Two weeks out and the balance is still open
A wedding booked last year paid a deposit on confirmation. The balance was due four weeks before the date. It is now two weeks before, food ordering is next week, and the invoice has not been paid. Nobody noticed, because the events team looks at the diary and the accounts person looks at Xero, and neither view shows both.
Someone emails. The couple say they thought they had paid, or that they were waiting for final numbers. The balance comes in three days before the wedding, after you had already committed to food and staff. On another occasion, a corporate client simply pays late, after the event, on their own terms.
The diary and the ledger do not meet
Deposits and balances are about an event, but they are recorded as invoices against a customer. Most event diaries have no idea whether an event has been paid, and most accounts software has no idea when the event is.
- Invoices are raised manually at confirmation, and the balance invoice is often raised late or forgotten.
- Due dates depend on the event date, which changes if the event moves.
- Final numbers change the balance amount, so the invoice has to be reissued.
- Reminders depend on someone remembering to send them.
- The events team does not see payment status before committing costs.
Nobody chases because nobody is sure whose job it is.
Corporate clients bring their own complications. Their accounts team may need a purchase order before they can pay, and the PO is often raised after the event is confirmed, by someone other than the person who booked it. Without the PO, your invoice sits in their system unpaid, and you only discover why when you chase.
Cooking on credit
When a balance is late, you are funding the event yourself: food, staff and hire are committed before you are paid. Most clients pay in the end, but the chasing takes time and occasionally turns into a bad debt.
There is a relationship cost as well. Chasing a wedding couple two weeks before their date is uncomfortable, and doing it late makes it worse. Clear, early, polite reminders on a schedule they agreed to are easier for everyone.
Payment milestones attached to the booking
- When an event is confirmed, its payment schedule is created from your terms: deposit on confirmation, balance by a set number of days before the event, and any stage payments.
- Invoices are raised in Xero or QuickBooks through their APIs at the right time, with the event reference on them.
- Each invoice has a payment link through Stripe or your chosen provider, so clients can pay by card or bank transfer from the reminder.
- Reminders go out on your schedule, polite and specific: the event, the amount, the date it is due and how to pay.
- If final numbers change the balance, the invoice is updated and the client is told why.
- The events diary shows payment status next to each event, and events with overdue balances are flagged before ordering and staffing deadlines.
| Milestone | Triggered by | What the events team sees |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Booking confirmed | Date secured once paid |
| Stage payment | Set date from your terms | Due or paid |
| Balance | Days before event | Overdue warning before ordering |
| Extras and overtime | After event | Final invoice status |
Payments received in your bank are matched back to the right event, so the status is up to date without anyone ticking a box.
What the office stops doing
Nobody has to remember to raise balance invoices or send reminders. The events team sees at a glance which upcoming events are fully paid, and any that are not are raised before costs are committed, not after.
What you do about a late payer is still your decision. Some clients get flexibility for good reasons. The difference is that you make that decision knowingly, with time to spare, instead of discovering it on the day.
Is this your situation?
- Balances are sometimes still unpaid in the week of the event.
- Balance invoices are raised by hand, and sometimes late.
- Your diary does not show whether an event is paid.
- Reminders are sent when someone remembers.
- Final number changes mean reissuing invoices manually.