What is Automated Account Suspension
Automated account suspension is a rule-based system that you can configure to automatically suspend services for customers who do not meet their payment obligations. The system can be activated based on specific triggers that you define.
The primary triggers for an automatic suspension are:
Days Past Due: The account is suspended when an invoice remains unpaid for a set number of days after its due date.
Exceeded Credit Limit: The account is suspended when a customer's outstanding balance grows larger than their assigned credit limit.
These rules are established within a Customer Billing Profile, which acts as a template for all customers assigned to it. However, you also have the flexibility to override these settings for individual customer accounts as needed.
Why It Matters
Implementing automated suspensions provides several key benefits for your business operations and financial health.
Saves Time and Reduces Manual Work: The system automatically handles the process of identifying and suspending overdue accounts, freeing up your team from manually tracking delinquent payments.
Improves Cash Flow: By creating a clear and immediate consequence for non-payment, this feature encourages customers to pay their invoices on time.
Ensures Consistent Policy Enforcement: Automation guarantees that your credit and collections policies are applied uniformly to all customers under the same billing profile, eliminating guesswork and potential oversights.
Minimizes Risk: It prevents you from continuing to provide services to customers who are significantly behind on payments, reducing potential financial losses.
How It Works
The system operates on a two-level hierarchy, allowing for both broad policy application and individual exceptions.
Billing Profile Configuration: You first define your suspension rules within a Customer Billing Profile. This includes turning the automation on or off, setting the number of days late, and deciding whether to suspend based on an exceeded credit limit. All customers assigned to this profile will inherit these settings by default.
Individual Customer Overrides: For specific customers who may require special arrangements, you can navigate to their individual profile and override the inherited settings. This allows you to disable automation or apply unique rules for that account without changing the profile for everyone else.
All suspension and unsuspension activities, whether manual or automated, are logged in the account's history for full transparency.
Set Default Suspension Rules in a Billing Profile
Start by configuring the default suspension rules that will apply to all customers assigned to a specific billing profile.
Navigate to Settings from the main menu.
In the left-hand navigation pane, expand the Billing section and click Customer Billing Profiles.
Select an existing profile to edit or create a new one.
Scroll down to the Advanced settings and find the Suspensions section.
Set the Automation toggle to ON.
Choose the condition that will trigger the automatic suspension. You can either:
Enter a number in the Days late field to suspend the account after an invoice is overdue by that many days.
Check the box for Suspend when balance exceeds credit limit.
Optionally, configure the default Proration and Rental fees settings for how billing should be handled during a suspension period.
Click Save to apply the changes to the billing profile.
Override Suspension Rules for an Individual Customer
If you need to set unique suspension rules for a specific customer that differ from their billing profile, you can override the default settings.
Navigate to the desired customer's account and click on the Billing tab.
Find the Billing details section and click the three-dot menu on the right.
Select Suspension automation from the dropdown menu.
In the pop-up window, uncheck the box labeled Inherit changes from billing profile.
Set the Automation toggle to ON and configure the specific Days late or credit limit rules for this individual customer.
Click SAVE to save the customer-specific settings.
Automate Account Suspension for Overdue Payments
Automate account suspensions for customers with overdue payments or exceeded credit limits.
From the customer's profile, go to the Billing tab.
In the Billing details section, click the three-dot menu and select Suspension automation.
In the Suspension automation window, select ON.
To set a suspension trigger based on how late a payment is, enter a number in the Days late field. The account will be suspended when its oldest unpaid invoice exceeds this number of days.
To set a suspension trigger based on a credit limit, check the box next to Suspend when balance exceeds credit limit. The account will be suspended as soon as its balance is higher than its assigned credit limit.
Note: You can use either or both of these triggers. If both are used, the account will be suspended as soon as one of the conditions is met.
Click SAVE to save your settings. The system will now automatically suspend the account if the criteria are met and remove the suspension once payments are made to resolve the issue.
Prorating Bills During Suspension
You can also control whether customers are billed for services during their suspension period.
In the Billing details section, click the three-dot menu and select Suspension proration.
Choose one of the following options:
ON: Prorates the bill so the customer is not charged for the time their account was suspended.
OFF: Bills the customer for the full period, regardless of suspension status.
Click SAVE.