User Guide: Payment Reminders & Interest Settings

⚠️ Currently, Interest Calculation and Pre-Termination workflows are not enabled by the system. These features will be enabled sequentially.

Welcome to the Payment Reminders & Interest Calculation feature guide. This system helps you automate communication, compute delayed payment interest, and manage pre-termination notices for pending dues.

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1. Feature Overview

The system supports three main workflows:

• Reminder Letters (Without Interest): Friendly alerts before/after milestone due dates.
• Reminder Letters (With Interest): Official reminders detailing outstanding dues plus calculated delay interest.
• Pre-Termination Letters: Warning notices for long-overdue accounts to protect business interests.

sequenceDiagram
    autonumber
    actor Builder as Builder / Admin
    participant System as System / Engine
    actor Customer as Customer

    Builder->>System: Generate Demand Note (Due Date Set)

    Note over System: Trigger Rule (Before Due Date)
    System->>Customer: Send Friendly Reminder (No Interest)

    Note over System: Due Date Passes (No Payment Received)
    System->>System: Calculate Delay Interest on Outstanding Balance
    System->>Customer: Send Official Reminder (With Interest Table)

    alt Customer makes a payment
        Customer->>Builder: Pay Outstanding Amount
        Builder->>System: Record Receipt (FIFO Allocation)
        System->>System: Recalculate & Stop/Reduce Interest Accrual
    else No payment received within Buffer (e.g., 90 Days)
        System->>Builder: Enable Pre-Termination Warning
        Builder->>Customer: Generate & Send Pre-Termination Letter
    end

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2. Configuration & Setup

To start using this feature, you must configure your settings under the Settings menu.

Step A: Configure Interest Settings

1. Go to Settings ➔ Payment Reminder Settings.
2. Switch to the Interest Settings tab.
3. Toggle Enable Delayed Interest to ON.
4. Input your desired annual Interest Rate Percentage (e.g., 12%).
5. Click Save Settings.

Step B: Setup Reminder Rules

1. Under Settings ➔ Payment Reminder Settings, stay on the Reminder Rules tab and click Add Rule.
2. Choose the parameters:
   • Reminder For: Demand or Intimation
   • Trigger Type: Before Due Date or After Due Date
   • Days Offset: The number of days before or after the due date to trigger the reminder.
   • Interest Applicable: Toggle on if interest calculations should be attached to this reminder (only applicable for after due-date rules).
3. Save the rule. You can define multiple reminders (e.g., Reminder 1 at +1 day without interest, Reminder 2 at +15 days with interest).

Step C: Setup Pre-Termination Warnings

1. Under Settings ➔ Payment Reminder Settings, switch to the Termination Settings tab.
2. Enter the Pre-Termination Buffer Period in days (e.g., 90 days).
3. Toggle Enable Pre-Termination Warnings to ON and click Save Settings.

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3. How the Features Work

A. Interest Calculation

Interest is calculated automatically using the simple interest formula:

$$\text{Interest} = \text{Outstanding Amount} \times \frac{\text{Annual Rate}}{365} \times \text{Delay Days}$$

• Outstanding Amount: Always reflects the current unpaid amount of the demand (Total Demand - Payments Received).
• Resetting Cycle: The reminder cycle resets automatically whenever a new milestone demand is generated.
• How We Keep Interest Fair and Accurate (Per-Demand Handling): Instead of lumping all outstanding payments together, the system tracks each payment request (milestone demand) and its interest individually. Here is how it works:
  • Tracked Individually: Every interest charge is linked directly to a specific milestone demand. We never mix different demands when calculating interest.
  • Oldest Dues Paid First: When a payment is made, the system automatically uses that money to pay off the oldest outstanding demand first.
  • Pay Interest Only on the Unpaid Part: If a partial payment is made, interest immediately stops accruing on the paid portion. Interest is calculated on the full amount up to the payment date, and then only on the remaining balance from that date onward.
  • Separate Start Dates: Each demand has its own due date. Interest only starts building up for a specific demand after its own due date (and grace period) has passed.
  • Automatic Updates & No Double Counting: Whenever a payment is added or changed, the system recalculates everything from the beginning to ensure the calculations are 100% correct, updating the statements automatically without double-counting anything.

B. Accessing the Reminders Dashboards

There are two primary dashboards:

• Demand Reminders: Under Reminders ➔ Demand in your sidebar.
• Intimation Reminders: Under Reminders ➔ Intimation in your sidebar.

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4. Using the Reminders Tool

Generating Reminder Letters

1. Open the Demand or Intimation Reminders page.
2. Select one or more booked units from the table using checkboxes.
3. Click the Generate Reminders button from the bulk action menu.
4. The system will create unique reminder records with auto-generated reference IDs (e.g., Demand Letter - Reminder 1).

Sending Communications

For any generated reminder, click the action menu (...) next to the row:

• Send Email: Directly queue an email to the primary customer.
• Send WhatsApp: Queue a template-based WhatsApp message.
• See Email / WhatsApp Logs: View delivery status and communication history for that letter.
• Download: Export the PDF copy of the generated letter.
• Regenerate: Instantly recreate the document to reflect any newly applied payments.

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5. Pre-Termination Workflow

• Pre-termination letters can be drafted and manually generated only after the configured buffer period (e.g., 90 days after due date) has passed.
• This feature requires active configuration; without setting up the buffer and turning the toggle on, the system restricts generation of termination letters to avoid accidental cancellations.