How prompt payment discounts work

A discount policy adds a discount line to a new unpaid invoice soon after it is created. If the invoice is still unpaid on the removal date, Paidnice removes the line and the customer owes the full amount. If they pay in time, the discount stays.

Setting one up

Open a group, go to its Policies tab and click Add Discount Policy under Discounts.

• Fixed Discount or Percentage Discount. A fixed discount is in the invoice’s currency. A percentage is worked out on the invoice total.
• Apply to new invoices or Apply only to unsent invoices. The second option skips invoices already marked as sent in Xero or QuickBooks, so a customer never sees the total change after they received the invoice. To use it, approve the invoice without sending it, wait a few minutes for the discount line to appear, then send it.
• Discount Account (QuickBooks: discount item): where the negative line is coded. Tax Rate goes with it.
• Discount Amount or Discount %.
• Apply this discount up to: the latest an invoice can arrive and still get the discount.
• Remove this discount on: when the discount is taken off an unpaid invoice. These two dates are explained in How the apply and removal dates work together.
• Description: the text on the invoice line. You can use #DueDate, #DiscountDate, #DiscountAmount and #OriginalTotal. The default is “Prompt payment discount if paid by #DiscountDate”.
• Send email notification to customer when discount is applied: pick a Discount type email template, or leave it as Do not send email notification. Choose a sender profile once a template is picked.

Set the policy to Active and save. Like every policy, it can sit in Draft first so each discount waits for your approval on the Actions page. See How Paidnice works.

Things to know

• One discount per invoice. If several discount policies match, the oldest one wins, and the group page warns you when more than one is active.
• Invoices with part payments, an existing discount, or that are themselves fee invoices are not eligible. A discount bigger than the amount due is skipped.
• Removing the discount is itself an action, so it shows on the Actions page and in the invoice timeline. Re-apply discount on that action puts it back.
• Discounts only go on invoices that arrive after the policy is created. Invoices that already existed are left alone. Open an older invoice and use its Preview Policies tab to see whether it would qualify.
• A frozen invoice, or one with an open payment promise or query, is skipped like it is for any other policy.
• Do not run a discount policy and an invoice late fee with the same message to the same customers without checking the dates line up. The discount comes off before the fee goes on, so the customer should see one clear deadline at a time.