How to Automate Follow-Ups in NetSuite

How to Automate Follow-Ups in NetSuite

📌 Manually tracking customer promises to pay often results in missed follow-ups, inconsistent escalation, and delayed collections. Automating reminders and escalations around promised dates ensures better recovery rates, improved workflows, and reduced dependency on spreadsheets. Oracle NetSuite provides native tools and custom workflows to make this process seamless.

Steps to Automate Follow-Ups Based on Promise to Pay 

Step 1: Enable Promise to Pay Reminders

• Go to Setup > Company > Enable Features > Accounting
  
  
• Under the Accounts Receivable subtab, enable the Promise to Pay feature
  
  
• This activates built-in capabilities to track and act on customer payment commitments
  
  

Step 2: Create Custom Fields for Collections Tracking

• Add fields such as Collection Status, Escalation Level, and Last Reminder Sent
  
  
• These fields can be updated manually or via workflows to monitor collections progress
  
  
• Create a Promise to Pay Date field to track the specific date a customer commits to paying
  
  

Step 3: Build Saved Searches for Targeting Invoices

• Create Saved Searches to filter invoices based on conditions like:
  
  
  1. Status = Open or Overdue
     
     
  2. Promise to Pay Date is within X days
     
     
  3. Escalation Level = Low / Medium / High
     
     
• These searches help drive the automation logic in your follow-ups
  
  

Step 4: Set Up Automated Workflows in SuiteFlow

• Go to Customization > Workflow > Workflows > New and select record type “Transaction”
  
  
• Define multiple stages of your reminder process:
  
  
  1. 5 days before due date: Trigger a friendly reminder email
     
     
  2. On due date: Send a standard reminder
     
     
  3. 14 days past due: Send an urgent notice with escalation warning
     
     
  4. 30 days past due: Escalate to senior collections or external agency
     
• Attach email templates, define recipients, and configure conditions using the custom fields
  

Step 5: Configure Dunning Cadences

• Use NetSuite’s Dunning Management to set follow-up sequences
  
  
• Assign overdue invoices to specific dunning levels based on status or escalation logic
  
  
• Customize the cadence messages and timings to align with your collection strategy
  

Step 6: Monitor with Dashboards and Reporting

• Use Saved Searches and Reports to visualize overdue invoices, average days outstanding, and success rates by cadence
  
  
• Build a dashboard that displays Promise to Pay metrics and collection health
  
  
• Regularly refine filters, timing, and content based on what’s driving actual collections
  

Example Use Case:

• When a customer commits to paying by a specific date, populate the Promise to Pay Date field
  
  
• Create a saved search that identifies invoices due in 7 days based on that date
  
  
• Trigger a reminder email automatically
  
  
• If payment is not received, escalate the case via workflow or move it to the next dunning level

Pro tip: Growfin’s plugin strengthens your promise to pay workflows by automatically tracking commitments, sending timed reminders, and escalating overdue cases, all without manual effort. You get better visibility, accountability, and faster cash recovery. To learn more check out the Bridging the Receivables Efficiency Gap: Going beyond NetSuite webinar!

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