What does the notification 'Email undeliverable' mean?

An email sent from Payt, such as an invoice or reminder, has not reached the recipient. The recipient's mail server has returned the email (a 'bounce'), or the email address has been blocked after an earlier failed delivery.

By default, Payt then blocks the invoice, so that no more reminders are sent to an address that does not work. You can also choose to have a letter sent instead. Read more: 'What can I configure for undeliverable emails?'

Where do I see the notification?

On the dashboard, under 'Undeliverable communications'. Click on it and filter by sending method on the left (for example email) to see all dossiers with a delivery error.
In the timeline of the dossier, such as the invoice, customer or collection case page.

In the timeline, the error message looks like this, for example:

The email could not be delivered. The email to demo@example.com was not delivered successfully. The error message received is: Security error. If the address is invalid, the email address must be updated in the source system.

The word after 'The error message received is:' tells you what went wrong. Look up this error message in this article.

Note: the notification only applies to the email address mentioned in it. Was the email also sent to a CC or BCC address? If delivery to one of those addresses fails, Payt blocks the entire sending, even if the email did reach the 'To' address. So always check which address is mentioned in the notification.

Error messages: what do they mean and what should you do?

'Security error' or 'Bounced address'

Cause: with the recipient
Meaning: The email address has been blocked by Payt's mail system, because an earlier delivery to this address failed. For example because the address or domain did not exist at that time. As long as the block is active, Payt does not send anything to this address, even if the address now works. You cannot lift this block yourself.
Solution: follow these steps:
1. Find the original cause. Check the timeline of this dossier, or of earlier dossiers of the same customer, for an earlier 'Email undeliverable' notification. That error message (for example 'User unknown' or 'Host unknown') tells you why the address was blocked.
2. Check the email address letter by letter, especially the part after the @. Also check whether the domain still exists.
3. Is the address incorrect? Update it in your accounting software and follow the steps under 'After resolving: resume the invoice and resend'.
4. Is the address correct? Contact Payt support and include the email address and the invoice number. We will look up the original error message and lift the block if the address can be reached again.

'User unknown'

Cause: with the recipient
Meaning: The email address probably does not exist (anymore). For example because of a typo, an old email address or an address that the customer did not pass on correctly. Is the address correct? Then something is going wrong on the recipient's side. This can also be temporary.
Solution: Correct the email address in your accounting software. If the address is correct, ask the customer to check their email settings.

'Host unknown'

Cause: with the recipient
Meaning: The recipient's domain (the part after the @) cannot be reached. For example because it is temporarily offline, no longer exists or is misspelled.
Solution: Check whether the domain is spelled correctly and still exists. If the domain is temporarily offline, resend the email later.

'Mailbox full'

Cause: with the recipient
Meaning: The recipient's mailbox is full. This is usually temporary.
Solution: Ask the customer to free up space in their mailbox, then resend the email.

'Network error'

Cause: with the recipient
Meaning: There is (or was) a temporary issue with the recipient's mail server.
Solution: Resend the email later. If that doesn't work, contact the customer.

'Expired'

Cause: with the recipient
Meaning: The email could not be delivered in time, even after several automatic attempts. Payt therefore does not try again. This usually happens when the recipient's mail server is temporarily unreachable.
Solution: Ask the customer to check whether their email service is working normally, then resend the email.

'Filtered'

Cause: with the recipient
Meaning: The recipient's mail server has filtered the email automatically. This often happens with Hotmail and Outlook, which are strict about which emails reach the inbox. The email is usually in the recipient's spam folder.
Solution: ask the customer to:
1. check their spam folder and mark the email as not spam;
2. add the sender address of your administration as a contact. You can find the sender address via the gear icon in the top right (administration settings) > 'Email' tab;
3. provide a different email address if the problem keeps coming back.

'Blocked'

Cause: with the sender or the recipient
Meaning: The recipient's mail server has actively refused the email. For example because the sender is blocked, the recipient has marked the sender as 'Junk', or because the email is seen as spam.
Solution: Ask the customer whether there is a block on their side. If the error message is some time old, resend the email.

'No relaying'

Cause: with the sender or the recipient
Meaning: This error message is about forwarding email between mail servers. The recipient's mail server does not accept the email.
Solution: follow these steps:
1. Check your own email settings: go to the gear icon in the top right (administration settings) > 'Email' tab and synchronise the DMARC policy and the CNAME records. Is something not set up correctly? Then follow 'How should I set up my email?'
2. Are your settings correct? Then the recipient's mail server probably does not accept the email. What needs to happen next depends on the situation. Contact Payt support and include the email address and the invoice number.

'DKIM required for recipient domain'

Cause: with the sender
Meaning: Your email settings do not meet the recipient's requirements. More and more recipients require a DKIM and/or DMARC policy.
Solution: Follow the article 'How should I set up my email?'

'Unknown'

Cause: with the sender or the recipient
Meaning: The mail server did not return a clear reason. There can be several causes.
Solution: Contact Payt support and include the email address and the invoice number. Together we will find out what is causing it.

No error message, but the customer did not receive the email

Is there no error message in the timeline, but has the customer told you the email did not arrive? You cannot see yourself whether the email was delivered to the customer's inbox. Follow these steps:

Check in the timeline of the invoice which email address the email was sent to, and whether that is the correct address.
Ask the customer to check their spam folder (or junk email folder).
Have you done both and still can't find the email? Contact Payt support and include the email address, the invoice number and the date it was sent.

After resolving: resume the invoice and resend

Have you found the cause of the error message? Then follow these steps:

Resolve the cause. See in this article what to do for each error message.
Update the email address if needed in your accounting software. The new address is copied to Payt with the next import. Don't want to wait? Start an import yourself via 'Import' at the top > 'Import now'.
Resume the invoice via the 'Actions' button on the invoice page. The 'Email undeliverable' notification then disappears automatically from the list of undeliverable communications.
Resend the email (if needed). In the timeline, click the three dots next to the failed sending and choose 'Resend email'. Or reschedule the invoice step via 'Edit step'.

Removing the notification without resuming the invoice

Don't want to resume the invoice, but do want to remove the notification from the list of undeliverable communications? There are two ways to do this:

Per dossier
Go to the 'Email undeliverable' notification in the timeline of the dossier. Click the blue text 'Resolve' next to the notification.
For multiple dossiers at once
Go to the overview (for example the invoices or customers page) and tick the dossiers. Click 'Bulk actions' in the top right and choose 'Acknowledge notifications'.

How do I resolve the error message ‘Email not deliverable’?