Customers who paid late in Xero, even after they paid
An overdue report only shows what is still unpaid. Late payment history asks a different question: which payments arrived after the invoice was due, even if that invoice is settled now.
By Manny Sidhu · Practical guide · Published · Updated
What counts as a late payment
Ask Alex compares each payment recorded against a sales invoice in Xero with that invoice's due date. A payment dated after the due date is late. A payment made on the due date counts as on time.
Payments are selected by the date they were received, not by when the invoice was issued or due. Invoices that are now fully paid are included, and a partial payment counts only the amount that arrived late.
What each customer's line shows
For each customer with late payments, the answer shows the amount received late, how many invoices those payments were for, and the most days any of those payments arrived after its due date. Amounts include tax, because they are the payments Xero recorded.
Customers are listed from the largest amount received late. The answer names five by default, or from 1 to 20 if you ask for a specific number. The receipt holds every customer's figures.
An illustrative example
Illustrative example, not customer data: in the September quarter, one customer paid a A$22,000 invoice 14 days after it was due. Another paid A$9,900 on one invoice 3 days late and A$3,300 on a second invoice 40 days late. The first customer is listed first, with A$22,000 across one invoice, up to 14 days late. The second follows with A$13,200 across two invoices, up to 40 days late.
Which due date is used
The due date comes from the version of the invoice that AirCEO captured with the payment, including any change to the due date recorded in Xero.
If an invoice has no due date, its payments cannot be classed as on time or late. The answer counts them separately, says how many there are, and marks its confidence as limited.
What this list leaves out
This is late money received. Invoices that are still unpaid, credit notes, refunds, and settlements that were not payments are not included. Balances still owed today are covered in the guide on overdue invoices in Xero.
If any payment in your dates cannot be tied to the invoice it paid, Ask Alex says late payment history cannot be established, rather than leaving that payment out.
The records show when money arrived, not why it was late, and Ask Alex does not guess. Asking about one named customer is not supported yet.
Dates and currency
All payments in your dates must be in one currency. Days outside the Xero history AirCEO has synced are not counted as zero. The answer states the dates that history covers and, where it can, offers to answer for those dates instead.
What each answer shows
Every Ask Alex answer lists its source, scope, time, assumptions, and calculation, along with the Xero payments behind each figure. The amounts, invoice counts, and days late are calculated by code from those records.