning letter. If the **Automatically release dunning fee documents** check box (on the **Dunning settings** tab of the Customer ledger preferences window) is selected, the system automatically releases the invoice when the corresponding dunning letter is released.
Voided
: This status indicates that the dunning letter has been voided, the system decreases the dunning level for each document that was included to this letter, and will process these documents when you prepare a dunning letter for this customer account again.
## Letter preparation
You use the [Prepare dunning letters (AR521000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/prepare-dunning-letters-ar521000/) window to prepare
dunning letters.
The table lists the customer accounts that have at least one overdue
document.
You can generate dunning letters for all listed customers or only those you
select.
After you have selected the customer accounts that you want to process (by selecting the check boxes in their rows), you click **Process** (on the window toolbar) to prepare dunning letters. You can instead prepare dunning letters for all records in the table by clicking **Process all**. If the letters have been generated successfully, the system displays a green check mark on the window toolbar. The letters are prepared with the **Released** status and are ready for printing or emailing.
> [!NOTE]
> You can schedule the preparation of dunning letters to be performed automatically by using the automation schedule functionality.
When a dunning letter is prepared, the system updates the information in the **Dunning letter info** section on the **Financial details** tab of the [Sales invoices (AR301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/sales-invoices-ar301000/) window. For each document involved, the system updates the date of the last released dunning letter that included the document, and increases the document dunning level by one.
## Letter previewing and sending
You use the [Print/release dunning letters (AR522000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/print-release-dunning-letters-ar522000/) window to print released dunning
letters or initiate the emailing of them.
In this window, you can print dunning letters to be
sent through postal mail, or generate emails that you can preview before sending them in the
[Pending emails (SM507000)](/visma-net-erp/help/email/email-windows/pending-emails-sm507000/) window.
> [!NOTE]
> This is the default workflow of sending emails; consult your system administrator to find out whether it has been modified.
Letters from all branches can be sent separately or can be consolidated (on generation)
into a single letter to the customer.
This is controlled by the **Consolidate dunning letters for all branches** check box on the **General settings** tab
of the Customer ledger preferences window. In the **Dunning letter from branch** field on this tab, you should also select the branch that will be
specified as the sender.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
About dunning process by document
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/about-dunning-process-by-document
page
You select the By document option in the Dunning process field on the Dunning settings tab of the Customer ledger preferences (AR101000) window to set that the system groups overdue documents by customer account and by document dunning level when it prepares dunning letters.
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# About dunning process by document
You select the By document option in the Dunning process field on the Dunning settings tab of the Customer ledger preferences (AR101000) window to set that the system groups overdue documents by customer account and by document dunning level when it prepares dunning letters.
For more information: [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/).
You can prepare a separate dunning letter for each document, or you can group the documents of a customer account with different levels into one letter. If you group documents into one letter, in the printed version, the documents are grouped by level.
In general, you prepare dunning letters as follows:
1. You select the documents for which you want to prepare dunning letters and initiate the preparation.
> [!NOTE]
> Before you start preparing dunning letters, make sure that customers do not have open payments, prepayments and credit notes that can be applied against outstanding documents.
1. Optional: You edit the lists of included documents (if needed) and release the prepared dunning letters.
1. You can skip this step if you have enabled the automatic release of letters.
1. You print or send by email the reviewed and released dunning letters.
You can use the following windows to view the history of dunning letters that have been produced:
+ [Dunning letter history by customer (AR408000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/dunning-letter-history-by-customer-ar408000/): Displays the history of dunning letters that have been produced for the selected customer account
+ [Dunning letter history by document (AR408500)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/dunning-letter-history-by-document-ar408500/): Shows the history of dunning letters that have been produced for documents of the selected customer account
In this topic, you will read about the letter generation rules, the dunning process workflow, and the way the system changes the status of the dunning letter.
## Dunning letter generation rules
When you group overdue documents by customer account and document dunning level, the generation of the letters is based on the following rules:
+ The letter of the **first** level is generated for a document for which the number of days past due exceeds the number of days specified for this level in the **Days past due** field on the **Dunning settings** tab. The document is marked with the first dunning level.
+ The letter of the **second** level is generated when the document (whose level is 1) is still unpaid and the number of days the document is past due exceeds the number of days specified for this level in the **Days past due**. The system increases the dunning level of the document. (If you have only two levels defined, see the description for the letter for the last level.)
+ The letters of the **next** levels in the series are generated similarly to the letters of the second level.
+ The letter of the **last** level for the document is generated if the document is still unpaid and the number of days the document is past due exceeds the number of days specified for this level. When this letter is prepared, the system selects the **Final reminder** check box for this letter in the [Print/release dunning letters (AR522000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/print-release-dunning-letters-ar522000/) window. In this case, the customer account can be selected on the [Manage credit holds (AR523000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/manage-credit-holds-ar523000/) window, so you can put this account on credit hold. The rest of the overdue documents of this customer account are still included in the dunning process.
> [!NOTE]
> If for some reason the process of dunning letters preparation was delayed for a period of time, the system will shift the dates of dunning letters generation for the period of the delay.
If you want to notify customers receiving dunning letters about all open
documents, unpaid (the due date is still in the future), due (the due date has passed), and
overdue (the number of days past due has exceeded the number of days past due specified for the
level), you select the **Include other unpaid documents** check box on
the **Dunning settings** tab of the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window. (Unpaid and due
documents are marked with a level of zero.)
With this check box selected, the system includes
open documents as follows: If you prepare a dunning letter for a document associated with the
first level, the system includes overdue, unpaid, and due documents.
When you prepare the next
dunning letter for this document, the system includes overdue and unpaid documents, but no due
ones.
## Dunning letter statuses
During the processing of a dunning letter, the system changes its status as follows:
Draft
: This status indicates that the dunning letter has been prepared and can be released. You can edit the list of customer documents included in the letter. If the **Automatically release dunning letters** check box is selected on the **Dunning settings** tab of the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window, the system skips the **Draft** status.
Released
: This status indicates that the dunning letter has been released and can be printed, sent by email, or voided. If a non-zero dunning fee was specified for the level of this letter (on the **Dunning settings** tab of the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window), the invoice for the dunning fee was also created during the release of the dunning letter. If the **Automatically release dunning fee documents** check box (on the **Dunning settings** tab of the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window) is selected, the system automatically releases the invoice when the corresponding dunning letter is released.
Voided
: This status indicates that the dunning letter has been voided, the system decreased the dunning level for each document that was included to this letter and these documents are available for preparing a new letter with the **Draft** status.
## Letter preparation
You use the [Prepare dunning letters (AR521000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/prepare-dunning-letters-ar521000/) window to prepare
dunning letters.
The table lists the overdue documents grouped by customer and by document
dunning level.
For instance, if a customer account has two overdue documents with different
levels, the system will display two rows in the table.
If a customer account has two documents
with the same level, the system will group the documents into one row.
The way by which you select and process documents affects the contents of the letter prepared.
If you want to prepare separate dunning letters for documents of the same customer account but
each with a different dunning level, you should select a one document and click
**Process** (in the window toolbar) and then select the next one and process
it.
If you want the system to group into one letter documents of the same customer but with
different dunning levels, you should select all such documents and click
**Process**.
After you have selected the documents that you want to process (by selecting the check boxes
in their rows), you click **Process** to prepare these dunning letters. You
can instead prepare dunning letters for all records in the table by clicking **Process all**.
If the letters have been generated successfully, the system displays a green
check mark in the window toolbar.
If the **Automatically release dunning letters** check box is cleared in the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window, the
letters are prepared with the **Draft** status and you need to release them; if the check box
is selected, the letters are prepared with the **Released** status and are ready for printing
or emailing.
> [!NOTE]
> You can schedule the preparation of dunning letters to be performed automatically by using the automation schedule functionality.
## Letter editing and releasing
If the **Automatically Release Dunning Letters** check box is cleared in
the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window, each generated letter has the **Draft** status, and
you can adjust the list of documents included for each letter or delete the draft of the letter
itself.
The [Print/release dunning letters (AR522000](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/print-release-dunning-letters-ar522000/) window displays the list
of prepared dunning letters.
You can highlight the row in the table with the letter you want to
edit and click **View dunning letter**in the table toolbar.
The system
navigates you to the [Dunning letters (AR306000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/dunning-letters-ar306000/) window, where you can view and
adjust the list of documents.
If you have deleted either the documents from the list or the letter itself (with all the documents it included), the system will process these documents the next time you prepare dunning letters.
On this window, you can exclude a particular document from the dunning process by selecting the document in the table and clicking **Revoke** in the table toolbar. The system removes the document from the list and marks it as excluded from the dunning process by selecting the **Revoked** check box in the **Dunning letter info** section on the **Financial details** tab of the [Sales invoices (AR301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/sales-invoices-ar301000/) window for each document involved. (You can select or clear this check box in the Sales invoices window as well.)
The deletion or exclusion of documents from the list may influence the level of the dunning
letter that is displayed on the **Dunning letter level** in the top part
of the window. The system uses the value of this field to define the dunning fee amount for which an
invoice should be generated. If there are documents with different dunning levels included in
the letter, the system sets the highest document level (that is, the level with the largest
value) as the dunning level of the letter.
If you delete documents with the highest level, the
system decreases the level of the letter.
By using the [Dunning letters (AR306000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/dunning-letters-ar306000/) window, you can also release the letter and then print or email it (or void it, if needed).
In the [Print/release dunning letters (AR522000](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/print-release-dunning-letters-ar522000/) window, you can release groups of dunning letters by selecting the **Release dunning letter** action and processing the selected documents or all listed documents.
When a dunning letter is released manually or automatically, the system updates the information in the **Dunning letter info** section on the **Financial details** tab of the Sales invoices window. For each document involved, the system updates the date of the last released dunning letter that included the document, and increases the document dunning level by one.
## Letter previewing and sending
You use the [Print/release dunning letters (AR522000](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/print-release-dunning-letters-ar522000/) window to print released dunning
letters or initiate the emailing of them.
In this window, you can print dunning letters to be sent
through postal mail, or generate emails that you can preview before sending them in the [Pending emails (SM507000)](/visma-net-erp/help/email/email-windows/pending-emails-sm507000/) window.
> [!NOTE]
> This is the default workflow of sending emails; consult your system administrator to find out whether it has been modified.
Letters from all branches can be sent separately or can be consolidated (on generation) into a
single letter to the customer.
This is controlled by the **Consolidate dunning letters for all branches** check box on the **General settings** tab of the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window. In the **Dunning letter from branch** field on this tab, you should also select the branch that will be specified as the
sender.
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Tasks
Windows
Set up the dunning process
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/set-up-the-dunning-process
section
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# Set up the dunning process
## Before you proceed
If you plan to charge a dunning fee, you need to create a non-stock item (or use existing one) that will provide an account and a subaccount (if applicable) to register the collected fee, and a VAT category.
1. Go to the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window.
1. In the **Dunning process** field on the **Dunning settings** tab, select how the system prepares dunning letters. The following options are available:
+ **By customer**: Select this option if you want the system to prepare dunning letters by grouping overdue documents by customer account. When you select this option, the system selects the **Automatically release dunning letters** check box and sets it as read-only.
+ **By document**: Select this option if you want the system to prepare dunning letters by grouping overdue documents by customer and by document dunning level.
1. Optional: Select the **Automatically release dunning letters** check box if you want the system to automatically release dunning letters after preparation is completed. In this case, you will not be able to edit the list of overdue documents or delete the letter draft. The field is available for editing if the **By document** option was selected in the **Dunning process** field.
1. Select the **Include other unpaid documents** check box if you want the system to automatically include documents that are not yet overdue in the list of due documents in a dunning letter. This is the default value for the **Include other unpaid documents** check box in the [Prepare dunning letters (AR521000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/prepare-dunning-letters-ar521000/) window that you can change any time you prepare dunning letters.
1. Optional: If you want to collect a fee for each dunning letter you send (with the amount specified for each level), in the **Item ID** field, specify a non-stock item configured for this purpose.
1. Optional: Select the **Automatically release dunning fee documents** check box if you want the system to automatically release an invoice for the applicable dunning fee when the corresponding dunning letter is released.
1. In the table, do the following:
1. Add a row. The added row is filled with default values. The **Dunning letter level** column is read-only.
1. In the **Days past due** column, type the number of days to be used for comparison with the number of days the invoice is past its due date.
1. In the **Days to settle** column, type the number of days that will be added to the letter date to calculate the deadline date for the payment. The payment deadline date is included in the [Dunning letter (AR6611000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-reports/dunning-letter-ar661000/).
1. In the **Description** column, type the description of this level.
1. Optional: In the **Dunning fee** column, type the amount of the fee that will be assessed for this level. If you specify a dunning fee for any row, make sure that the non-stock item is specified; see Step 5.
1. In the window toolbar, click .
1. Repeat Step 7 for each level you need.
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Tasks
Windows
Set up a dunning letter mailing
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/set-up-a-dunning-letter-mailing
section
You use the default mailing with the DUNNINGLETTER identifier to send dunning letters via email.
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# Set up a dunning letter mailing
You use the default mailing with the DUNNINGLETTER identifier to send dunning letters via email.
You use the default mailing with the **DUNNINGLETTER** identifier to send dunning
letters via email.
To configure a mailing for a group of customers, you can create a
customer class or use an existing class.
In this case, the mailing configuration is
copied to each customer account of this customer class.
## Before you proceed
You should set up dunning process in the [Customer ledger preferences (AR101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-ledger-preferences-ar101000/) window.
Make sure that the text of the email template **DunningLetterNotification** (used
for the **DUNNINGLETTER** mailing) complies with your corporate policies.
To do
this, open the template by using the [Notification templates (SM204003)](/visma-net-erp/help/email/email-windows/notification-templates-sm204003/)
window, and edit the template, if required.
The look and feel of the attachment is
defined with the [Dunning letter (AR6611000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-reports/dunning-letter-ar661000/).
1. Go to the [Customer classes (AR201000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customer-classes-ar201000/) window.
1. In the **Class ID** field, select the customer class you want to configure the mailing for.
1. On the **Mailing settings** tab, in the **Mailings** table, do the following:
The table may already have a row for the **DUNNINGLETTER** mailing with default settings. In this case, check that it is configured as described in the following substeps.
1. Add a row. In the **Mailing ID** column of the new row, select the **DUNNINGLETTER** mailing.
1. In the **Branch** column of the row, select the branch on behalf of which the emails for the mailing will be sent. Leave the **Branch** column blank to use the same mailing settings for all branches.
1. In the **Email account** column, select the email account the mailing is to be sent from.
1. In the **Report** column, select the report to be used for generating the dunning letter document, which will be sent as an attachment.
1. In the **Notification template** column, select the **DunningLetterNotification** notification template, which will be used to compose the body of the email.
1. In the **Format** column, select the attachment format. If the format specified in this mailing does not match the format preferences of a contact, the attachment will be sent in the format preferred by the contact.
1. Select the **Active** check box for the mailing.
1. In the **Recipients** table, add the types of contacts to receive dunning letters.
The system will automatically load the actual email address that corresponds to the added contact type when a new customer account of this customer class is created. Select the attachment format preferred by the contact. Make sure the contact is active, and specify whether the contact should receive a blind carbon copy of the emails that will be generated for this mailing.
1. In the window toolbar, click .
You can adjust these mailing settings to serve the preferences of a particular customer by using the **Mailing settings** tab of the [Customers (AR303000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customers-ar303000/) window.
After you complete these steps, you can prepare dunning letters and email them to inform your customers of invoices that are past due by using the [Prepare dunning letters (AR521000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/prepare-dunning-letters-ar521000/) and [Print/release dunning letters (AR522000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/print-release-dunning-letters-ar522000/) windows.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Prepare dunning letters by document
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/prepare-dunning-letters-by-document
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# Prepare dunning letters by document
## Before you start
[Enable or disable dunning letter management](/visma-net-erp/help/common-settings/enable-or-disable-functionalites/enable-or-disable-dunning-letter-management/)
[Make overdue and dunning settings in the Customer ledger preferences window](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-preferences/make-overdue-and-dunning-settings-in-the-customer-ledger-preferences/)
[Set customer class print and email preferences](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-classes/set-customer-class-print-and-email-preferences/)
[Set up dunning letter mailing for a customer class](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-classes/set-up-dunning-letter-mailing-for-a-customer-class/)
For all customers, the dunning process checks customers' due documents and gives you the ability to prepare and send dunning letters of different severity levels.
You can prepare a separate dunning letter for each document, or you can group the documents of a customer with different levels into one letter.
> [!NOTE]
> Before you start preparing dunning letters, make sure that customers do not have open payments, prepayments and credit memos that can be applied against outstanding documents.
1. Go to the [Prepare dunning letters (AR521000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/prepare-dunning-letters-ar521000/) window.
1. Optional: Select a **customer class**.
1. Optional: Select a **customer**.
1. In the table, select the documents you want to prepare dunning letters for. Select the **All overdue documents** radio button, to have the system create dunning letters from all overdue documents. Select the **Dunning letter level** radio button and enter the dunning letter levels you want to use in the **From** and **To** fields.
1. Click **Process** or **Process all**.
## What is next?
To print or email the reviewed and released dunning letters, go to the **Print/release dunning letters** window.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Prepare dunning letters by customer
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/prepare-dunning-letters-by-customer
page
2026-02-19T17:09:06+01:00
# Prepare dunning letters by customer
## Before you start
For all customers, the dunning process checks customers' due documents and gives you the ability to prepare and send dunning letters of different severity levels.
The system groups overdue documents by customer when it prepares dunning letters. See: [Make overdue and dunning settings in the Customer ledger preferences](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-preferences/make-overdue-and-dunning-settings-in-the-customer-ledger-preferences/).
> [!NOTE]
> Before you start preparing dunning letters, make sure that customers do not have open payments, prepayments and credit notes that can be applied against outstanding documents.
1. Go to the [Prepare dunning letters (AR521000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/prepare-dunning-letters-ar521000/) window.
1. Optional: Select a **customer class**.
1. Optional: Select a **customer**.
1. In the table, select the customer you want to prepare dunning letters for.
1. Click **Process** or **Process all**.
## What is next?
To print or email the reviewed and released dunning letters, go to the **Print/release dunning letters** window.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Add a text for dunning letters and reminders
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/add-a-text-for-dunning-letters-and-reminders
section
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# Add a text for dunning letters and reminders
1. Go to the [Report texts (AR20200S)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/report-texts-ar20200s/) window.
1. In the **Report text code** field, enter a code number or abbreviation, for example **RE1**. You can use both letters and numbers.
1. In the **Name** field, enter the name of the text, for example **First reminder**.
1. In the topmost text field, enter the desired text of your reminder or dunning letter.
> [!NOTE]
> There is also a second text field, which you can use if you want to add a message to the customer.
1. Click .
> [!NOTE]
> If you have additional payment reminders or dunning letters, you must create a text for each of them, and name them with unique names.
> Repeat the procedure above to add another reminder text. Remember to use a unique code for each text.
You can also create a fixed text that can be printed on invoices.
## What is next?
[Make overdue and dunning settings in the Customer ledger preferences window](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-preferences/make-overdue-and-dunning-settings-in-the-customer-ledger-preferences/)
Related pages
Windows
Print/release dunning letters
/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/manage-dunning-letters/print-release-dunning-letters
page
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# Print/release dunning letters
1. Go to the [Print/release dunning letters (AR522000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/print-release-dunning-letters-ar522000/) window.
1. In the **Action** field, select how you wish to process the dunning letters:
Note that you have to either email or print each letter.
1. To display all letters in the table, check the box **Show all**. To display the letters created during a certain period, select the **Start date** and the **End date**.
1. Optional: To see the list of the documents included into a letter, click the row of the letter and click **View document**.
1. To apply the selected action to all letters, click **Process all**.
1. To apply the selected action to some of the letters, check the box in the beginning of their rows and click **Process**.
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Windows