Payment reminder automations email your client before a payment is due, so you don’t have to track each due date yourself.
Which trigger to use
Use Deposit Due, Installment Due, or Final Payment Due. Each one runs a set number of days before or after that type of payment’s due date. If you want a reminder for every type of payment, set up one automation for each trigger. That also lets you write a different email for each, for example “Your deposit is due” and “Your final balance is due.”
Payment Due is an older trigger that covers all payment types at once. It works differently:
It only appears in the trigger list if payment authorizations are turned on for your account.
It only runs on trips with exactly one itinerary. If a trip has several itinerary options, Payment Due doesn’t run.
It sends one email per due date. If two payments are due on the same day, your client gets one email.
Note: If you use Payment Due together with Deposit Due, Installment Due, or Final Payment Due, your client can get two reminders for the same payment. Use one approach or the other.
Before you start
The trip is published.
The trip has a payment schedule with due dates. See Payment Schedules.
The payment has an amount above $0 and still has a balance.
Steps
Go to Library, then Automations, and click + New.
Name the automation so you’ll recognize it later, for example “Deposit reminder, 7 days.”Set the type to Trip.
Payment reminders are always trip automations.Choose your trigger and timing.
Select Deposit Due, Installment Due, or Final Payment Due. Then set how many days Before event the reminder should go out, for example 7 days before. You can also choose After event to send a follow-up once the due date has passed.
Add a Send Email action.
Pick an email template from your library, or write the email here. Add the Trip Link variable so your client can open the trip and pay.Choose the recipient.
Select Primary Contact, All Travelers on Trip, or All Full Access Travelers on Trip.Set the automation to active and click Save and close.
An automation that isn’t active will never send.Add the automation to a trip workflow.
A workflow applies the automation to your trips. Set the workflow to auto-apply, for example when a trip moves to Booked. See Automation in Tern.
You’ll know it worked when
You open a trip, go to its Automations tab, and see the reminder listed with an upcoming trigger date.
Common issues
The reminder doesn’t show a trigger date.
Check that the trip is published, the payment has a due date, and the payment still has a balance. If the reminder’s send time had already passed when the automation was added, that reminder is skipped. It isn’t sent late. For more, see How can I make sure my automation is set up correctly when there is no “upcoming trigger date”?
My client authorized the payment but still got a reminder.
A Deposit Due, Installment Due, or Final Payment Due reminder keeps sending until the payment is recorded as paid in Tern. An authorization alone doesn’t stop it. Record the payment once you charge it.
The client paid early. Will later reminders still send?
If the payment is recorded as paid in full, later Deposit Due, Installment Due, and Final Payment Due reminders for it don’t send. If the payment is only partly paid, the reminders still send.
My client got two reminders for the same payment.
Your workflow has both Payment Due and a Deposit Due, Installment Due, or Final Payment Due automation. Remove one of them.
I want to thank the client after they pay.
Use Deposit Paid, Installment Paid, or Final Payment Paid with a Send Email action. These run when a payment brings that payment’s balance to $0. That can be a payment you log, a card charge, or an automatic charge. Authorizations and partial payments don’t trigger them.
Can the email show the amount or due date?
No. Automation emails can only use Recipient First Name, Recipient Last Name, Trip Name, and Trip Link. Write the amount into the email yourself, or point your client to the trip link, where they can see their payment schedule.
I turned a reminder off and back on. Did I lose any reminders?
Reminders that would have sent while it was off aren’t sent. Once you turn it back on, Tern schedules the next upcoming reminder.