Reminders and overdue balances
The emails sent before, on and after the due date, and what happens to an order whose balance stays unpaid.
Every open balance follows the same steps, set under WooCommerce → Depositline → Reminders. Each email carries the balance's payment link. Each step runs at 9:00 in the store's time zone, and only while the balance is still unpaid: once it's paid or cancelled, the steps stop.
Set the reminders
- Go to WooCommerce → Depositline.
- Under Reminders, set:
- Before the due date: how many days before, email the payment link (3 by default; 0 for no reminder).
- When it's overdue: how many reminders after the due date (2 by default; 0 for none), one every so many days (3 by default).
- Still unpaid after that: what happens next (see below).
- Click Save Changes.
A step that's already scheduled keeps its time; the steps after it follow the new settings.
The steps
With the default settings, for a balance due on November 3:
| When | What happens | The email says |
|---|---|---|
| October 31 (3 days before) | The payment link is emailed. | "This is the balance of $80.00 for your order #123, due on November 3, 2026." |
| November 3 (the due date) | The saved card is charged, if the customer agreed and Saved cards is still on. If not, or if the charge fails, the link is emailed. | "The balance of $80.00 for your order #123 is due today." (or why the card couldn't be charged) |
| November 6 and 9 | A reminder, twice. | "The balance of $80.00 for your order #123 was due on November 3, 2026 and hasn't been paid yet." |
| November 12 | The Still unpaid after that action. |
Each email is noted on the balance order, for example "Balance reminder sent to the customer (due soon)." If the deposit is paid fewer days before the due date than the reminder needs, the first step is the due date itself.
On a deposit order with an open balance, the Deposit box shows Next reminder or charge: with its date and time.
When it's still unpaid
Still unpaid after that runs one interval after the last overdue reminder:
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Nothing: keep the order as it is | The order stays Partially paid and no more emails are sent. The customer can still pay the balance. |
| Move the order to On hold (the default) | The order goes to On hold with the note "The balance is overdue and still unpaid." The customer can still pay; the order then moves on to Processing. |
| Cancel the order and keep the deposit | The balance order and the order are cancelled, with the note "Cancelled: the balance is overdue and still unpaid. The deposit is kept." |
| Cancel the order and refund the deposit | As above, and the deposit is refunded through its payment method. |
Cancelling an order puts its stock back. When the payment method can't refund automatically (for example a check), the order gets the note "The deposit could not be refunded automatically (…): refund it from this order." Refund it by hand from the order.
Moving the due date
Moving the due date on an order plans its steps again from the new date, starting with the reminder before it. See Deposits on the order screen.
While Depositline is deactivated or paused
Nothing is collected while Depositline is deactivated, or paused because another deposits plugin is active: no reminders, no charges and no overdue actions. When it's active again, each open balance picks up where it was. A step that came due in the meantime runs straight away, and a "due soon" reminder whose due date has passed is skipped for the due-date step. Orders whose balance was paid in the meantime move on to Processing.
Tip
The steps are WooCommerce scheduled actions. You can see them under Tools → Scheduled Actions, searching for depositline.