Automated late fees in Kinnovis help you save time, reduce payment delays, and apply consistent late payment rules across your business. By setting clear rules at each location, you can automatically charge overdue invoices without needing to track them manually.
With this feature, you can:
Apply late fees as a fixed amount or a percentage of the overdue invoice.
Define custom grace periods before the fee applies.
Set minimum thresholds so small balances aren’t penalised.
Set up multiple late fee stages with different terms.
Stop automated late fees for specific invoices.
Issue manual late fees when required.
Keep both operators and customers informed with clear invoice labelling and email notifications.
1. Setting Up Automated Late Fees
You can set up late fees for each location independently.
Step 1: Go to Location Settings > Late Fee section
Step 2: Activate Automated Late Fees by using the toggle
Step 3: Add Late Fee Stages
Click Add Late Fee to create several stages
For each stage, you can define:
Grace Period - X days after invoice due date, i.e. the delay before the late fee invoice is issued (e.g. 7 days after the due date)
Invoice Note – this text will be shown on the late fee invoice + the associated overdue invoice number for which the late fee is applied will be added automatically next to this text (e.g. "Late Fee Stage 1 for invoice" F788C1D3-41817)
Fee Type – Fixed amount (€) or percentage (%) of the overdue invoice balance
Amount – The fee to apply (e.g. 20€ or 10%)
Threshold – The minimum overdue balance required to trigger the fee (optional to define) (e.g. no automated late fees should be triggered for invoices below 10€)
Step 4: Click Save to activate automated late fees for this location
Automated Order of Stages
The shortest grace period becomes Stage 1.
Additional stages are applied in chronological order of the grace period.
You can set up to 15 stages, but most operators use fewer than 5.
Initial Activation Automated Late Fees
Note: Automated late fees only apply to invoices that become overdue after the settings are set up and saved. Existing overdue invoices won’t be charged automatically.
2. How Automated Late Fees Work
Late fees apply only to invoices with a Past Due status.
When a fee is triggered, Kinnovis creates a new late fee invoice linked to the overdue invoice.
Percentage-based fees are calculated on the amount due (gross) after discounts or credit notes.
You can void a late fee invoice or issue a credit note if needed.
No taxes are charged on late fees.
Payment charges for automated late fees
Automated late fees in Kinnovis are not charged automatically to avoid legal issues, reduce disputes, and maintain transparency. In many regions, penalty charges require separate customer consent, even if regular payments are on autopay. Sending an invoice with a payment link ensures customers see the fee, understand why it was applied, and can choose how to pay, while giving operators flexibility to void or credit the charge if needed.
Customers are not automatically charged for automated late fee invoices - instead, they receive the invoice with a payment link for manual payment.
3. Stopping Automated Late Fees for a Specific Invoice
If you need to prevent automated late fees from being applied to a particular overdue invoice — for example, due to a dispute, customer goodwill, or billing error — you can stop them by applying a manual exemption.
Go the specific overdue invoice and click on Actions > "Stop automated late fees".
You will see the tag on the late fee invoice table:
Be aware that this tag will also be shown for invoices that had the status "past due" the moment the automated late fee feature was activated. Theses won't get late feed as described here.
4. Customer Notifications
Whenever a late fee invoice is created (automatically or manually), Kinnovis can send an email notification to the customer.
Go to Emails and set up the trigger "Late-fee invoice created".
We advise you to include these merge tags in the email:
The late fee invoice note (to indicate e.g. the late fee stage)
The overdue invoice number
The late fee amount charged
A payment link
5. Visibility of Late Fees
In the Manager:
Late fee invoices appear at the booking level, on the customer profile, and on the original invoice page.
On the invoice overview page, you can filter invoices to show only late fees.
In the Customer Portal:
Customers see late fee invoices clearly labelled alongside their other invoices.
Summary
If you prefer not to use automated late fees, you can still apply charges using the manual late fee function. Manual late fees can be issued for overdue invoices at any time, even when automated late fees are turned off. Read this article for more information.