I work for a company who is looking at possibly needing to sue someone for non payment. She claims she has never received an invoice from us, but we have mailed, faxed, and emailed her invoices. I need proof that we emailed that invoice to her multiple times, but I cannot find anywhere in QuickBooks Pro 06 where I can pull up previously sent emails, not even a report!
Does anyone have any ideas?
Contact Intuit. Maybe they have record of the invoices sent through their e-mail server. Otherwise you are SOL.
Hindsight is 20:20, isn't it?
I've started to CC myself with all emailed QB correspondence.
Beege
I think it is safer to print or save to pdf file and e-mail it myself using my own e-mail client. For troublesome clients, I also cc myself.
This is insane!! I think it's crazy that Intuit does not save some sort of record of emails sent. Why would they not?? Holy cow, this is so bad. All I can say is I wish I knew sooner.
How overdue is the invoice? If more than 60 days then you should have been sending an invoice using certified mail instead of fax or e-mail. If I have to send an invoice more than once it is also sent using certified mail because sometimes it means they are messing with the vendor and trying to find ways to weasel out of paying.
Only the obvious: Email is a convenience, not a contract. Reliance on email for anything substative is not a good idea.
Even if you could prove that you sent the emails, they could still say they never received them. They could claim an error on their email server, or it just got lost in the internet. Even if you CC yourself, that only proves you sent it. I rely on emailed invoices myself, though I use the a PDF creator and control the process myself, rather than rely on Intuit. But I follow that up with a phone call or email to make sure that the client is ok with emailed invoices and that they received it.
Gary
Well now that she knows, what is her excuse for not paying it now? Paula
You can use third party web based software like InLattice.Net to get a cofirmation when the customer has viewed the invoice.
Invoice tracking is not an issue for vendors, whose customers are using Inlattice. They know when the invoice is viewed, approved and posted to the accounting package.
My first reaction is that it is a real PITA that Intuit doesn't provide you with email confirmations. Though, I guess that you would want to prove she actually SAW the email that was sent.
My second thought is that while the email record is nice to have, you should be able to forge ahead anyway. You have the fax receipts.. mail a copy certified, with a nice collection notice, and then do what is necessary. Notate, also, the date you spoke with her and you found out the invoice was 'not received. Because, at least on that date, she was reminded of the services and notified of the amount she owed.
In the future, keep client notes whenever you find it necessary to mail an additional copy of an invoice. Oh, and keep copies of any deposit checks you receive. Not only do they show intent to purchase services/goods from you, they also provide financial information you will need if the client fails to pay.
If I understand your post, the client is not denying that services/goods were provided. The client is not faulting the services/goods --- no letters stating dissatisfaction. The reasonable expectation is that they PAY FOR WHAT THEY RECEIVED.
"I never got a bill" is not a legal excuse.
A word of advice if it is small claims court. In my state, (and I think it is a federal thing) if your customer fails to show, you must prove that the defendant is not a member of any branch of the armed forces (a safety for service folk, so they don't get sued while overseas). Do the search ahead of time. Then, if your customer doesn't show, you are ready to submit the documentation.
If you're questioning whether an invoice was delivered, open the invoice and try to change it (Say, add a "customer message") When you save it, it will say "This invoice has already been sent, would you like to send another copy?" That's what I use to check if I sent an invoice or not.
Hi everyone!
QuickBooks does offer the option to track invoices emailed from the program. It's call "Billing Solutions" and you can learn more about it here:
Good luck, Amy
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Ah ha! Now we know why emails have to pass through Intuit's server !
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