Odoo Payment Follow-Up and Dunning Guide

What Is Payment Follow-Up?

Payment Follow-Up (also called dunning) is the systematic process of collecting overdue payments from customers. Odoo automates this with multi-level follow-up rules — sending progressively urgent reminders via email, letter, or manual action as invoices become more overdue.

Module Setup

Payment Follow-Up is part of the Accounting module in Enterprise edition. Enable it in Settings → Accounting → Follow-Up Levels.

Follow-Up Levels

Follow-up levels define the escalation sequence for overdue invoices.

Creating Follow-Up Levels

1. Accounting → Configuration → Follow-Up Levels
2. Create levels with increasing urgency

Typical Follow-Up Sequence

# Follow-up level configuration:
# Level 1 (15 days overdue):
#   Action: Send email
#   Template: "Friendly payment reminder"
#   Auto: Yes (sent automatically by cron)

# Level 2 (30 days overdue):
#   Action: Send email + Print letter
#   Template: "Second payment reminder"
#   Auto: Yes

# Level 3 (45 days overdue):
#   Action: Send email + Manual follow-up
#   Template: "Urgent payment notice"
#   Auto: Email yes, phone call manual

# Level 4 (60 days overdue):
#   Action: Send email
#   Template: "Final notice before collection"
#   Auto: Yes
#   Additional: Block further sales to customer

Email Templates

Each follow-up level uses an email template with appropriate tone:

Level 1 — Friendly Reminder

# Subject: Friendly Reminder — Invoice {{invoice_number}}
# 
# Dear {{customer_name}},
# 
# We hope this finds you well. This is a friendly reminder
# that invoice {{invoice_number}} for {{amount}} was due
# on {{due_date}} and remains outstanding.
# 
# If you have already made the payment, please disregard
# this notice. Otherwise, we would appreciate prompt payment.
# 
# Payment details are attached.
# 
# Best regards,
# {{company_name}}

Level 4 — Final Notice

# Subject: FINAL NOTICE — Overdue Invoice {{invoice_number}}
# 
# Dear {{customer_name}},
# 
# Despite our previous reminders, invoice {{invoice_number}}
# for {{amount}} remains unpaid, now {{days_overdue}} days
# past due.
# 
# This is our final notice before we refer this matter
# to our collections department. Please arrange payment
# within 7 days to avoid further action.
# 
# {{company_name}}

Automated Follow-Up Processing

Batch Processing

1. Accounting → Customers → Follow-Up Reports
2. Odoo displays all customers with overdue invoices
3. Each customer shows their current follow-up level
4. Review the list and process follow-ups

Automatic Sending

A scheduled action runs periodically (configurable frequency) and:

• Identifies invoices that have reached the next follow-up level
• Generates and sends the appropriate email template
• Logs the follow-up action on the partner record
• Advances the customer to the next follow-up level

Customer Credit Management

Credit Limits

Set credit limits on customer records to prevent over-extension:

• Warning when a new sale would exceed the credit limit
• Block sales orders for customers above their limit
• Credit limit visible in the customer follow-up view

Customer Blocking

At advanced follow-up levels, automatically block the customer:

• Block new quotations and sales orders
• Block deliveries for unshipped orders
• Display warning to sales team when accessing the customer

Aging Reports

The Aged Receivable report shows outstanding amounts by age bucket:

# Aged Receivable Report:
# Customer       Current  1-30   31-60  61-90  90+    Total
# Acme Corp      $5,000   $0     $2,500 $0     $0     $7,500
# Beta Inc       $0       $3,000 $0     $1,500 $0     $4,500
# Gamma LLC      $0       $0     $0     $0     $8,000 $8,000
# Total          $5,000   $3,000 $2,500 $1,500 $8,000 $20,000

Follow-Up History

Every follow-up action is logged on the customer record:

• Date of each follow-up communication
• Level and action taken
• Who processed the follow-up
• Notes from phone calls or negotiations
• Payment promises and deadlines

Integration with Sales

• Sales team sees follow-up status on customer records
• Warnings when creating quotations for flagged customers
• Credit limit checks during sales order confirmation
• Follow-up history accessible from the customer card

Reporting

• Aged Receivable — Outstanding amounts by age bucket
• Follow-Up Analysis — Customers by follow-up level
• DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) — Average collection period
• Collection Effectiveness — Payment rates after each follow-up level

Best Practices

• Start early — Send the first reminder within 2 weeks of the due date
• Be consistent — Apply the same policy to all customers
• Escalate gradually — Each level should be noticeably more serious
• Document conversations — Log all phone calls and agreements
• Set credit limits — Prevent exposure to high-risk customers

DeployMonkey + Payment Follow-Up

DeployMonkey's AI agent configures follow-up levels, email templates, and credit management policies to minimize overdue receivables and improve cash flow.