- Invoice generation date – this is the starting point for the payment collection process. Invoices are generated after the billing period ends, so in general the invoice generation date should be the next day after the end of a billing period. For example if a billing period ends on September 30th, then an invoice would be generated on October 1st. There may be exceptions to this rule. For example, let’s consider post-paid mobile customers, for whom a 3-day delay in generating invoices is set to allow for the system to receive the data from your roaming partners. If the billing period ends on September 30th, the invoice will be generated on October 4th, which will be the start date of the payment collection process.
If a customer’s credit card is automatically charged upon invoice generation, the invoice is assigned the “paid” status, and the collection process is completed successfully.
- Invoice due date – this is the final day for timely payment.
Depending on the configured payment terms, customers are given some time, from the invoice generation date until the due date, to make their payment. During this time, customers continue using services as usual.
If a customer fails to make a payment the day after the due date, the invoice is given an “overdue” status, potentially leading to notifications about past due payment, service interruption, and monetary penalties.
