If you let customers check out without paying, or you don't take payment up front, you can use Monthly Billing (called Arrears Billing in the menu) to see every customer with unpaid bookings and email each of them one invoice for everything they owe. We call it monthly billing, but you can run it whenever you like: every Friday, every month or every two months. Monthly/Arrears Billing is included on every KennelBooker plan.
Where to find Monthly/Arrears Billing
Monthly/Arrears Billing is on Menu > Arrears Billing, which opens the Monthly Billing page. The menu item only appears once the feature is switched on:
Go to Settings > Main Settings.
In the Optional Features section, switch on Enable Arrears Billing.
Click Save at the bottom of that section.
What the Monthly Billing page shows
Monthly Billing lists each customer who has unpaid bookings that haven't been billed yet, with their pets, address and the amount Owed. The total owed and the number of customers are shown at the top.
It includes bookings that are checked in, checked out or cancelled with a fee, up to today. Provisional, new (not yet checked in), cancelled and incomplete bookings aren't included.
It covers boarding, daycare, grooming, training, walks, homestay, cremation, other/generic and universal bookings, and unpaid sales.
Customers with no email address are marked No email address.
Use the search box (Find a pet or customer) to find a customer or pet in the list.
How to send bills with Monthly/Arrears Billing
Go to Menu > Arrears Billing.
To bill bookings that haven't happened yet as well, switch on Include future bookings until, pick a date and click Update. The date starts at the last day of the current month.
Choose who to bill:
To bill one customer, click Send bill on their row. For a customer with no email address the button says Download Invoice.
To bill some customers, tick the toggle on each of their rows (all rows start unticked; the toggle in the header ticks them all), then click Bill selected. You'll be asked "Email invoices to N selected customers?"
To bill everyone on the list, click Bill everyone (N). You'll be asked "Email invoices to all N customers?"
When the bills have gone you'll see "Invoice sent to (customer name)" or "N invoices sent". Billed customers drop off the list. When nobody is left you'll see All Invoices Sent!
What happens after you send a bill with Monthly/Arrears Billing
Each customer gets one email with a PDF invoice attached. The email uses your Unpaid Bookings Email template, which you can change in Settings > Email Settings > Email templates.
If you take online payments through Stripe or Square, and the customer isn't set to cash only, KennelBooker creates a payment request for the amount owed. If your template includes the [payment_info] tag, the email shows a pay button the customer can click.
Each billed booking is marked as billed, so it won't be included the next time you run billing. The change is recorded in the booking's audit log as "Mark As Billed".
For customers with no email address nothing is sent. Their invoices are listed under "These customers have no email address. Their invoices are ready to download:" so you can download and print or post them.
Sending a bill doesn't mark anything as paid. Record payments on the booking as normal when the customer pays.
How to re-bill customers with Monthly/Arrears Billing
If you need to send bills again (for example a customer lost the email), click Reset Billed Status at the top of the Monthly Billing page. You'll be asked "Reset the billed status of every unpaid booking? Customers you have already billed will appear here again." This resets every unpaid booking for every customer, not just one customer.
Exporting the Monthly/Arrears Billing list
Click Export to Excel at the top of the Monthly Billing page to download the list as a CSV file (OutstandingBookings.csv) with each customer's name, address, phone, email and amount owed.
What Monthly/Arrears Billing doesn't do
Monthly/Arrears Billing doesn't send bills automatically on a schedule. You open the page and send them each time.
It doesn't take payment or charge a saved card. It sends an invoice, and a pay button only when online payments are set up as described above.
It doesn't mark bookings as paid.
Monthly/Arrears Billing: frequently asked questions
Can I bill customers weekly instead of monthly?
Yes. Monthly/Arrears Billing can be run as often as you like, for example every Friday. Each time, it only lists bookings that haven't already been billed.
How do I bill just one customer?
In Monthly/Arrears Billing (Menu > Arrears Billing), click Send bill on that customer's row. It emails them one invoice for all their unpaid, unbilled bookings.
Can I include bookings that haven't happened yet?
Yes. On the Monthly Billing page, switch on Include future bookings until, choose a date and click Update. Upcoming unpaid bookings that start on or before that date are added to the list.
Which email does the customer get?
Monthly/Arrears Billing sends your Unpaid Bookings Email template with a PDF invoice attached. You can change the wording in Settings > Email Settings > Email templates.
Can my customer pay online from the bill?
Yes, if you take online payments through Stripe or Square, the customer isn't set to cash only and your Unpaid Bookings Email template includes the [payment_info] tag. The email then has a pay button for the amount owed.
Does sending a bill mark the booking as paid?
No. Monthly/Arrears Billing only marks the bookings as billed. Add the payment to the booking when the customer pays.
Are cancellation fees included in the bill?
Yes. Bookings cancelled with a cancellation fee (status "Cancelled (Fee Adjusted)") that are still unpaid are included in Monthly/Arrears Billing.
Is Monthly/Arrears Billing included on my plan?
Yes. Monthly/Arrears Billing is included on every KennelBooker plan. Switch it on with Enable Arrears Billing in Settings > Main Settings > Optional Features.
Can I send the bill as an SMS?
No. Monthly/Arrears Billing sends email only. For a customer with no email address you can download the invoice and give it to them yourself.
Monthly/Arrears Billing: common problems
I can't see Arrears Billing in my menu
The Arrears Billing menu item only shows when Enable Arrears Billing is switched on in Settings > Main Settings > Optional Features. Switch it on, click Save, and the menu item appears.
A customer I billed has disappeared from the list
That's expected. Once a customer is billed, their bookings are marked as billed and Monthly/Arrears Billing stops listing them. To bill them again, click Reset Billed Status (this resets every unpaid booking, for all customers).
A booking isn't on the list
Monthly/Arrears Billing only lists unpaid bookings that are checked in, checked out or cancelled with a fee, up to today, that haven't been billed yet. A booking that hasn't checked in yet only appears if you switch on Include future bookings until and pick a date after it starts. Bookings that are already paid, already billed, provisional or cancelled without a fee aren't listed.
My customer didn't get the email
Check that the customer has an email address on their customer record. Customers without one are marked No email address and their invoice is offered as a download instead. If they do have an email address, ask them to check their spam folder. If it still hasn't arrived, contact support with the customer's name and the date you sent the bill.
I see "Pick a valid date for future bookings"
This message means Include future bookings until is switched on but the date box is empty or not a valid date. Pick a date from the calendar, or switch the option off.
The amount on the invoice is different from the amount on the list
Contact support with the customer's name and a copy of the invoice so we can check which bookings were included.
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