Some publishers send the invoice together with the magazine, shrink-wrapped. In this case, the invoice also functions as the address carrier, which means an invoice must be sent with each issue, regardless of whether there is an amount to be charged or not.
Iteras supports this type of invoicing with the billing method “Self-printed payment slip”. As the name suggests, the publisher is responsible for printing (and sending) the invoice. Iteras provides a file containing the data to appear on the invoice. Iteras still manages everything - the publisher simply downloads the address file from Iteras in the format that includes a payment slip (there is only one address format that includes a payment slip).
When you print your own payment slips, unlike other billing methods offered by Iteras, these are not technically invoices, but payment notices. A payment notice is, simply put, a payment slip with an amount that needs to be paid. Above the payment slip, the publisher typically prints other information, such as promotional content about the issue or similar. However, no invoice number is printed, as it is not considered an actual invoice.
That does not mean an invoice doesn’t exist. Iteras generates invoices in the usual way (though at processing time, not at dispatch), and the sum of outstanding invoices is then collected and shown on the payment notice. A single payment notice may include amounts from several invoices. If the subscriber needs the underlying invoices, they can access them via the self-service portal.
Since the invoice is sent with the magazine, the settings for timing and synchronization, which control the dispatch of invoices in other billing methods, have no effect on print-it-yourself.
Reminders are partially integrated into print-it-yourself payment notices, as each notice includes the outstanding balance as of the date when the address list was pulled from Iteras. This date is also printed on the payment notice. It would be misleading not to include the outstanding balance here. Additionally, if reminders are enabled, regular reminders can be sent separately—which is useful, since otherwise a long time might pass between reminders (if they were only sent with each magazine issue).
Note that the due date on print-it-yourself invoices is calculated from the publication date, not from the send date as with other billing methods. This is because the publication date is the day the subscriber receives the magazine in hand.
You may receive inquiries from subscribers who claim to have “already paid” and do not understand why they are receiving a payment slip showing an outstanding balance. This often happens when the subscriber paid after - or very close to - the statement date (it can take a couple of days from when a payment hits the bank account until it is registered in Iteras, as both the banks and Betalingsservice take about a day each to pass on the payment information). If, for this reason, the subscriber ends up overpaying, the excess amount will automatically be deducted from the next invoice, and this will be reflected on the payment notice.
Print-it-yourself can be used in combination with a credit limit, where delivery is suspended once a certain outstanding balance is reached, and then a reminder is sent for the total owed amount - regardless of whether it’s from one or multiple invoices. Until the credit limit is reached, no reminders are sent.