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Payments & Collections

Track invoice payment status, generate SEPA direct debit files, manage partial payments, and handle debt recovery workflows.

Invoice Payment Status

Every invoice in BlueRockTEL has a payment status that you can track and update.

To view and change an invoice's payment status:

  1. Open the client record — the last 5 invoices are displayed directly on the page
  2. Click "Settlement" next to the invoice you want to update
  3. Change the status as needed

The default status for a newly produced invoice is "Due date settled" (paid). You can change this to reflect the actual payment situation.

SEPA Direct Debit

SEPA direct debit lets you collect payment automatically from your clients' bank accounts. BlueRockTEL generates the XML file that you submit to your bank.

Prerequisites

Before you can generate SEPA files, four things must be in place:

  1. Your own banking details — configure your IBAN, BIC, and SEPA Creditor ID under your name → Organisation
  2. Client banking details — each client must have at minimum an IBAN entered in their record, along with BIC, mandate ID, and mandate signature date
  3. Active folder — the folder status must be set to "Active"
  4. Direct debit payment method — the folder's payment method must be set to "Direct debit" (prelevement bancaire)

Important: If any of these prerequisites is missing, the client's invoices will not appear in the SEPA remittance preparation screen. This is the most common cause of "missing invoices" when generating SEPA files.

Generating a SEPA file

  1. Navigate to Main menu → Tools → SEPA remittances
  2. Click "Prepare new remittance"
  3. Set a future payment date (this is mandatory — your bank requires a date in the future)
  4. Review the list of invoices — check or uncheck individual invoices to include or exclude them
  5. Click "Create SEPA file"

Once processing completes, you receive two emails:

  • A .csv file — a human-readable summary for your verification
  • An .xml file — the SEPA-compliant file to send to your bank

Tip: Always open and verify the .csv file before sending the .xml to your bank. Check that the amounts, client names, and IBANs are correct. This simple step prevents costly errors.

Troubleshooting SEPA remittances

Invoices are missing from the list?

  • Verify that the folder's payment method is set to "Direct debit"
  • Check that the client record has a valid IBAN
  • Confirm the folder status is "Active"

Too many invoices appearing?

  • Review and clean up debt recovery statuses — invoices with unresolved statuses may carry over from previous periods

After a SEPA remittance is completed, the included invoices are automatically changed to "settled" status.

GoCardless Integration

If you use GoCardless for direct debit collection:

  1. Open the client record
  2. Navigate to the GoCardless mandates section
  3. Enter the mandate data
  4. Export the mandate file and upload it to the GoCardless platform

This allows you to manage GoCardless mandates alongside your standard SEPA workflow.

Debt Recovery

BlueRockTEL includes a built-in debt recovery tracker to help you manage unpaid and partially paid invoices.

Accessing debt recovery

Navigate to Main menu → Accounting → Debt recovery. This screen lists all invoices with a status other than "settled", giving you a single view of all outstanding amounts.

Managing an invoice

Click the pencil icon next to any invoice to open its debt management view:

  • Enter partial payments progressively as they come in — the system tracks the remaining balance automatically
  • Use the comment field to log notes about client communications, payment promises, or dispute details
  • Click "Show more details" to access the full incident management interface, where you can track escalation steps

Note: The debt recovery screen is a working tool, not just a report. Keep it updated regularly so that your SEPA remittances and financial reporting reflect the true state of your receivables.

Payment Due Dates

BlueRockTEL lets you configure payment terms at two levels:

Global setting

  1. Click your name (top-right corner) → Organisation
  2. Set the "Payment term (net days)" field
  3. Choose whether the due date falls on end of month or a fixed day

This default applies to all invoices unless overridden at the folder level.

Folder-level override

  1. Open the folder and click Edit
  2. Go to the "Payment and balance" section
  3. Enter the number of days in the Days field
  4. Choose end of month or fixed day

Tip: Folder-level settings always override the global default. Use this to offer specific payment terms to key clients without changing your standard terms for everyone else.

Next Steps

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