In the real-time operations of the companies, it is possible that, for a number of
reasons, the client will create a payment towards the firm for the sales given to them.
Therefore, it is the owners' job to keep an eye on both the payment of those activities
and the sales operations. Odoo's Follow-Up feature was created with these considerations
in mind, and it allows the business owner to follow up with clients for payments using a
range of activities that may be scheduled either internally or externally.
The Follow-Up Reports option is accessible from the Customers menu in the Odoo
Accounting module. The Follow-Up Reports option will display the Name, Total Due, Total
Overdue, Follow-Up Status, and Follow-Up Level of each Follow-Up Report. By utilising
the available Filter and Group By options, you may get the relevant Follow-Up Report
from the menu. Additionally, these Follow-Up Reports are generated using the Follow-Up
Levels that have been configured on the platform. Additionally, the Follow-Up Levels may
be configured in the Odoo platform's Accounting module's Configuration tab > Follow-Up
Levels, each Follow-Up activity's action, such as writing an email, printing a letter,
or sending a letter, sending a text message, taking a manual action, or doing any other
Follow-Up activity., is specified by the Follow-Up Level.
To see additional details about a Follow-Up Report, you can choose it. When you do,
a window such as the one in the screenshot below will emerge. Here, details about
the consumer and the contest will be displayed. The Next Reminder Date, which is
customizable, will also be displayed. If the initial reminder is sent through email,
a description of its contents will be sent.
Additionally, all the information related to the invoices defined in the pertinent
Follow Up Report will be provided, as seen in the table in the picture that follows.
There are several details displayed here, including the invoice number, date of the
invoice, payment due date, source document, communication, reminder date, and the
total amount owed. The Exclude option, which is offered, can be activated.
By choosing the Print Letter option from the Follow-Up Report menu, you may print
the report and see a sample of the letter along with the other configuration
options that are offered. There are four different types of layouts: background,
boxed, light, and clean.
Additionally, the company logo can be specified and modified with the use of
colors, a specific font, the company tagline, a footer description, and a paper
format. The configuration varies depending on the operations option you select,
and the Preview of the Letter may be found on the right side of the window. Last
but not least, you can choose the Preserve option to save the Letter's setup and
print the Letter.
Selecting the Send By Post option will take you to the window shown in the
following screenshot, where you can send the Follow up by mail to the
customer. You will see a warning message about the cost of the stamp(s) to
send the letter here.
For the Postal Services integrated with Odoo, Stamps can be purchased through
the Odoo website. If you are okay with the Stamps being used and have enough
remaining Stamps to complete the transaction, you can choose the Send By
Post option.
The integration of the Snailmail postal service for the letters,
invoices, reports, and other components of the business operation to be
sent to the clients is done to demonstrate how the operations function
here. If you want the Follow-Up Report or the Follow-up letter to be
mailed to the client, choose the Confirm option. Just be sure to include
the customer's address and zip code.
By choosing the Send By Email option found in the appropriate Follow-Up
Report, you can also choose to send the Follow-Up Report by email. In
this case, the default email with the current template will be shown to
you. Additionally, you have the option to change the email's details or
select a different mailing template that has been defined.
Follow-Up Reports through text messages: To send text messages based on
the Follow-Up Reports, choose the Send By SMS option found in each of
the aforementioned Follow-Up Reports. You will be presented with the
following window where you can customize the message after choosing to
send a text message. The recipient and the responsible party's mobile
number will be automatically defined, and a predefined message template
will be produced that may be customized to meet your needs. However, you
must check that the text message is no longer than 65 characters. If it
is, the message will be split into two SMSs, and you may then choose the
Send SMS option.
The next step is to select the Done options and then select to
reconcile it in order to match the invoices with the bank payments
that have been detailed after all setups and sending activities
pertaining to the follow-up reports have been completed.
Once the Follow Up Report setting aspect is complete, the next step,
as previously noted, is to reconcile. To do this, pick the distinct
Reconcile option inside the Follow Up Report menu, which will
display the reconciling menu as seen in the accompanying screenshot.
Here, the name of the customer, the amount, and account information,
such as whether the account is payable or receivable, will be
described. Furthermore, the Miscellaneous Matching details of the
respective Reconciliation will also be described.
Additionally, the Manual Operations for each of the
Reconciliation operations' components can be set up with unique
operational capabilities. For the operations to be going forward
for the accounting management, the specifics such as Account,
Taxes, Analytical Accounting, and Analytical Tags should be
defined.
In order to manage the follow-up of payment operations, the Odoo
platform's Follow-Up Reports management will be a helpful tool.
It will also be one of the most helpful tools to assist you when
operating in real-time. Let's move on to the section that
follows, where we'll talk about the direct debit requirements
for customer management in Odoo Accounting.