How to install the Notion template
When you download the late payment tracker template you'll receive a link to the Notion template.
From there, all you have to do is press the "Duplicate" option in the top right hand corner to add the template to your own Notion workspace.
How it works
The template has a client database built into it so the first step is to add your client list via the "Client Management" section at the bottom of the notion template.
Once you have your client list in, you can then add the invoice data for each client.
Then, all you have to do is fill in the: Invoice Date, Due Date, Invoice Amount, and when an invoice is paid: the payment date.
If an invoice hasn't been paid
If your client hasn't paid their bill yet, and the invoice is overdue, then the table will show how many days the invoice is overdue by and how much money is currently outstanding.
When an invoice is paid
Once an invoice is paid and you add the payment date to a record, then the table updates to show you how many days the client took to pay the invoice, along with how many days overdue it was.
Client Statistics
Once you've added a few records into the Invoice Statistics table, you'll start to see some interesting figures in the "Client Statistics" table - this is where the magic happens.
The client statistics table shows you how well each client performs when paying their bills, it shows you: the average time the client takes to pay their bill, the maximum time taken to pay a bill, the total amount of money you've invoiced for, and the total amount owed to you if they are late paying.
By looking at the "average payment time" column of this table, you can quickly see which clients are consistently great at paying their bills, and which perhaps need a review.
Late paying clients
If a client's average payment time goes well over your payment terms then action should really be taken to ensure this average is reduced.
One option could be to increase the amount of money you get up-front as a deposit before any work begins. Or perhaps you could increase the amount of late payment interest you charge. Either way, there needs to be a conversation with the client about the issue.
Late payments are a blight on the industry and there's no good reason why they should consistently happen. Always make sure you protect yourself by having a signed contract that includes all the necessary information about payments including: amounts, dates, payment terms, and late payment interest charges.