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# Collections & Payments

**Collections & payments** in Tabs is the system that closes the billing lifecycle — tracking what customers owe, following up on overdue invoices, collecting payment, and reconciling cash to the right invoices in your ERP.

## Role in Tabs

Collections and payments sit at the end of the Tabs lifecycle — after invoices are sent:

1. **Billing terms** generate **invoices**
2. Invoices move through collections workflows (sent → pending → overdue → paid)
3. **Payments** settle invoice balances
4. Payment and reconciliation data sync to your **ERP**

Tabs automates receivables management so finance teams spend less time chasing payments and manually matching bank transactions.

**Billing** covers invoice generation and delivery. **Collections & payments** covers everything that happens after an invoice is sent — reminders, payment collection, cash application, and credits. See [Invoices & Integrations](/billing-invoices) for how invoices are created and synced.

For the full entity hierarchy, see [Tabs data model](/data-model).

## Invoice statuses

As invoices move through collections, they pass through these workflow stages:

| Status      | Meaning                                                                                                            |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Sent**    | Invoice delivered to the customer, awaiting payment                                                                |
| **Pending** | Payment in progress — use when a customer has notified you payment is on the way, or when Stripe/ACH is processing |
| **Overdue** | Past due date with no payment received                                                                             |
| **Paid**    | Payment received and applied to the invoice                                                                        |

Tabs provides kanban-style tracking so you can see which invoices are paid, pending, or overdue at a glance.

## Explore collections & payments

#### [Collections & Receivables](/collections-receivables)

Monitoring outstanding invoices, dunning, aging, and the Collections Agent.

#### [Payments & Integrations](/payments-integrations)

Recording payments, Stripe, Plaid cash application, credit memos, and ERP sync.

#### [Set up Stripe](/stripe)

Connect Stripe for automated payment collection.

#### [Set up Plaid](/plaid)

Connect your bank for cash application and reconciliation.