---
title: "Organization settings and first follow-up delay"
canonical: https://www.billabex.com/en/help/integrations-settings/organization-settings-first-follow-up-delay/
lang: en
alternate: https://www.billabex.com/fr/aide/integrations-parametres/parametres-organisation-delai-premiere-relance.md
updated: 2026-09-27
index: https://www.billabex.com/llms.txt
---

# Organization settings and first follow-up delay

<section class="help-summary" aria-labelledby="in-short"><h2 id="in-short">In short</h2><p>The <strong>First reminder</strong> block of <strong>Settings > General</strong> decides from when the agent may send the very first automatic reminder of an account, before or after the due date. The <strong>Default</strong> value applies to accounts without a payment method and to methods without an exception. <strong>Exceptions by payment method</strong> adjust bank transfer and direct debit.</p></section>

## Expected result

The default value and each exception match the organization’s policy, and future scheduling uses them.

## Before you start

- Agree on the intended delays with the collections owner.
- Set the payment method of the accounts an exception should cover.
- Locate one unpaused account to observe future scheduling.

## Procedure

1. Open **Settings > General** and confirm you are editing the right organization.
2. In **First reminder**, click **Edit** next to **Default**.
3. In **First reminder possible**, choose **Before the due date** or **After the due date**, enter the **Number of days**, then **Save**.
4. Under **Exceptions by payment method**, a method showing **Same as default** follows the default value. Click **Customize** to give it its own rule, prefilled with the recommendation: 7 days before the due date for bank transfer, 2 days after for direct debit.
5. To make a customized method follow the default again, click **Back to default**.
6. On an eligible account, inspect the next schedule after recalculation.

## What Billabex does

Without a rule, the screen shows the standard pace: a reminder 3 business days before the due date. The setting only concerns the very first automatic reminder; it changes nothing to the pace of later reminders, nor to accounts already reminded. When the default changes, only the methods that follow it change with it. The agent combines this delay with due dates, business days and account context, so a pause or open task still blocks a reminder.

Every change appears in the audit log, including a method set back to the default delay.

## If the result is not what you expected

- A change cannot move a communication that was already sent or is no longer eligible.
- A method that keeps its former delay after the default changed was customized: use **Back to default**.
- The number of days must be a whole number between 1 and 365.
- Compare accounts in the same situation and with the same payment method before deciding the delay was ignored.