The dunning process helps you keep track of overdue payments and manage outstanding receivables efficiently. With automated payment reminders and dunning levels, you can professionally remind your customers of due amounts without manually following up on each case. This ensures that your cash flow remains stable and your receivables management stays transparent.
Each accounting department also includes the management of the dunning process. Xentral supports you extensively in this. The dunning system regularly calculates the payment status of all invoices in the system. This is done automatically via the process starter or manually at any time with the action "Recalculate dunning" action. For all overdue accounts payment reminders will be prepared. After a check by your accountant, all payment reminders to delinquent customers can be sent to the customer’s on "Start reminder system" to the customer’s e-mail address.If no e-mail address is found for the customer, the payment reminder will be will be printed instead.
If an invoice is still due after the payment reminder period, the next time the reminder is started, the first reminder is sent (reminder 1). If the invoice remains open after the next deadline, the second reminder is sent, and so on. In addition, invoices can be called up directly via the action menu on the right or the document can be displayed as a PDF. It is also possible to cancel the invoice, to book differences as a cash discount, to book the invoice as a loss or to block the invoice in the dunning process. An important working basis for accounting is also provided by the OPOS list. It shows all open invoices and their due (partial) amounts. Invoices that are not yet due are displayed without dunning level. Invoices, that are due are displayed with the respective dunning level.
If invoices are not paid on time, it is possible to send a reminder in xentral via the dunning module. There are different dunning levels.
This module is particularly relevant if the invoices are managed via xentral.
The dunning system in xentral can be found under Accounting → Dunning.
Open invoices are automatically forwarded to the dunning system:
-
Prepayment methods: after a configurable payment deadline
-
Subsequent payment methods: once the payment due date has been reached
An unpaid invoice passes through several dunning levels in sequence. For an invoice to advance to the next dunning level, the following conditions must be met:
-
The predefined time since the last dunning notice or payment reminder has elapsed
-
The dunning notice or payment reminder for the previous level has been sent (if email dispatch is activated) or printed
Click on Start dunning in the Accounting > Dunning view to run the dunning process. Xentral then sends a dunning document for all invoices listed in the Due tab — by email to the address stored in the customer record, or printed at the printer if no email address is available.
-
Email dispatch and printing: Dunning documents are sent by email or to a printer depending on the settings. If a customer has no email address stored in the invoice, a printout is automatically generated at the printer.
-
Alternative billing address: If a different billing address is used, the email address must be stored there — the master data address is not sufficient in this case.
-
Monitoring email dispatch: The email outgoing log displays all email outputs from logistics, automated processes, and the dunning system. Store a copy address to verify email dispatch from Xentral.
The overview shows all invoices that have not yet been paid in full, i.e. are still open. It contains the following tabs:
-
Due: all invoices in one of the dunning levels for which a dunning document will be printed or sent the next time you click on Start dunning
-
Payment reminders: all invoices in the "Payment reminder" stage
-
Dunning notices: all invoices in the levels Dunning 1 to Dunning 3
-
Collection: all invoices in the "Collection" stage
-
Blocked: all invoices that have been manually blocked for further processing in the dunning process
-
Receivables losses: all invoices that were manually marked as receivables losses
Before a dunning run is started, use the Printer dropdown to specify on which printer dunning documents are printed for which mail dispatch has not been activated.
The invoice copy and the actual dunning document (payment reminder or reminder) are sent by e-mail. The dunning process can be influenced or stopped by the user for the individual invoices at any time. This is done via the icons presented below in the list view.
The following actions are available for the individual invoices in the dunning process:
-
- Edit invoice → jump to the edit view of the invoice
-
- PDF of the current dunning level → View the dunning document as PDF
-
- PDF of the invoice → View the invoice as PDF
-
- Cancellation of the invoice → Continue as credit/reversal invoice
-
- Post difference (amount in "Missing" column) as cash discount
-
- Recognize amount as loss on receivables
-
- Block invoice for further processing in dunning (invoice is moved to "Blocked" tab)
The status of the document that has already been sent is always displayed in the invoice. I.e. if a reminder 1 has been created and sent in the dunning system, "Reminder 1" will be displayed in the invoice. If "Dunning 1" has not yet been sent, the invoice is still on payment reminder, although it is already listed in the dunning system under "Due" for the next dunning level.
With a click on the "Recalculate dunning" button, the payment and dunning status of each invoice are recalculated and thus updated. This calculation can also be moved to the background via the process starter mahnwesencheck.
Note
-
For the payment status of invoices and credit notes to be automatically checked and recalculated during the dunning process, the Dunning with account reconciliation setting must be activated in the System settings under System.
-
If the setting is deactivated, the dunning module displays a warning and the payment status is not updated automatically.
In the open positions list, all open/partially paid invoices are displayed in the dunning process, regardless of the dunning level:
-
Invoices that are not yet due are displayed without dunning level
-
Invoices that are due are displayed with the respective dunning level
Column information
Column |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Invoice |
Invoice number |
|
From |
Date on which the invoice was issued |
|
Invoice due date |
Date on which the invoice was originally due |
|
KD no. |
Customer number |
|
Name |
Customer name |
|
Amount |
Total invoice amount |
|
Is |
Amount that has already been paid |
|
Missing |
Amount that is still open |
|
Discount |
Amount of the discount |
|
Project |
Affiliation of the project |
|
Payment method |
Type of payment |
|
Status |
Dunning level, e.g. payment reminder, 1st dunning notice |
|
Sent on |
Date when the dunning document was last sent |
|
Next reminder |
Due date of the next dunning level ("due again on" or "due next time on") |
The following filters are available:
-
Without loss of receivables
-
Without collection
-
Without locked
In the dunning system itself, the invoices that are currently due accumulate. If your customer has paid in full, the entry no longer appears there.
The following entries can be found in the dunning system:
-
Due — all invoices in current due dunning levels
-
Dunned — unpaid invoices that have recently been dunned and have not yet reached the next dunning level
-
Losses on receivables — invoices that have been marked as a loss on receivables
-
Blocked — actively blocked invoices
-
Collection — invoices that have reached the last dunning level "Collection"
Note
A positive customer balance is not currently taken into account in the dunning process. If there is an open credit note for the same customer against a different invoice, this will not offset the dunning level.
In the Settings tab, you can define the dunning periods between dunning levels in days and the texts on dunning documents. Xentral has 5 dunning levels:
-
Payment reminder — first friendly reminder with no dunning fee; due as soon as the payment due date has passed
-
Dunning 1 — first formal dunning notice after the payment reminder period has elapsed; dunning fees may apply from this level onwards
-
Dunning 2 — second dunning notice after a further deadline has passed
-
Dunning 3 — final dunning notice before handover to collection
-
Collection — the receivable is handed over to a collection agency or solicitor for further action
The following parameters can be configured for each dunning level:
Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Days since last stage |
Number of days after which this dunning level is activated once the previous one has occurred. |
|
Mail dispatch |
Defines whether an email with the dunning document is sent to the debtor when the dunning process is started (email address must be available in the customer record). If this option is not activated, the dunning document is printed instead. |
|
Dunning fee |
Starting from "Dunning 1", a dunning fee can be specified. Dunning fees do not add up across levels — the total fee for each level must be entered separately. |
Due date per dunning level (dunning documents)
Dunning level |
Due date |
|---|---|
|
Payment reminder |
Due date is fixed: always the calculated payment due date (e.g. for an invoice with 14-day payment terms, the payment reminder is due on day 15). |
|
Payment reminder for prepayment and invoice payable immediately |
Due date is specified in days — for invoices with payment terms "immediately" (= 0 days) or prepayment methods that are not automatically set to paid. |
|
Payment reminder for direct debit (+collection date) |
Due date of the payment method "Direct debit" (or "behaves like direct debit"); the collection date in the invoice is factored in. For a collection period of X bank working days, this value can be set accordingly — direct debits will then typically not appear in the dunning process (only for forgotten collections, failed collections, or chargebacks). |
|
Dunning 1 |
Due date is specified in days. |
|
Dunning 2 |
Due date is specified in days. |
|
Dunning 3 |
Due date is specified in days. |
|
Collection |
Due date is specified in days. |
If the Display POS in table option is activated, items are displayed on the dunning document — i.e. the item table as shown on other documents.
Prepayment reminder (email reminder)
Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Discount email to accounting |
Email reminder to accounting when an incoming payment was linked and there is a difference between the amount received and the invoice amount. |
|
Prepayment email reminder (order) |
Number of days after which a reminder email is sent to the customer (order). The email is sent using the default email from the basic settings. This option is also required for sending the payment confirmation (PaymentOK). |
|
E-mail for cancellation to accounting |
Email to accounting (default email from basic settings) so that prepayment orders that have been open for too long can be canceled. |
|
Payment mail amount threshold |
EUR amount from which the payment mail is still sent to the customer (order). The email function is activated in the basic settings. |
Other settings
Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Allow overdraw cash discount in incoming payment |
Number of days by which the automatic recognition in incoming payment should still take effect (extend cash discount period in incoming payment additionally by x days). |
|
Show agent and sales |
Displays agent and sales in the info box on the dunning document. |
|
Send reminders via email account |
Email account from which the dunning notices are sent. |
A dunning fee can be specified for each dunning level starting with "Dunning 1"; the dunning fees for the dunning levels do not add up. Therefore, the respective total fee must be specified for each dunning level. Dunning fees are displayed without taxation. The fee of e.g. 5 EUR will then also be displayed as 5 EUR on the dunning notice. Dunning fees must be specified as a variable if the fee is to be displayed on the document. Dunning fees can only be inserted via the dunning texts. You can find examples of this in the section sample texts dunning.
The process starter can also be set to "periode → 1 minute" for the dunning process, so that the dunning calculation is processed via the background process and can be called up at any time. In parallel, the times of the process starter are defined so that the process starter does not recalculate the dunning process every minute, but only at the fixed times and by manual click call.
-
Activation and date fields control the calculation at fixed times
-
The dunning process starter must be set to every minute
-
Without setting the time, the process is only triggered by clicking on the "calculate dunning" button in the dunning overview
-
The process is moved to the background here and runs in the background depending on the quantity of invoices in the dunning process
-
With time specification the process runs in the background at the times, but can also be triggered in front with the button
Prerequisite: The dunning process starter must be set to period 1, i.e. run every minute.
Even for orders with payment method prepayment, a payment reminder can be sent automatically to the customer after a certain number of days if the payment has not been received. For this purpose, the "Payment mail" checkbox must be activated in the project settings (Master data → Project → Settings).
In the settings you can define after how many days the payment reminder should be sent.
In order for the payment reminder to be sent, the payment method prepayment must be set in the order. In addition, the order must be at least as many days in the past as the number of days set in the dunning process for the first payment reminder to be sent. In addition, the customer’s e-mail address must be saved in the master data or stored in the order.
Under Settings → Dunning Texts there is an overview of variables that can be used in the dunning documents. For each dunning level, you can define your own texts, which are then used in the respective dunning document.
The following variables can be used in the dunning texts. The variables are then replaced by the corresponding information in the dunning document:
Variable |
Description |
|---|---|
|
|
End of the newly given deadline (date) |
|
|
Number of days in current dunning period (days) |
|
|
Debit amount (EUR) |
|
|
Actual amount (EUR) |
|
|
Amount debit - actual (EUR) |
|
|
Amount debit - actual + dunning fee (EUR) |
|
|
Currency |
|
|
Dunning charge (EUR) |
|
|
Dunning fee + open amount |
|
|
Invoice number |
|
|
Date of the invoice |
|
|
Date of the last payment reminder or dunning notice (= the date when the next dunning level was last changed, always concerns the most recent) |
|
|
Date of the original required payment (invoice date + days payment due date) of the invoice (date) |
|
|
Date by which the payment reminder was due |
|
|
Date of the payment reminder |
|
|
Date of dunning 1 |
|
|
Date of dunning 2 |
|
|
Date of dunning 3 |
The reminder texts themselves can be found in the business letter templates and are configurable there.
This allows dunning texts to be created for different projects and languages.
Note
The following texts serve as sample texts to illustrate the variables. Please check with your tax advisor or legal consultant whether these meet legal requirements or need to be adapted. The texts are sample texts created some years ago — some things may have changed since then. They can definitely be used to test the variables.
Dunning 1:
Hinweis
Dear Sir or Madam,
You must have overlooked our payment reminder. Therefore, with this letter you will once again receive a list of the open items.
If you have not yet made the payment, please transfer the amount of {OFFEN} EUR to our account by {DATUM} to avoid further reminders and fees. Please indicate the invoice number {RECHNUNG} in the subject line.
If the outstanding amount has already been paid, please consider this letter as irrelevant.
Dunning 2:
Hinweis
Dear Sir or Madam,
our invoice dated {DATUMRECHNUNG} was due for payment on {DATUMRECHNUNGZAHLUNGSZIEL}. Despite reminders and deadlines, the amount of {OFFEN} EUR has still not been paid.
Please transfer the amount of {OFFEN} EUR to our account mentioned below by {DATUM}. We take the liberty to charge reminder fees in the amount of {MAHNGEBUEHR} EUR. Please indicate the invoice number {RECHNUNG} in the subject line. If the outstanding amount has already been paid, please consider this letter as irrelevant.
Dunning 3:
Hinweis
Dear Sir or Madam,
our invoice dated {DATUMRECHNUNG} was due for payment on {DATUMRECHNUNGZAHLUNGSZIEL}. Despite reminders and setting deadlines, the amount of {OFFEN} EUR has still not been paid.
Therefore, with this letter you will receive a final list of open items. Please indicate the invoice number {RECHNUNG} in the subject line. If the amount of {OFFEN} EUR has not been received on our account by {DATUM}, we will initiate the judicial dunning procedure.
Please contact us and let us avoid this: xxxxxxxxx
Sample texts dunning fees — Example 1:
Hinweis
Our claims against you are composed as follows: Value of goods/ total amount: {SOLL} {WAEHRUNG} Of which still open: {OFFEN} {WAEHRUNG} plus reminder fee: {MAHNGEBUEHR} {WAEHRUNG}. Total sum: {OFFENMITMAHNGEBUEHR}{WAEHRUNG}.
Example 2:
Hinweis
The reminder fee is {MAHNGEBUEHR} {WAEHRUNG} plus outstanding invoice amount of {OFFEN} EUR to be paid {SUMME} {WAEHRUNG}.
Example 3:
Hinweis
Please transfer the amount of {OFFEN} EUR to our account mentioned below by {DATUM}. We take the liberty to charge reminder fees in the amount of {MAHNGEBUEHR} EUR. Please indicate the invoice number {RECHNUNG} in the subject line.
Example 4:
Hinweis
Our claims against you are composed as follows: Value of goods/ total amount: {SOLL} {WAEHRUNG} Of which still open: {OFFEN} {WAEHRUNG} plus reminder fee: {MAHNGEBUEHR} {WAEHRUNG}.