Use Customer Balances to see what customers owe your duka, identify customers with credit, open their account records and manage debt reminders.
Log in to Duka Maps, select your duka and open Customer Balances from the Admin Menu. You can also reach it through All customer balances on Customer Debts & Credits. Confirm the duka before taking action.
Access and Permissions
You need Manage Customer Debts & Credits permission and an active main subscription to open this page.
To send debt reminders or change customer-specific reminder settings, also obtain Send SMS and Customer Debt Reminders permission. To use Add Customer, you need Add, View and Edit Duka Customers permission.
Understand the Totals
The top of the page shows:
| Total | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Customers owe | The combined outstanding debts owed to this duka. |
| Customer credit | The combined credit held in customers’ accounts. |
Debts and credits are shown separately. Credit belonging to one customer does not settle another customer’s debt. These totals cover the whole duka, even when you search for a particular customer.
Read a Customer’s Balance
The table shows the customer, balance in KSh and status:
| Example balance | Status | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| -500.00 | Customer owes duka | The customer owes KSh 500. |
| 500.00 | Customer has credit | The customer’s account has KSh 500 credit. |
| 0.00 | Settled | The customer has neither outstanding debt nor credit. |
A negative amount is debt; a positive amount is customer credit. A balance is the result of the account entries, not a value you edit directly on this page.
Click the customer’s name to open their account on Customer Debts & Credits. Review the entries and record charges, payments, cash credit refunds or permitted write-offs there. Use the Customer Debts & Credits button to return to the main entry page.
Find a Customer
Enter a name, phone number, email address, ID or account number in the search field. Results update as you type; you can also click Search. Clear the field to return to the full list. Use the page controls to view more results.
For partial phone-number searches, use at least four digits. Confirm the customer’s identity before opening their account or sending a reminder.
If you have the required customer permission, Add Customer opens the customer form. Creating a customer does not create a debt or credit balance; record any opening balance separately in Customer Debts & Credits.
Send a Debt Reminder Immediately
For a customer whose status is Customer owes duka, the Status column shows Send debt reminder when you have permission.
- Confirm the customer and outstanding balance.
- Click Send debt reminder.
- Wait for the result beside the button.
- Check SMS history if the outcome is unclear.
Clicking the button attempts to send immediately without opening Send SMS or reloading the whole page. There is no separate message-composition step: the reminder uses the defined wording, current debt, duka name, customer greeting, saved payment instructions and contact footer.
Messages go to the customer’s primary phone number only. Alternative numbers are not included. Manual reminders do not wait for the customer’s preferred automatic sending hour.
A reminder cannot normally be repeated within 24 hours of the previous reminder. The page indicates when another reminder can be sent. This protection applies across manual and automatic reminders.
If the result is uncertain, check SMS history before trying again. A delayed response does not prove that the message was not sent.
Review Reminder Activity
For debtors, the Status column may also show:
- Reminders since last payment: the number of debt reminders recorded as sent since the latest Receive Payment/Prepayment entry. If no payment has been recorded, it counts the customer’s sent debt reminders.
- Automatic reminders: the frequency currently applying to this customer.
- Next scheduled: when the next reminder becomes eligible, shown in East Africa Time (EAT).
- Promised payment: the customer’s saved payment date, where provided.
- A note explaining a recent automatic-reminder problem, where applicable.
The reminder count includes manual and automatic debt reminders recorded as sent. It excludes failed attempts and other account-notification messages. Recording a payment, including a partial payment, starts a new count. A bad debt write-off does not count as a payment and does not reset the counter.
Use a high count as a prompt to review the account and consider another form of follow-up. It does not prove that the customer read the messages or refused to pay.
Set a Customer’s Automatic Reminder Schedule
Expand Reminder settings beneath the debtor’s status. Choose a Customer schedule:
| Choice | What it does |
|---|---|
| Use duka settings | Uses the default frequency and sending hour saved in SMS Settings. |
| Custom schedule | Uses a frequency and sending hour chosen for this customer. |
| No automatic reminders | Stops routine automatic reminders for this customer. |
For a custom schedule, select Custom frequency and Custom sending hour (EAT). Available frequencies include daily, every 2-6 days, weekly, every 2 weeks, every 3 weeks and monthly. Sending-hour choices run from 8 am to 8 pm.
Changing the frequency or sending hour automatically switches the selection to Custom schedule. Click Save reminder settings to apply the changes. Choosing values without saving does not update the customer’s schedule.
The selected hour is when a routine reminder becomes eligible on its scheduled day, not a guarantee of delivery at that exact time. The background service must run, and all sending checks must pass. Monthly uses a calendar-month interval.
A new or changed routine schedule starts its configured interval rather than immediately sending a message. The displayed next scheduled time helps you see when it becomes due.
Choosing No automatic reminders does not remove the manual Send debt reminder option. Choosing Off in the duka’s default settings does not disable a customer’s separate custom schedule.
Record a Promised Payment Date
In Reminder settings, enter the Promised payment date and save. Choose today or a future date. Only a date is requested; no payment time is entered.
An enabled promise reminder becomes eligible from 8 am Nairobi time on the promised date. Future enabled promises pause routine automatic reminders until that date. A reminder sent on the promised date includes as you promised in its wording.
If the customer is set to No automatic reminders, select Enable promise reminder even when automatic reminders are off when you want the promise reminder to remain active.
A partial payment does not remove the promise while debt remains. Fully clearing the debt cancels pending debt reminders and the promise. A promise is a follow-up date, not a payment or an account-balance adjustment.
The 24-hour reminder protection still applies. Sending a manual reminder shortly before the promised date may delay the promise reminder. A promise reminder is not guaranteed to arrive at precisely 8 am.
Requirements for Sending
Before a reminder can be sent, the duka needs an active subscription, valid saved SMS contact and payment instructions, and a valid customer primary phone number.
With the DukaMaps account, sufficient purchased SMS units must be available. With an activated own HostPinnacle account, that account is used for the reminder and its SMS balance must be maintained directly with HostPinnacle. DukaMaps does not deduct its own credits in that mode.
If a reminder is blocked, read the displayed explanation and correct the relevant problem. A failed reminder does not record a payment or change the customer’s debt. If the sending result is Unknown, ask a DukaMaps administrator to verify it before retrying.
Common Questions
Can I record a payment here?
Click the customer’s name and record it on Customer Debts & Credits. Saving reminder settings does not change the balance.
Why is Send debt reminder missing?
The customer may have credit or a settled balance, or you may lack Send SMS permission. The button is shown for customers who owe the duka.
Why is the reminder button disabled?
Read the note beside it. A recent reminder or unresolved sending request may prevent another send. Check SMS history before retrying.
Does changing the duka default affect everyone?
It affects customers using Use duka settings. Customers with a Custom schedule or No automatic reminders keep their own selection.
Why has a scheduled reminder not been sent?
Check its due time, any promise date, the latest reminder, subscription, SMS settings and available credits. Automatic reminders also depend on the background service running. Ask the administrator if due reminders remain unsent.
Does the reminder count reset when I write off bad debt?
No. A write-off reduces the debt but is not a customer payment. A full write-off stops reminders because no debt remains.