GoCardless FAQs

This article gives an overview of the time required to process a payment through GoCardless for each available Direct Debit scheme.

Note: The working day timeframes stated in the table below (e.g. +3) are always in relation to the Payment creation (deadline).

Customer location

Scheme required

Payment processing timeframe in working days from creation deadline

Payment creation (deadline)

Payment submission (to bank)

Payment charged

Payment confirmed (successful/failed)

Payout received

Australia

BECS

0

0

+1

+2

+4

Canada

PAD

0

0

+3

+5

+6/7

Denmark *

Betalingsservice

M-8 WD

M-7 WD

Specified WD in Month

Charge date(by end of day)

Charge date+4

Eurozone

SEPA

0

+1

+3

+4

+6

New Zealand

BECS NZ

0

+1

+3

+4/5

+6

Sweden

Autogiro

0

+6

+8

+8

+10

United Kingdom *

Bacs

0

+1

+3

+4

+5

Please note:

The table above is a guide only and does not account for timezone variances or international payouts where available. For more detail on a particular scheme's timings, please click on the applicable scheme name in the table.

Betalingsservice: 'M'refers to the month the customer is being charged in. 'WD' refers to working (business) days.

*The timings specified assume the customer has an active Direct Debit mandate. If they do not, the process will take an additional working day to allow for their mandate to be set up once they've completed the online authorisation form.

We now have dedicatedSetup Guides to help you set up and verify your account!

Click here to learn more

The verification payment is a requirement in order for us to verify that we are paying funds out to the same legal entity we are collecting on behalf of.

IMPORTANT:The bank account you enter must be registered in the same name as the legal entity you are collecting payments on behalf of; e.g. if your company is registered in the name "Example Company", your bank account must also be registered with the account holder name of "Example Company".

This article explains how to make the verification payment, and answers common queries specific to this verification.

How do I make the verification payment?

Where do I find the payment details?

How long does the verification take after I've made the payment?

What happens after I've made the payment?

Will I be reimbursed for the verification payment?

How do I make the verification payment?

Please use online banking to make the verification payment as you would a regular outgoing transfer.

Please do not use other means (e.g. CHAPS, telephone banking, paying in a cheque at your bank etc.) to make the payment as we are unlikely to see all the required details on our statement if you make the payment this way.

Where do I find the payment details?

When you connect your bank account, you will receive an email that contains all of the details of the payment that you need to make. Additionally, the payment details can be found in your account settings under Step 7: Verify Payout Bank Account.

How long does the verification take after I've made the payment?

Onceyou'vemade the verification payment, it may take up to two working days for us to verify your payout bank account.

Payments made during banking hours on working days should appear on our statement the following working day (e.g. if you make the 1p transfer on Monday morning, we will see it on Tuesday).

Payments made after the close of banking hours, over the weekend or on bank holidays will not appear on our statement until two working days after you make the transfer (e.g. if you make the transfer on Friday evening, itwon'tshow on our statement until the following Tuesday).

What happens after I've made the payment?

Each verification payment report we receive is run through an automated check. Providing your bank account details match what we were expecting, your bank account verification will automatically update to verified.

If there is a discrepancy in the details we receive a member of our verification team will be in touch to assist you in completing this step in your verification process.

Will I be reimbursed for the verification payment?

Unfortunately not, the verification payment is non-refundable.

Unable to make the verification payment? Find an alternative method

Australia

(BECS)

Denmark

(Betalingsservice)

Germany & Austria

(SEPA)

Spain

(SEPA)

UK

(Bacs)

Canada

(PAD)

France

(SEPA)

New Zealand

(BECS NZ)

Sweden

(Autogiro)

USA

(ACH)

Australia

Domestic payments

International payments

Transaction fees

1% + $0.40

2% +$0.40 (paid in customer's currency)

Maximum transaction fee (cap)

$4

-

High value payment threshold

$3000

-

High value payment surcharge*

0.1% (uncapped)

-

Chargeback/Failure fee

-

-

*The high-value payment surcharge only applies to domestic payments. The fee is charged on the amount over the high value payment threshold.

Canada

Domestic payments

International payments

Transaction fees

1% + $0.40

2% + $0.40 (paid in customer's currency)

Maximum transaction fee (cap)

$4

-

High value payment threshold

$3000

-

High value payment surcharge*

0.1% (uncapped)

-

Chargeback/Failure fee

-

-

*The high-value payment surcharge only applies to domestic payments. The fee is charged on the amount over the high value payment threshold.

Denmark

Domestic payments

International payments

Transaction fees

1% + 9kr.

2% + 9kr. (paid in customer's currency)

Maximum transaction fee (cap)

20kr.

-

High value payment threshold

10,000 kr.

-

High value payment surcharge*

0.1% (uncapped)

-

Chargeback/Failure fee

-

-

*The high-value payment surcharge only applies to domestic payments. The fee is charged on the amount over the high value payment threshold.

France

Domestic payments

International payments

Transaction fees

1% + 0.20

2% + 0.20 (paid in customer's currency)

Maximum transaction fee (cap)

2

-

High value payment threshold

2000

-

High value payment surcharge*

0.1% (uncapped)

-

Chargeback/Failure fee

-

-

*The high-value payment surcharge only applies to domestic payments. The fee is charged on the amount over the high value payment threshold.

Germany & Austria

Domestic payments

International payments

Transaction fees

1% + 0.20

2% +0.20 (paid in customer's currency)

Maximum transaction fee (cap)

1

-

High value payment threshold

2000

-

High value payment surcharge*

0.1% (uncapped)

-

Chargeback/Failure fee

3.50 (Germany), 7 (Austria)

-

*The high-value payment surcharge only applies to domestic payments. The fee is charged on the amount over the high value payment threshold.

New Zealand

Domestic payments

International payments

Transaction fees

1% + $0.40

2% + $0.40 (paid in customer's currency)

Maximum transaction fee (cap)

$4

-

High value payment threshold

$3000

-

High value payment surcharge*

0.1% (uncapped)

-

Chargeback/Failure fee

-

-

*The high-value payment surcharge only applies to domestic payments. The fee is charged on the amount over the high value payment threshold.

Spain

Domestic payments

International payments

Transaction fees

1% + 0.20

2% + 0.20 (paid in customer's currency)

Maximum transaction fee (cap)

2

-

High value payment threshold

2000

-

High value payment surcharge*

0.1% (uncapped)

-

Chargeback/Failure fee

-

-

*The high-value payment surcharge only applies to domestic payments. The fee is charged on the amount over the high value payment threshold.

Sweden

Domestic payments

International payments

Transaction fees

1% + 2kr

2% + 2kr (paid in customer's currency)

Maximum transaction fee (cap)

20kr

-

High value payment threshold

20,000 kr

-

High value payment surcharge*

0.1% (uncapped)

-

Chargeback/Failure fee

-

-

*The high-value payment surcharge only applies to domestic payments. The fee is charged on the amount over the high value payment threshold.

UK

Domestic payments

International payments

Transaction fees

1% + 20p

2% + 20p (paid in customer's currency)

Maximum transaction fee (cap)

4

-

High value payment threshold

2000

-

High value payment surcharge*

0.1% (uncapped)

-

Chargeback/Failure fee

-

-

*The high-value payment surcharge only applies to domestic payments. The fee is charged on the amount over the high value payment threshold.

USA

Domestic payments

International payments

(coming soon)

Transaction fees

1% + $0.25

2% + $0.25 (paid in customer's currency)

Maximum transaction fee (cap)

$2.50

-

High value payment threshold

$1000

-

High value payment surcharge*

0.1% (uncapped)

-

Chargeback/Failure fee

$4

-

*The high-value payment surcharge only applies to domestic payments. The fee is charged on the amount over the high value payment threshold.

If you have previously been using the GoCardless dashboard or another third party integration, and have recurring payment plans or subscriptions setup for your customers, there is a chance that when connecting to 'GoCardless for Xero', you will raise duplicate payments.

For this reason, we strongly recommend that all subscriptions existing in GoCardless are cancelled when setting up GoCardless for Xero. Our team can help you with this andhave these cancelled silently, without notifying your customers, so that they are not aware that any changes have been made.

If you would like us to do this for you, please raise a ticket with our Support team here.

When signing up to GoCardless for Xero, you will receive the following email and this article is providing the same information here for those people researching the use of the system.

Thank you for signing up to GoCardless for Xero to help you manage your Direct Debit collections.

After you have completed the setup, your Customers and Invoices will pull through automatically from Xero and this process can take up to 10 minutes.

If you have existing subscriptions or plans in the GoCardless dashboard, these will need to be cancelled otherwise duplicate payments may be taken. Please contact our Helpdesk if you would like assistance with cancelling these plans silently.

Should have you any queries or require any assistance please contact theGoCardless for XeroHelpdesk.

This article will show you how to create a recurring subscription for an individual customer.

Viewour video walkthrough on how to set up a subscriptionvia your dashboard, or alternatively scroll down to read the article.

If you need to create a recurring payment plan for an individual active customer, you'll want to create a subscription for them.

1. Find the customer via the Customers page of your dashboard (or use the search bar at the top) and click on their name to open their individual overview page.

2. Click the greenCreate button at the top right of the page and choose Subscription.

here

Please note: if you are signed up to a GoCardless Pro account, you will see two additional options when clicking Create.

Awindow will open where you can enter the parameters of the subscription you would like to create for your customer.

3. Enterthe nameand amount of the subscription

4. Select the frequency you would like to charge your customer

5. Choose the start date when the customer's first payment will be charged

6. Finally, select the length the subscription will run for.

You can choose between "until further notice", or "for a specific number of payments".If choosing the latter, a box will open below where you can specify the number of payment collection in the subscription before it expires.

7. There are also two optionalAdvanced options.

As with one-off payments, once clicked, the window will expand to give two additional options.

The first option, Mandate, enables you to select which mandate youd like to charge, should the customer have more than one.

The second option, Custom fields, allows you to add additional information to the subscription.

8. Click Create Subscription.

You will now see the active subscription listed in the customer's overview page.

To find out how to cancel a customer's subscription, please see our article .

Our bulk payment submission tool allows you to quickly create multiple one-off payments to charge your customers.

Using the bulk payment submission tool

You can access the imports section of your dashboard in two ways:

a) Open the Payments page of your dashboard and clickImport

b) Navigate to this page and login to your GoCardless account if prompted

Once you've reached the Imports page...

1). Click on the Imports button in the top right of your screen

Payment Timings

... and select Bulk create payments

2). A window will open to Create payments in bulk

First, click the link to Download template

3). You should see the CSV template downloading in the bottom right corner of your screen. The download has completed once the status dot turns green.

Click the blue .CSV link to download the file to your computer and open the spreadsheet

4). Once you've opened the spreadsheet you will see information for your active customers pre-populated

The spreadsheet comprises of the following columns.

Please note: if the field shows "Requires Input = No" in the table below, you should not add or edit any data within that column.

COLUMN

COLUMN TITLE

REQUIRES INPUT / ACTION

A

mandate.id

No

B

customer.id

No

C

customer.given_name

No

D

customer.family_name

No

E

customer.company_name

No

F

customer.email

No

G

payment.amount

Yes

H

payment.currency

No

I

payment.description

Optional

J

payment.charge_date

Optional

K

payment.metadata.YOUR_CUSTOM_FIELD

Optional

Optional input fields:

Description (Column I): This is the payment descriptionthat will be included in the customer's notification email.

Charge date (Column J): If this field is left blank, the payment(s) will be charged as soon as possible.

If you do enter a charge date it must be entered in the format YYYY-MM-DD(note that if you're using Excel, the date may automatically be changed to a different format).

You will also need to ensure the date is a minimum of 3-4 working days in the future. For more information, please see our article on .

Payment metadata (Column K):This is an optional field to add an additional reference to an individual payment. This reference is only visible to the merchant from within their dashboard.

Please note: You cannot add new (inactive) customers to this template

5). Once you've entered the information into the spreadsheet, first save it, and then upload the file via thecreate payments in bulk window (Step 2 shows you where to find this page)

6). Click Import payments to begin the upload process (this does not yet submit the payments)

If there are any errors in the CSV you've uploaded, you will be informed of this on the Imports page.You will then be required to correct the errors and then re-upload the CSV.

7). Once the upload has successfully validated, you will see confirmation of this on the Imports page.

Here, you can confirm that the payments you have created for each customer entry are correct via the Valid rows section at the bottom.

8). When you're ready, click Process payments

If you now navigate to the Payments page of your dashboard via the blue menu on the left, you should see these payments available to view with a pending submission status.

Changes from the previous bulk payment submission tool

Our bulk payment import tool now operates directly from within the GoCardless dashboard.

Whilst the process itself is virtually identical to the previous submissions tool process, there are some small changes to be aware of. These are:

The tool is now incorporated into the Imports section of the dashboard

This is also where you can find the ability to import new customers in bulk. The csv templates vary for each type of import and its important to ensure you download the correct template for the task you are doing.

If entering a date, this must be in the format YYYY-MM-DD

If you don't do this, the csv will validate correctly, but an error may be returned when you click to process the submission.

The column titles within the payments submission csv template have changed slightly

Example:

mandate_id has changed to mandate.id

Notice the underscore has been replaced by a dot

If you were using the previous bulk payment submissions tool, please ensure you download a new import template before uploading a new submission.

There are two ways to collect payments, either automatically or manually.

Automatically

During the set up of your GoCardless for Xero account you have the option to choose your payment setting. Choosing to take payment automatically will ensure that for each new invoice you raise for a customer that has a Direct Debit mandate set up, we will automatically collect the payment from the customer on the due date of the invoice.

You can change your payment automation settings in the dashboard under Xero Automation.

payment timings guide

You can exclude certain customers or branding themes from being automatically collected. Find out how to do so here for customers or branding themes.

Manually

If youd rather have greater control over when your customers invoices are collected, you can instead manually schedule invoices for collection.

To do this, you can follow these steps:

1. Create a one-off or repeating invoice in Xero

A one off invoice means that a single payment can be collected, whereas a repeating invoice will allow you to collect the amount specified each time the repeating invoice is generated.

2. Schedule the payment

Go to the Invoices page on the GoCardless for Xero dashboard and find the invoice you would like to collect.

If you want to collect on the invoice due date, first select the invoice by clicking the checkbox on the left of the invoice entry. Next, click Bulk Action in the top right and in the window that opens, select Collect on due date.

If you wish to collect a payment for the invoice as soon as possible, click collect now to initiate the payment - your customer will be charged as soon as possible, based on the scheme timings.

If you see a "No mandate" message on the Status column for a particular invoice, that means your customer hasnt yet set up a Direct Debit yet. If youre unsure of how to invite a customer to set up a Direct Debit, please follow this guide.

3. Sit back and wait for the payment to be collected

Your customer will be notified three business days prior to the payment being collected. The notification they receive will look like this:

Receiving funds

Once your customer is charged, the time needed to transfer the money to your account depends on where your customer is located. For the UK, collected funds will reach your payout account two business days after the customers charge date.

Not based in the UK? Take a look through our for other countries.

In this article you'll learn how to view detailed information about your customers.

1. Click on the Customers tab in the left menu bar to open your Customers page.

customer mandates.

Customers can be filtered by their status -Active, Inactive,orPending.2. Click on a customer's name to view more information specific to them. On a customers page, you can view:

The date they were added

Their email address

Their billing address

The bank accounts they are using to pay you

Any subscriptions you have set them up on

Details of theirpayment history

3. Clicking on the customer's bank account will show more details, along withthe status of their Direct Debit mandate(s)

You can view more information about customer mandate(s) by clicking on their mandate reference.

Find out more about

You are not able to have funds collected in any one currency paid out to more than one bank account.

If you need to be paid into more than one bank account in the same currency, you would need to set up a separate GoCardless account for each bank account you have.

Each GoCardless account would need to be registered with a separate email address and verified before funds can be paid out.

Payment failures can happen for a number of reasons, each of which is given a reason code by the customer's bank according to why the payment couldn't be collected.

Each Direct Debit scheme uses its own set of codes, however the reasons behind them are similar across all.

Common reasons for payment failure

The most common reasons for payment failures are:

REASON

DESCRIPTION

Insufficient funds

The customer doesn't have enough funds in their account to cover the payment.

Instruction cancelled

The customer's Direct Debit Instruction (DDI) is inactive.

No instruction

The customer does not have a Direct Debit Instruction set up with you.In rare cases, this may be due to a small bank requiring additional time to set up a Direct Debit.

Account closed

Your customer's DDI has been cancelled as they've closed their bank account.

In some cases a "catch-all" code may be used by the bank, rather than specifying the actual reason. These can usually be considered as "insufficient funds".

You can view a full list of failure reason codes for each scheme within our Guides.

Being notified of a failure

Standard failures:

In almost all cases, GoCardless receives payment failure reports from payers' banks one working day following the charge date. These will then be processed and the payment status will update accordingly.

Late failures:

In rare cases, the payer's bank sends us a payment failure report more than one business day after the charge date. Consequently, as it is not included in the expected failure report, the payment is marked as 'confirmed'.

Usually in these cases, the bank will inform GoCardless in the following working day's report (two working days after the charge date), however on very rare occasions this can take longer.

Once GoCardless receives notice of the failure, the payment status will be updated.

IMPORTANT

Within the SEPA (Eurozone) Direct Debit scheme, late failures are more commonly found to occur several business days following the payment charge date. As such, we recommend allowing a minimum of 7 business days following confirmation of a payment being successfully charged, before processing a refund of said payment to your customer.

Please note: If GoCardless doesn't receive a failure report by the time the payment is submitted within a payout, the funds will be sent. If GoCardless then subsequently receives the failure report, this will be added to the payment status timeline and you will be notified via email, or webhook if using our API.

The amount of that payment will also be marked as a negative balance on your merchant account to be deducted from your next payout prior to submission to balance out the funds. You will be able to see this in the Debits / Credits breakdown of the corresponding payout in your GoCardless dashboard.

You can find out more about negative balances here.

Viewing the reason for a failure

You are able to view the reason for a payment failure in the status timeline of the payment in your GoCardless dashboard.

If you've built an integration with our API, you will instead receive a webhook with the details of the payment and reason for failure.

Q: How does taking international recurring payments with GoCardless work?

A: With our global network, you can collect international payments from your customers in their currencies, then have the payments converted into your home currency and paid out into your domestic bank account. When you create a payment we indicate the transaction fee and give an estimated exchange rate, so you can better predict the final amount that will arrive in your bank account.

Q: Which currencies does GoCardless support?

A: We currently support payments in GBP, EUR, USD, SEK, DKK, AUD, NZD and CAD. We will notify you as new currencies become available.

Q: Where can my customers be based?

A: You can access a growing number of bank debit schemes via our network, and take recurring payments from customers around the world. At the moment, we can help you reach customers in the UK, the Eurozone, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Canada.

Q: Where do I need to be based?

A: We can currently serve businesses in 30+ countries, so you can sign up to collect payments internationally as long as youre in this list of countries.

Q: Do I need separate bank accounts for each currency that I want to collect?

A: No, youdon'tneed separate bank accounts for each currency. During our sign-up process, you will specify a single bank account as your home currency account, and all of your collected payments will be paid into that account after currency conversion.

Q: What exchange rate does GoCardless use?

A: We use the real exchange rate powered by TransferWise. It is the fairest exchange rate possible, which is the same rate you will find on independent sources such as Google and XE. Wedon'ttake commission on top of this rate, and this service is simply covered by our clear international transaction fee of 2% + 20p, taken in your customers currencies.

Q: What are the hidden fees?

A: Therearen'tany! We want to be as transparent with you as possible, with no fee hidden in the exchange rate. International payments cost 2% + 20p per transaction, taken in your customers currencies.

Q: When is this available?

A:

Our new global network will begin to be available mid-November 2019 in the UK, Europe, Canada, and New Zealand. It will be available in the US and Denmark late 2019 and in Australia in early 2020. You can sign up for a GoCardless account now and we will notify you when international payments are available for your account.

If you are already using GoCardless either through our dashboard or one of our partner integrations, we will be in touch with more information on how you can get started with international payments.

Q:I'ma partner with GoCardless. What do I need to do?

A: If any of your current customers are using us in multiple schemes, you should have already received an update on the technical implementation. Please contact our partnerships team at [email protected]

You are able to provide your Accountant with access to your account. To do this...

1. Open up theSettings section in your left menu bar by clicking the plus sign (+)

2. Open Company Settings

3. Select Team

4.Click Invite Your Accountant in the top right

5.Enter your Accountant's email address in the field provided

6. Then click Invite Accountant

Your Accountant will then receive an email invite to confirm.

Revoking Access

If you need to revoke account access for your Accountant, such as when changing to a new Accountant or bringing this role in-house, you can do so by clicking the red button on the right of their entry within the Authorised Partners section.

This article provides an overview of thedifferent types ofpayments you can create for your customers via the GoCardless dashboard.

These are:

One-off payments

Subscriptions

Plans

Paylinks

Which one you choose will depend on several factors including:

How you want to charge your customer(s)

Whether the customer is already active or still needs to authorise their Direct Debit with you

The method you offer your customers to sign up e.g. via email, a link on your website, etc.

The number of customers you would like to create the payment/subscription for

Heres a run through of when you might want to use each method:

One-off payments

One-off payments are ideal for when you need to create an ad-hoc payment for an individual customer who has already authorised their Direct Debit with you.

These are created via the Create button, which you will find onceyou'venavigated to that customers individual overview page in your dashboard. All you need to do is select Payment from the dropdown menu options.

HERE

Find out how to create a one-off payment for an active customer.

Subscriptions

The Subscription option is used when you would like to create a recurring payment plan for an individual customer.

When creating a subscription for an individual customer you specify the charge amount, frequency, and start date of the subscription. You can also specify the number of payments the subscription runs for or set it to recur indefinitely.

When creating a subscription for an individual customer, you can set the start date for any date up to 13 months in the future.

Find outhow to create a subscription for an individual active customer.

Plans

Plans are created via the Plans page within your dashboard, and can be accessed via the left menu bar.

Learn how to create a plan template.

The Plans feature is beneficial for several use cases

a). You need to charge multiple active customers on the same recurring payment plan.

Onceyou'vecreated a plan, it acts as a template that you can then assign to multiple customers without having to enter the details each time as you would if using the subscription method above.

To add an active customer to a plan, all you need to do is navigate to their individual overview page, then click the Add to plan button at the top and select your desired plan from the dropdown list.

Find out how to addan active customer to a plan.

b). You would like to invite multiple new customers to join the same payment plan via your dashboard.(These are customers whodon'tyet have an active Direct Debit mandate with you).

Onceyou'vecreated a plan you can send an invite to multiple customers at once via your dashboard. When each customer completes the corresponding authorisation form, they will be automatically assigned to that plan and payments will process according to the parametersyou'veset.

Learn more about sendingplan invites to multiple customers.

c). You would like to offer new customers the option of signing up to a recurring payment plan via your website, newsletter, or personalised email.(These are customers who havent yet authorised a Direct Debit with you).

After creating a plan, you can copy the corresponding link and embed it within a button on your website, within an email newsletter or campaign, or other. Once the customer completes the authorisation form they are automatically assigned to the payment plan so youdon'thave to take any further action yourself.

Find out how to getthe plan link and add it to your website, newsletter, or other here.

Paylinks

Paylinks are a great option when you want to enable any number of new customers to sign up to make a one-off payment. As with plans, these links can be added to a website, newsletter, email campaign, and so on.

Once a customer authorises their Direct Debit by following the paylink, their payment will begin processing automatically.

Even after a customer has made their one-off payment, you can create further payments for them without their need to complete their authorisation again if required. Depending on the option chosen when creating the Paylink initially, the customer will either be sent anApprove button that, once clicked, initiates the payment processing; or otherwise will simply receive a notification email advising them of the payment details without their need to take any action.

Paylinks are created via the Payments page within your dashboard.

Learn more about creatingPaylinks .

A payment can be cancelled whilst it is in pending submission status. The timeframe in which a payment will be in this state will vary according to the parameters set when creating the payment (i.e. if a charge date was specified or created to collect as soon as possible), along with the Direct Debit scheme through which the payment is being processed.

Once a payment has moved to submitted status it can no longer be cancelled as the payment collection request has been sent to the bank for processing.

View our Payment Timings Comparison Chart here to see the length of time a payment will remain in pending submission state for each Direct Debit scheme.

Your reconciliation settings are added as part of the GoCardless for Xero account setup process, however you may need to update these at a later date. This article explains how to do so.

To open your GoCardless for Xero reconciliation settings...

1. Open up theSettings section in your left menu bar by clicking the plus sign (+)

2. Open Xero Settings

3. Click on Xero Reconciliation

You should now see a page that looks like this:

As you can see in the screenshot above, there are three fields to confirm your reconciliation settings for. The table below provides an explanation for each.

FIELD

DESCRIPTION

Where your money gets paid out to

This is the bank account in Xero where your funds will be transferred to. During the setup process you selected an account, which you can change here.

NB: This is different from the account you have set up in GoCardless, it is your Xero account.

The interim reconciliation Direct Debit account

To enable the reconciliation process to work effectively we set up a Direct Debit Clearing Account in Xero. This is a holding account before GoCardless fees are deducted. We automatically create an account called Direct Debit during sign up for this process.

NB: The account that monies are paid into cannot be the same as your reconciliation account. If the same account is used, payments will not be reconciled properly.

GoCardless Fees Account

Choose how you would like GoCardless fees to be posted on your Profit & Loss

This is automatically set to 404 - Bank Fees. You can use the dropdown menu to change this if you would prefer an alternative code.

A payment can be cancelled in the GoCardless for Xero dashboard, providing it has not moved to submitted status or beyond.

To cancel a payment...

1. Go to the Invoices page of your GoCardless for Xero dashboard

2. Filter to Scheduled invoices

For invoices that can be cancelled, the Action button will be available on the right side

3. Click the Action button to reveal the Cancel Payment option

4. Once clicked, cancellation of the payment will be confirmed

Paying by Direct Debit (powered by GoCardless) is simple, safe and secure. Its a quick process to set up the initial payment and after making your first payment youll have the option to allow future invoice payments to be collected automatically on the due date of the invoice - saving you time and effort. Payments are secure and protected by the Direct Debit scheme regulations

In order to pay by Direct Debit from the invoice directly, please follow the steps below:

1).Click Pay now on the invoice

Choose the Direct Debit option, then click Make payment

FAQs for customers paying through GoCardless

2). Fill out the online payment form

Enter your bank account details on our secure form. Please note: the details required will vary depending on your country.

If your account requires multiple signatures to authorise Direct Debit mandates you can get more detailed instructions here.

Afteryou'veconfirmed your account details, youll be shown a Thank you screen. Your payment will be collected by Direct Debit on the date shown and youll be notified by email before the payment is collected.

3). Choose if youd like to automate future payments

You have the option to click Yes, pay future invoices automaticallyso that future payments to this business can be collected automatically on the due date of the invoice. We recommend this approach as it saves you the hassle of manually paying for future invoices, and you can be confident that payments are fully protected by the Direct Debit scheme regulations.

What happens if I choose the automatic payment option?

No further action is required from you. You will be notified by email before any future payments are taken on due dates.

What happens if Idon'tchoose this option?

For each future invoice youll need to click on the Pay now option on the invoice, select Direct Debitand clickapprovethis payment.

Your payments are fully protected

GoCardless is trusted by over 40,000 businesses worldwide and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and all payments are protected by the Direct Debit scheme regulations.

Read more about the guarantee here:

Direct Debit Guarantee (UK)

Customer Claims & Protection (AUS)

BECS New Zealand Reversals

You can cancel your Direct Debit at any time.

Read our

Christina Customer Support Manager, UK Christina is passionate about advocatingfor our customers and always keeps this centre stage. She's making big changes here at GoCardless, we can't wait to see what she does next!

Bryan Customer Support Advocate,Australia & New Zealand Bryan grew up on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. A breathtaking Shakira impersonator, he is the life of the party and loves the team spirit here at GoCardless.

Syed Customer Support Advocate, UK Syed grew up in London and has a strong background in Support. He loves working in FinTech and is excited to take everything he's learnt and put it into practice.

Dimple Customer Support Manager, UK Dimple has almost 20 years of experience in managing customer support operations across the UK and Canada. She thrives on being part of such a tight knit team.

John Customer Support Advocate, Australia & New Zealand John is passionate about cycling and loves working as part of such a friendly team. He can often be found chilling with his cats, Pixel and Mote.

Justina Customer Support Advocate, UK Justina is an eager backpacker who will always find a way to quote Parks and Recreationat every opportunity. She seeks to provide the assistance that she would like to receive herself.

Joel Customer Support Advocate, UK Joel makes a mean spaghetti carbonara and can answer any questions you may have about our API or building an integration with GoCardless.

Steph Partnerships Support Manager,UK Steph hails from the middle of the midlands andis working to create her own custom wardrobe. She's overseeing our Partnerships Support team.

Nicola Customer Support Manager,UK Nicolas a loyal Charlton Athletic fan and makes a cracking Sunday roast.She's sharing her extensive knowledge with the next generation at GoCardless.

Yasmin Customer Support Advocate, UK Yasmin loves a bold lipstick and is fluent in German. She's usingher experience of working remotely to expand the team outside of our London office.

Anusha Customer Support Advocate, UK Anusha joined us in 2018 and loves how every day brings a new challenge and forces her to be better than she was the day before.

Anca Partnerships Support Advocate, UK Ancas cycled from London to Paris and also snowboards and plays basketball. She loves the US Office and always has a quote ready to go.

Melanie Customer Support Advocate, France & UK Mel has worked in customer support in France, Dublin and the UK. She's our resident French speaker and can help with any questions en franais!

Pooja Customer Support Advocate, UK Pooja has travelled all over the world and joined GoCardless in 2018. She loves the challenge of being on the front line in such a fast-paced company.

Lisa Customer Support Advocate, UK Lisa is fluent in BSL and loves CrossFit. Not only is she a vegan, but she's also completed adegree in Nutrition. Our Lisa has many talents!

Amy Customer Support Advocate, UKAmy loves gaming andhas been known to attend comic con - in full costume! She loves knowing that she's helping people and we know she's going to do great things!

Kirsty Customer Support Advocate, UK Kirsty is a voracious reader and even saves old books for pulping and collages! She's as creative as she is caring and ispassionate about helping people.

Roy Partnerships Support Advocate, UK Roy hails from sunny Ireland and is a keen climber. He's also quite fond of Eton Mess and enjoys gokarting. Roy joined GoCardless in 2019 and loves learning through osmosis.

MatyasCustomer Support Advocate, UKMatyas believes in putting good out into the universe and looks for opportunities to do so all the time. He joined GoCardless in 2018 and we're lucky to have him!

CiaranCustomer Support Advocate, UKCiaran has a thespian background and challenges himself to cook something new everyday.He loves that we support each other as much as our merchants & customers.

Nicole Customer Support Advocate, UK Nicole loves reading and arts & crafts. Her newest hobbies include embroidery and life drawing. She's happy to help with any questions you may have!

This article will show you how you can track the status of payments being collected from your customers.

There are two ways to track the status of payments you've taken:

From the payments section of your dashboard, you can see a list of all the payments you've taken. You can filter the payments either by when they were create or by the current status of the payment. A common use case is filtering the results to see payments that have recently failed.

From the customers section of your dashboard, you can see a list of the payments taken from each customer afterselecting a customer from this page.

When clicking on a payment, you can see further details relating to that payment. You can also see a detailed payment history.

The payment history for a successful payment will look like the following:

retrying failed payments.

Meanwhile, the payment history for a failed payment will look like this:

Please note: Both examples above were generated via our Sandbox environment using our Scenario Simulators to speed up the process. This is the reason why the date is the same for each status update. In our live environment the dates shown would correspond to our normal payment timings process.

For payments that have failed, you can retry the payment by clicking Retry in the top right of your screen.

Find out more about

Direct Debit cancellations operate slightly differently within New Zealand when compared with other Direct Debit schemes we offer. Depending on how the cancellation is actioned, it could trigger an unintended result. As such, it's important to be aware of thisin advance so you can best advise your customers if and when required.

Customers are able to cancel their Direct Debit in three ways:

Directly with their bank

Requesting cancellation with the merchant they're paying

Requesting cancellation directly with GoCardless

If requesting cancellation from either the merchant they're paying or GoCardless, the customer's Direct Debit cancellation would then be actioned within the GoCardless system.

If, on the other hand, the customer cancels directly with their bank, the bank will cancel all Direct Debits set up against that merchant's authorisation code.

In this case, if the customer then wishes to set up a new Direct Debit against the same authorisation code within nine months of that action being taken, they are required to provide their bank with a paper authorisation form and cannot be charged for a minimum of ten business days following their new Direct Debit being set up.

As such, we recommend that customers paying through BECS NZ request cancellation of their Direct Debit directly with the business/merchant they're paying, or with GoCardless directly.

Direct Debit is a pull based system, best suited for collecting lower value transactions. Larger value payments carry with them an increased risk due to the ability for customers to chargeback payments collected in error under the Direct Debit Guarantee.

In consideration of this, we have a transaction limit in place to protect both merchants and GoCardless from potential large losses.You can see an overview of all transaction limits here.

If you would like to read more about the Direct Debit Guarantee, you can do so here.

In this article you'll learn:

When you can expect to receive a due payout

How you will receive a payout

What information you will receive

How to access more detailed information

When toexpect a payout

Payouts are processed two working days after the customer charge date and should be visible in your bank account between 3-5pm.

Click formore information on our Bacs (UK), SEPA (EUR), and Autogiro (SWE) payment timings.

Receiving a payout

You will receive a maximum of one payout per currency on each day a payout is due.

For example, if you charge ten customers in GBP on the same day, you will receive the sum of those ten payments in one lump sum two working days later, minus our transaction fees. This would be paid out in GBP.

If you are also due a payout on the same day for funds collected from customers in Euros, you would receive this as a separate lump sum payout in Euros, again minus our transaction fees.

Information you'll receive

You will receivea notification email for each payout we process to you. Ifthe numberof payments processed within that payout is less than 100, the email will containa breakdown showingeach customer's payment.

If the payout consists of more than 100individual payments, the email will instead contain a link to your dashboard where you can view the payout breakdown.

Accessing more detailed payout information

You can find detailed information on your payouts within your dashboard.

1. Login to your dashboard and click on Payouts in the left menu bar

HERE

2. Clickon the payout you would like to view in more detail

3. You will now see an overview of the amount collected, fees charged, along with any deductions.

SelectView from the Payout breakdown button to view the payout in more detail.

Alternatively, clickExport via the Payout breakdown button todownload a CSV spreadsheet of this information directly to your computer or other device.

For more information on the notification emails we send, please see .

SEPA Direct Debit Core Scheme

How do customers request a chargeback?

Is there a time limit for customers to requesta chargeback?

SEPA Direct Debit Core Scheme

The SEPA Direct Debit Core Scheme protects customers in Europe from payments that are collected in error.

The SEPA Core Direct Debit Scheme protects customers in three ways:

Notifications- Customers must be notified in advance of each payment. GoCardless notify your customers by email three working days before an individual payment is collected or a subscription is set up.

Chargebacks- Customers are entitled to a full and immediate refund for any payments they claim are collected in error.

Control- Customers are able to:

Instruct how to handle incoming collections by specific merchants specifically or by drawing up black lists(blocking SEPA Direct Debits from certain merchants) and white lists(allowing SEPA Direct Debits from certain merchants)

Set maximum payment amounts and specify payment intervals

Block all Direct Debit collections from their account

How do customers request a chargeback?

Customers can contact their bank and file an indemnity claim to charge back any Direct Debit payments they claim have been collected in error.

In the first 8 weeks customers can also chargeback a payment through their online banking, no questions asked.

The bank will then notify GoCardless of the chargeback.

As soon as we receive notification of the chargeback, an email is triggered to notify the merchant.

Is there a time limit for customers to requesta chargeback?

Customers can chargeback payments up to 13 months after the payment was collected. In the first 8 weeks customers are able to request a chargeback with no questions asked.

In this article youll learn how to export your payment data as a csv download to view in spreadsheet form within Microsoft Excel or similar.

This article includes:

Information available via payment exports

How to export payment data

How to export payment data by customer

Information available via payment exports

Payment ID

Creation date

Charge date

Amount

Payment description

Currency

Status

Amount refunded (if payment has been refunded)

Payment reference (Pro only)

Transaction fee

Payout date

App fee (if using a partner application)

Linked mandate ID

Linked creditor ID

Linked customer ID

Linked payout ID

Customer ID

Customer creation date

Customer email

Customer given_name

Customer family_name

Customer company_name

Customer address_line1

Customer address_line2

Customer address_line3

Customer city

Customer region

Customer postal_code

Customer country_code

Customer language

Customers active mandates

Metadata (custom fields)

Note: Not all fields are mandatory and so some fields will not include any data.

How to export payment data

1.Login to your GoCardless dashboard & navigate to the Payments page

2.Select the status of payments you wish to export

Using these filtering options, choose the date range of when payments were created (i.e. added to your dashboard) that you would like to export, along with their current status. These statuses are broken down into:

Pending customer approval: were waiting for the customer to approve this payment

Customer approval denied: the customer has denied approval for the payment. You should contact the customer directly

Pending submission: the payment has been created, but not yet submitted to the banks

Submitted: the payment has been submitted to the banks

Cancelled: the payment has been cancelled

Confirmed: the payment has been confirmed as collected

Paid out: the payment has been included in a payout

Failed: the payment failed to be processed. Note that payments can fail after being confirmed if the failure message is sent late by the banks.

Charged back: the payment has been charged back

3.Click the Export button to initiate a csv download of your [filtered] payment information

A export generation window will open in the bottom right of your screen to track its progress

Once the download has completed the status dot will turn green

4.Click the csv link to download it to your device

5. Onceyou'vedownloaded the export, click Dismiss to close the Export generation window

How to export payment data by customer

1.Find the customer you would like to export payments for viatheCustomerspage in your dashboard and click on their name.

2.Make a note of the customer ID

3. Use the ID and adjust the customer_id value of the following URL -https://manage.gocardless.com/payments?customer=customer_id

4. Paste the URL in your browser e.g. https://manage.gocardless.com/payments?customer=CU0007TZ14GMFM, which should then take you to a page similar to that below, where you can then click the Export button to initiate a csv download of the customer payment information

A export generation window will open in the bottom right of your screen to track its progress

Once the download has completed the status dot will turn green

5.Click the csv link to download it to your device

6. Onceyou'vedownloaded the export, click Dismiss to close the Export generation window

If a customer has an active mandate but has not been linked to a Xero ID they need to be manually linked to enable automatic reconciliation and payments to be taken.

Note: If you signed up to GoCardless for Xero as an existing GoCardless customer with pre-existing customer mandates then the system will automatically import mandates and attempt to match them to Xero records based on email address and customer name. You only need to match customers whoaren'tmatched automatically.

Identifying customers that need matching to their Xero record

GoCardless for Xero will identify when you have one or more customers that need matching and let you know in the Alerts & Notifications section of your dashboard homepage.

See here for more information on how to do this.

You can also see when a customer has an active mandate but is not linked to Xero on the Customers page of your GoCardless for Xero dashboard.

Matching a customer

1. First, check that the customer record does exist within your Xero account

If they don't, you will need to create their record in Xero before you can match them to their mandate in GoCardless for Xero.

2. Click on the Matching Customers box in the centre of your Dashboard homepage

3. Click on the search box in the row of the customer you would like to match and begin typing their name as it appears in Xero

Note: If the customer doesn't appear when searching, try manually syncing your accounts.

Secondly, you will need to have created an invoice for the customer in order for GoCardless for Xero to be able to find the customer in Xero. (This can be a draft invoice).

4. Once the correct customer appears, select their name and click Match

If you navigate back to the dashboard homepage, you will be able to confirm if all your customers are now matched.

This article will show you how to create a one-off payment for an existing customer.

This article will show you how to create a one-off payment for an existing customer.

1. Find the customer you would like to charge viathe Customers page in your dashboard and click on their name.

2. Click the greenCreatebutton at the top right of the page and choose Payment.

here

Please note: if you are signed up to a GoCardless Pro account, you will see two additional options when clicking Create:

3. Set the parameters for the payment in the window that opens.

If you select to take payment as soon as possible, the payment will be charged to the customer on the date shown in brackets.

If you select to take payment on a specific date, a box will open below showing the first available charge date. Click this box to open the calendar where you can select your preferred charge date.

4. There are also two optionalAdvanced options.

Once clicked, the window will expand to give two additional options.

The first option, Mandate, enables you to select which mandate youd like to charge, should the customer have more than one.

The second option, Custom fields, allows you to add additional information to the payment.

5. Once you've completed the form, simply click Create Payment

Find out how to cancel a payment, please see our article .

In this article you will learnhow to create plans, which you can then use to assign, send to, or have multiple customers sign up to.

Viewour video walkthrough on how to create a planvia your dashboard, or alternatively scroll down to read the article.

If you need to assign several customers to the same subscription you can save time by creating a plan. Plans are subscription templates that you can assign multiple customers to, instead of creating each individually.

To create a plan...

1.Click on the Plans tab within your dashboard menu, then clickCreate planat the top right of the page

invite or add customers to your plan

2. In the window that openschoose a name, amount, and schedule for your plan

3.Advanced options enables you to add a redirect URL link

The URL you enter is where your customers will be navigated to once they submit the online Direct Debit authorisation form linked to this plan.

4. Onceyou'veadded all the details for your new plan, simply click Create plan

Youll now see the Plan that you just created listed on the Plans page of your dashboard.

Learnhow to .

In the sandbox, you can set up payments using our test details - this means, for example, that you can test Swedish payments without having your own Swedish bank account:

For Bacs, use the sort code 200000 and the account number 44779911

For SEPA, use the French IBAN FR1420041010050500013M02606

For Autogiro, use the clearingnummer (branch code) 5491, the kontonummer (account number)0000003 and the personnummer (Swedish identity number) 198112289874

For BECS, use the BSB 082-082 and the account number 012345678

For Betalingsservice, use the registreringsnummer (bank code) 345, the kontonummer (account number) 3179681 and the CPR-nummer (Danish identity number) 0101701234

You can find more country-specific bank details in our appendix.

There's a rangeof benefitsyou can enjoy as part of our Pro service. Here's a breakdown of them and how they can benefit you, your business, and your customers.

Your business name on customer bank statements

Reduce customer confusion

Decreaselikelihood of cancellations and/or chargebacks

More ways to collect customer details

Use phone and paper, as well as online (dependent on region)

Reduce barriers to customer acquisition

Tailor the on-boarding process to your customers

Design and use your own custom payment pages

Build a strong relationship with your customers right from the start

Consistent business branding throughout your on-boarding flow

Collect the details you need

No mention of GoCardless

Send out customised notifications

Control your customer experience

Offer alternative contact methods to suit your customers needs

Volume-basedscalable pricing

Transaction fees reduce in cost as volume increases

Our Pro packagehas a fixed monthly feeper scheme, with volume-based scalable pricing for transaction fees chargedon top. These costs are as follows:

SCHEME

FOR CUSTOMERS BASED IN...

MONTHLY FEE

VOLUME-BASED TRANSACTION FEES START AT...

Autogiro

Sweden

2,500kr

5kr

Bacs

UK

200

0.60

BECS

Australia

A$350

A$1.10

BECS NZ

New Zealand

NZD$400

NZD$1.21

Betalingsservice

Denmark

kr1700

kr11

PAD

Canada

CAD$350

CAD$1.20

SEPA

Eurozone

250

0.60

You will be invoiced each month for your Pro package monthly fee, which will be collected from you via Direct Debit. (As part ofthe Pro scheme onboarding process, your Product Specialist will provide you with a Direct Debit authorisation form to complete).

As a Pro merchant you can also choose to be invoiced for your transaction fees, rather than having them deducted at source as is the case for the Standard and Plus packages.

The Pro service runs on a12 month minimum contract. If you would like to cancel your contract before it renews, please note that we require 2 months notice to terminate.

GoCardless supports organisations intending to collect SEPA Direct Debit payments from customers based in the following countries:

Austria

Belgium

Cyprus

Estonia

France

Germany

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Luxembourg

Malta

Monaco

Netherlands

Portugal

San Marino

Slovenia

Spain

In some SEPA Eurozone countries, SEPA Direct Debit experiences higher failure rates. This is normally due to the way that SEPA has been implemented by local banks within each SEPA country.

In the following countries, we have observed significantly higher failure rates when collecting Direct Debit payments:

Finland

Greece

Lithuania

Slovakia

You may still collect payments from these countries successfully, but please be aware that higher failure rates have been reported.

Collecting SEPA payments in non-Eurozone countries

It is possible to collect SEPA Direct Debit payments from European countries outside the SEPA Eurozone. This scheme can only be used to collect payments in Euros, so it would require your customer to have a bank account thats set up to do this - in order to provide clarity to your customers about what currency they can pay you in,GoCardless payment pages do not support SEPA payment collection from non-Eurozone countries.

If you are looking to collect payments in Euro from non-Eurozone countries, you will need to do so using custom payment pages. This feature allows you to build your own online payment pages. Please note that this feature is only available for Pro users.

The organisation responsible for the oversight of SEPA Direct Debit, the European Payments Council (EPC), states in a clarification letter that a"mandate may be an electronic document". This practical guide will help you with compliance requirements to create this electronic document and offer online SEPA Direct Debit on your website.

To create fully compliant payment pages for your customers, you will need to:

Serve your payment pages over HTTPS

Collect the First Name, Last Name, Account Holder Name, Address and IBAN or local bank details

Make sure your customers are aware that payments are powered by GoCardless in the footer of the page.

Display the SEPA Direct Debit electronic mandate before submission

Agree to a timeline for pre-notification

Give the Unique Mandate Reference to the payer

The GoCardless payment pages are used as an example throughout this guide. You can view them in their entirety here.

Serve your payment pages over HTTPS

Why?Ensures customer details are transmitted securely

How?Configure your website to only accept secure (SSL) connections

payment pages

Collect the First Name, Last Name, Account Holder Name, Address, and IBAN or local details

Why?This is the minimum information required to set up a SEPA Direct Debit

How?Collect this information on a payment page

The Account Holder Name can be different from the payers name (for example in a B2B transaction) but you may suggest the concatenated First Name and Last Name.

If local details are collected they must be used to derive the customer's IBAN, and for cross-border Direct Debit collections the customer's BIC must also be collected or derived (until November 2016).

It is recommended you collect the full address, but you may collect just their city or post-code.

Optionally, you may also want to collect the customer's email and address as there are notification requirements before payment is taken under a SEPA Direct Debit.

Collecting outside of EEA SEPA Countries?

There are 5 non-EEA SEPA countries: Switzerland, Monaco, Mayotte, St Pierre, Miquelon. If your business is collecting from of these countries it is a requirement to collect the following:

Full street address of the payer including street name, city and post code

BIC code of payers bank

Make sure your customers are aware that payments are powered by GoCardless in the footer of the page.

Why?To comply with data protection law, you must let your customers know about third party data controllers that power your website.

How?You can do this by displaying the text below in your page footer:

Payments by GoCardless. Read the GoCardless privacy notice

Without that upfront notice, we could both be violating the law. (Read more here)

If thats not technically possible, at a minimum you should include a reference to GoCardless in your website privacy notice. That text should be:

We use GoCardless to process your Direct Debit payments. More information on how GoCardless processes your personal data and your data protection rights, including your right to object, is available at gocardless.com/legal/privacy/

If you are a GoCardless partner, you must include the Payments by notice set out above on your payment pages, or, at a minimum, enable the merchant to provide a link to their privacy notice at the detail intake stage.

Display the SEPA Direct Debit electronic mandate before submission

Why?Confirm the payers approval of the mandate

How?Display a compliant electronic mandate before the form is submitted

You must show the customer an electronic mandate for approval. The formatting of the mandate is at your discretion, but you must include the following fields:

The heading: SEPA Direct Debit Mandate

Your creditor information: Creditor Identifier, Name, Address

The customer information: Account Holder Name, Address, IBAN

SEPA information: Unique Mandate Reference placeholder (to be generated after SEPA-confirmation-reference), Date of signing

The following legal text must also be included in the mandate and must not be changed (except for the input of the creditor name):

By signing this mandate form, you authorise (A) (NAME OF CREDITOR) to send instructions to your bank to debit your account and (B) your bank to debit your account in accordance with the instruction from (NAME OF CREDITOR).

As part of your rights, you are entitled to a refund from your bank under the terms and conditions of your agreement with your bank. A refund must be claimed within 8 weeks starting from the date on which your account was debited. Your rights are explained in a statement that you can obtain from your bank.

You can see a compliant electronic mandate confirmation page below:

Once a customer has confirmed the electronic mandate, you should create a timestamp of the transaction, as well as store their IP address or a log of the transaction.

If your website is in English, you may keep it as your default language. If you need to translate to another language, you must use the official translation to European languages available on the European Payments Council website.

Agree to a timeline for pre-notification

Why?Define the timeline required to send a pre-notification to your customer before upcoming charges

How?Include the statement below on the mandate page

Pre-notifications are meant to ensure the client is aware of the payment and has funds in his/her bank account. You can agree a pre-notification period with your customer, but it must be no longer than 14 days before the payment. Best practice is to send pre-notifications three days before.

For example, you could include the following statement on your confirmation screen:By confirming, you are agreeing to be pre-notified X calendar days before a charge.

Give the Unique Mandate Reference to the payer

Why?This reference will always appear on a customers bank statement and will help them identify a mandate.

How? Option 1:On a payment confirmation screen:

Best practice is to also add a link to a PDF copy of the mandate in the appropriate language.

How? Option 2:Include the reference in the confirmation email:

Best practice is to include the following information in your confirmation email:

Your contact details

A PDF copy of the mandate or a link to retrieve the PDF mandate

SEPA Direct Debit and GoCardless

GoCardless is an end-to-end SEPA Direct Debit provider and can completely handle SEPA compliance on your behalf, or guide you through your own custom integration.

GoCardless offers off-the-shelfthat:

are fully scheme rules compliant

allow payers to enter local details, rather than their IBAN

have been translated into multiple different languages (and automatically detect your customer's language)

can be customised with your business name and logo

Alternatively, if you want to design and host your own payment pages you can use the GoCardless Pro API to do so, and your Account Executive will support you during your implementation of the SEPA compliance guidelines.

This article provides a guide to the references shown on customer (payer) bank statements for payments collected through GoCardless.

Please note that this is a guide only. Whilst these are the references provided to banks when collecting payment from customers' bank accounts, we are not able to guarantee thatthe same reference will appear on their bank statement in its entirety.

Please note the following for the table below:

For Standard payer references, Merchant name refers to what you have entered for this and can be viewed or amended within the 'Add your brand' section (step 4) of your Company Info dashboard settings.

Scheme

Scheme region (customer location)

Standard payer references

Plus / Pro payer references

Autogiro

Sweden

G [Merchant name]-[unique reference]

[BANKGIRONUMMER_NAME]-[Merchant name]-[unique reference]

Bacs

United Kingdom

GOCARDLESS-[Merchant name]-[Mandate reference]

[SUN_NAME]-[Mandate reference]-[Payment reference]

BECS

Australia

GOCARDLESS-[Merchant name]-[Mandate reference]-[Payment reference]

[MERCHANT_NAME]-[Mandate reference]-[Payment reference]

BECS NZ

New Zealand

GOCARDLESS

Reference field = [Payment reference]

Particulars field = [merchant name]

Code field = [unique reference]

MERCHANT NAME

Reference field = [Payment reference]

Particulars field = [empty]

Code field = [unique reference]

Betalingsservice

Denmark

(BS) GOCARDLESS-[Payment reference]

(BS) [PBS_NAME]-[Payment reference]

PAD

Canada

GoCardless

[Merchant_name]

SEPA

Eurozone

GOCARDLESS-[Mandate reference]-[Payment reference]

GC re [CID_NAME]-[Mandate reference]-[Payment reference]

The following payment timings presume that all required actions are completed before 4pm UK time. If the customer's authorisation or the payment creation is completed after this time, there would be an additional day in the process.

If a payment is created on a weekend or bank holiday, the process will begin on the next available working day.

Please note: A BECS NZ mandate is only set up when the first payment is due to be processed. It is not set up in advance.

EVENT

NEW ZEALAND TIMINGS (NZST)

UK TIMINGS(BST)

WORKING DAY

TIME

WORKING DAY

TIME

Payment creation deadline*

0

03:00

0

16:00

Customer charge date

2

9am-11pm

3

-

Payment status confirmed (successful / failed)

5

01:00

5

12-2pm

Payout submission

5

11pm (approx).

6

11:00

Payout received (NZ based bank)

6-7

09:00

6-7

10pm (approx).

* Payments can be created in advance with the charge date specified. The time specified here is the cut off deadline when charging a customer as soon as possible. For one-off payments, this also marks the time when the customer is sent a notification email advising them of their payment.

Payments can fail for a number of reasons, the most common one being that the customer did not have the funds available. If a payment fails GoCardless will notify you via email. The invoice will appear in the Pending section of your invoices tab and be marked as unpaid in Xero.

1). To re-try a payment, simply go to Invoices> select Pending

article

2). Click on Actions (three dots) next to the failed payment

3).Click Retry Payment.

We will then attempt to collect the payment as soon as possible based on the scheme timings.

If this option does not appear here, check that the customer has an active mandate in place. It is possible the customer has cancelled their mandate and you will need to ask them to complete a new authorisation form before any further payments can be collected from them.

For more information on failed payments, please read this .

To update the amount of a subscription using the API, youll need to cancel the existing subscription by sending a POST request to the /subscriptions endpoint.

Thiswon'taffect the customers Direct Debit mandate, so you can create a new subscription for the updated amount with a second POST request.

Its also worth noting that cancelling a subscription will not cancel any payments that have already been created. If any payments are pending_submission, you can cancel them by sending a POST request to the /payments endpoint.

Similarly, if you need to change the charge date of a subscription, youll need to cancel the initial subscription and create a new one with the updated charge date.

We now have dedicatedSetup Guides to help you set up and verify your account!

Click here to learn more

This article lists answers to common queries relating to the verification process. All merchants using GoCardless must verify their account before they can receive payouts.

General queries:

Why do you require documentation to verify my account?

Im having trouble getting my account verified. Who can I contact to get this resolved?

Whycan'tI speak to someone regarding my verification?

Address:

Why do you need my/our directors home address?

What happens if I enter my business address?

Identity:

Can I verify my identity with the same document I used to verify my address?

I have an official photo ID document, however it's now out of date. Can it still be used?

Bank account:

Why do I need to make the verification payment?

Ican'tmake the 1p verification payment what can I do?

Ican'tmake outgoing payments of less than 1.00/1.00 to verify my bank account.

Ive made the verification payment. Why is my bank account still not verified?

For specific business type (legal entity) FAQs please select from the following:

Limited company

Individual/sole trader

Charity and non-profit

Scout/Guide group

Why do you require documentation to verify my account?

As an FCA regulated payment processing company, we need to comply with strict regulatory requirements. This will always involve verifying at least one individuals identity.

We aim to do this electronically using the information you provide on the company verification form, but in some instances we may need additional documentation to do this. We will let you know if this is the case.

Im having trouble getting my account verified. Who can I contact to get this resolved?

Please send an email explaining your situation to [email protected] and one of our team will get back to you shortly.

Whycan'tI speak to someone regarding my verification?

As a regulated payments processor, were obliged to conduct checks on merchants who sign up to use our service, as outlined in our Terms and Conditions. All communication regarding the verification process must be in writing. Weve taken this decision to ensure that we have an auditable paper trail of the checks weve conducted, as well as a record of the communication between both parties. We do this to ensure that all communication is clear, and in the unlikely instance of a dispute; we both have an accurate record of all relevant correspondence to refer to. We appreciate that sometimes this can be frustrating, and we do endeavour to respond to all queries within 2 working days. Depending on your query, you may find that the answer is already on our Support Centre. If you do have an issue youd like to raise, please email [email protected] and a member of our team will be in touch.

Why do you need my/our director's home address?

In line with our regulatory requirements, we must verify a registered director's identity and part of this includes verifying their home address.

Please note that this applies whetheryou are collecting payments as an individual/sole trader, limited company, sports club, charity, or other legal entity.

What happens if I enter my business address?

If you enter an address other than a residential/home address, we will not be able to verify your/the director's identity automatically, and will likely require further documentation. This will naturally extend the time it takes to complete the verification of your account.

Can I verify my identity with the same document I used to verify my address?

We are not able to acceptthe same document for two verification checks. For example,if you were to upload a copy of your driving licence or national identity card as proof of address, we would not be able to acceptthis same document as proof of identity.

I have an official photo ID document, however it's now out of date. Can it still be used?

It is a legal requirement that verification checks are carried out against valid documents. As such, you would need to provide a document that meets our requirements and is currently valid.

Why do I need to make the verification payment?

Our verification process is designed to be fully compliant with our regulatory requirements as an FCA regulated payment processing company, whilst also ensuring that it creates as little inconvenience to you as a GoCardless merchant as possible. It also serves to enhance the security of your GoCardless account and ensure that we will only ever be paying out your money to an account you, your business or your charity owns. By asking you to make a 0.01/0.01 verification payment, we can ensure that the details for the payout bank account match thoseyou'veadded on GoCardless and that well be sending your payouts to the right account.

Ican'tmake the 1p verification payment what can I do?

That shouldnt be a problem - we understand that not everyone/every organisation has online banking set up, and that some account typesdon'tallow outgoing transfers of this nature. If youre unable to make the verification payment, please email [email protected] to let us know, providing a brief description of why youre unable to make it and we will look into arranging an alternative way of verifying your bank account.

Ican'tmake outgoing payments of less than 1.00/1.00 to verify my bank account

We specify 0.01/0.01 as this is an amount most banks will allow you to transfer for most account types. However, we understand that some banks/account types will have a minimum threshold for outgoing transfers and may not allow you make payments of this amount. The amount, however, is not important to how we verify accounts. We can still use the verification payment to verify your account regardless of the amount transferred. If you would rather not make a payment of this size for verification purposes, please email [email protected] to let us know and we can look into verifying your account another way. Please be aware that were not able to refund verification payments.

Ive made the verification payment. Why is my bank account still not verified?

Onceyou'vemade the verification payment, it may take up to two working days for us to verify your payout bank account. Payments made during banking hours on working days should appear on our statement the following working day (e.g. if you make the 1p transfer on Monday morning, we will see it on Tuesday). Payments made after the close of banking hours, over the weekend or on bank holidays will not appear on our statement until two working days after you make the transfer (e.g. if you make the transfer on Friday evening, itwon'tshow on our statement until the following Tuesday).

Each verification payment report we receive is run through an automated check. Providing your bank account details match what we were expecting, your bank account verification will automatically update to verified. If there is a discrepancy in the details we receive a member of our verification team will be in touch to assist you in completing this step in your verification process.

The UK Direct Debit scheme has strict requirements for sending notifications to customers. For you as a merchant, its important to understand exactly what kind of notifications you need to send, and how to handle them. Our guide will walk you through the process, helping you design fully compliant notifications, which you can then share with your customers.

Please note: custom notifications will need to be approved by GoCardless before being implemented.

Direct Debit notifications fall into two categories, which can be sent together:

Mandate setup confirmation

Payment notifications (also known as advance notice)

Mandate setup confirmation

A mandate setup confirmation tells your customer that their Direct Debit mandate has been set up correctly. You must send it within 3 working days of the customer signing up or incorporate it into the customer's first payment notification. You can send the mandate setup confirmation by email or post.

To be compliant, a mandate confirmation must include the following information:

The heading Important: Confirmation of the setup of your Direct Debit to [Merchant], alongside a Direct Debit logo

The payer's redacted bank details, the mandate reference and the name on the SUN

The Direct Debit Guarantee, with a Direct Debit logo, or a link to it

The address and phone number of the merchant

The below image shows an example mandate setup confirmation email, which includes all of the above details:

using GoCardless Pro with our API.

Payment notifications

A payment notification tells your customer when they can expect a single payment or stream of regular payments to leave their account. Just like mandate confirmations, payment notifications are mandatory in UK Direct Debit. You can send them by email or post.

To be compliant, a payment notification must include the following information:

How much notice will be given for future payments (if this is the first notification)

The amount, reference and date of the collection(s)

The address and phone number of the merchant

The below image shows an example payment notification email, which includes all of the above details:

For subscription payments, where the frequency and amount remain the same, you can send a single payment notification email to cover the entire subscription. Heres an example:

Customer notifications and GoCardless

GoCardless offers fully compliant emails that can be sent on your behalf. Alternatively, if you want to send your own emails, you can do this Well work with you to make sure your emails comply with Direct Debit scheme rules, and give you final approval on behalf of our sponsor bank.

Please note: if you're using GoCardless, we require that the phrase "Payments by GoCardless" be clearly stated within the notification to your customers.

In this article you'll learnhow to send reminders to customers who still needto approve a payment or subscription created against a restricted mandate.

You can send a reminder to these customers once24 hours have passed since the last notification was sent.

1. Open the Payments tab on your dashboard

2.Locate any payments that have a status ofPending customer approval

If the customer's payment you're looking for isn't immediately visible, use the filter option at the top to find those Pending customer approval.

3. Click on the payment

If the customer has received a notification about the required approval action in the past 24 hours, the option to resend will be greyed out - hovering over the Send reminder email link will confirm this.

4. Assuming the option is available, clickSend reminder email

A notification email will automatically be sent to your customer asking them to complete the approval.

Here's an overview of our most common queries. To view the full article about a specific query, please click the accompanying Read more link. These queriesspan three main categories, with an additional quick start guide to get you going quickly.

Verification

Using the dashboard

The GoCardless service

Quick start guide:

We have a Getting Started section to help you get going as quickly as possible. This covers the basics from setting up and verifying your account, through to adding your first customer and collecting payments from them... Read more

Verification:

How do I fill inmy companydetails?

This process will vary depending on the type of business you operate as e.g. sole trader, limited company, charity. No matter your business type, we have a guide to help... Read more

Howdo I make the verification payment?

The 0.01/0.01 verification payment is a requirement when adding a new payout bank account and ensures that we are paying out to the same legal entity we're collecting payments on behalf of... Read more

Whatdocumentation do you require?

As part of the verification process we require certain supporting documentation to be uploaded to your account via your dashboard. Our requirements differ depending on circumstances, but you will receive an email from us clarifying what we require from you... Read more

I'm notable to make the verification payment. What should I do?

We understand thatnot everyone has online banking set up, making the verification payment difficult. In these cases, please get in touch with our verification team so that we can organise an alternative method for you... Read more

My business is changing. What do I need to do?

If your business is changing or has been sold, we'll need to update your company details and conduct an additional verification process before being able to payout to the new entity.To ensure this process is completed with minimal disruption, please get in touch with us at your earliest convenience... Read more

Using the dashboard:

How do I add my customers?

When adding a new customer, you are sending a request for Direct Debit authorisation. This can be done one of three ways... Read more

How do I create a one-off payment?

With GoCardless,you can collect ad-hoc payments of varying amounts from your customers as required, all through their same Direct Debit mandate... Read more

I need to set up a subscription for a customer. How do I do this?

You can create a recurring subscription for an active customer, setting parameters including the charge date, amount, number of payments, and more... Read more

How do I create a plan?

Plans are a great time saverwhen charging multiple customers the same amount for the same product or service, as you can invite or assign customers to the plan without having to re-enter the details each time... Read more

Can I send reminders to customers who are'pending approval'?

For customers requiring more than one person to authorise Direct Debits on their account, or for those with arestricted mandate whoneed to approve each payment or subscription created for them, they will need to take an additional step before these actions can be completed. Sending a reminder email helps to ensure these actions are completed and not forgotten... Read more

The GoCardless service:

How long does it take to process a payment in the UK?

The full UK Direct Debit payment processing time is 5-6 working days, depending on the initial status of the customer... Read more

How long do I have to cancel a payment?

Payments are submitted to the banking system for processing at 4pm, two working days before the charge date. You can cancel a payment any tie up to this point... Read more

I would like to collect paymentsfrom customers in multiple regions. How do I do this?

GoCardless can currently help you collect Direct Debit payments from customers across the UK, Eurozone, and Sweden... Read more

What are your transaction fees?

Our fees are 1% plus an additional fee that varies according to the scheme through which the payment is being processed. If you are using GoCardless through a partner integration they may charge their own 'app fees' on top of this... Read more

What is a chargeback?

Chargebacks are the result of a customer filing an indemnity claim with their bank. Their bank will return the funds to the customer before notifying us of this. You will then receive an immediate automated notification email advising you of this... Read more

You can add a GoCardless button to your website, so that customers can click and authorise a new Direct Debit to you.

1. Log into yourGoCardless dashboard

2.Go to the Customers tab

3. Click the AddCustomers button in the top right of the page

4. Choose theLink option

5. Copy the link to paste into your website Alternatively, you could add a planlink or paylink to your website instead. These links will also direct customers to complete an online authorisation but once done, the respective subscription or payment linked to it will be automatically setup. Here you'll find images for buttons you couldadd to your site, simply right click to save one of the images below:

This article will guide you through how to 'pause' a subscription within your dashboard.

Subscriptions can be edited on a customer by customer basis.

There are two ways to pause a subscription:

1. Edit the subscription amount to 0

2. Cancel the existing subscription and set up a new one

Edit the subscription amount to 0

By editing the amount to 0, no funds will be collected from the customer but the subscription remains active. When the customers payments need to start again you can log in to edit the amount.

1.Open the Customers tab on your dashboard

2. Click on the customers name

restricted mandate

3. Click on the customer's subscription

4. Click Editat the top of the page

5. Enter the new amount as 0

6. Click Update

The subscription timeline will update to show when the change will come into effect.

Please note: Any payments that are already pending collection cannot be changed.

7. When the customers payments need to start again you can log in and edit the subscription amount as outlined above.

Please note:

Do not use this method if your subscription is set up to collect a specificnumber of payments.

The subscription should be edited4 working daysbefore the next charge date to ensure the next payment is created for the new amount. Any payments that are already pending collection cannot be changed and will be collected for the original amount.

You can only edit a subscription up to 10 times. At this point, the subscription will freeze.

Cancel the existing subscription and set up a new one

Cancelling the existing subscription does not cancel the customers Direct Debit mandate.

You can remove a customer from one subscription and add them to another subscription. The customer will not have to authorise the change (unless they have a ) but they will receive an email notification of the change.

1.Open the Customers tab on your dashboard

2. Click on the customers name

3. Click the red Xnext to the subscription to cancel it

The customer will receive an automatic notification regarding this action.

4. Click Create

5.Select Subscription

6. Enter the payment details

7. Select Create

You will see that the customer has an active subscription. A record of the cancelled subscription will still be visible. Any processed or pending payments will be visible at the bottom of the page.

Please note:

Use this method if your subscriptions is set up to collect a specific number of payments.

The customer will receive an email notification when the original subscription is cancelled AND when the new subscription is set up.

1. To begin, navigate to the GoCardless for Xero landing page here and click on the Get Started button.

You will be directed to the GoCardless for Xero setup flow.

2. Click on the Connect to GoCardless button to get started

3. Now create your GoCardless account by filling in the required details and then, when you're ready, hit Create account

Note: If you already have a GoCardless account you can instead click the Sign in link at the bottom to connect your existing account.

4. You will now be directed to Step 2 of the GoCardless for Xero sign up flow

Select to either Connect to Xero or Create Xero Account

(For this example, we will be connecting an existing Xero account).

If you're not already logged into your Xero account, you'll be asked to do so here.

NB: If you have more than one account (e.g. as an accountant, have old accounts etc) there will be a drop down of available Xero accounts available. This is automatically in alphabetical order. You will have an opportunity on the next page to review the account you are signing up with, please check!

5. Now that your account is created, it's time to configure your settings. In step 4 of the setup flow, select your accounts for payouts & GoCardless fees

... Then hit Continue

6. Now choose your mandate setting

Selecting the Automatic setting will ensure that whenever a new customer is added to your Xero account, they will automatically be sent an email requesting authorisation of their Direct Debit with you and/or your business.

If you choose the Manual option, you will instead need to select customers from within your account to manually invite them to set up a Direct Debit with you.

7. The final step is to Choose your payment collection setting

Selecting Automatic will enable the automatic collection of invoices you create for your customers within your Xero account.

Choosing the Manual option will mean you'll need to manually request the collection of each invoice as and when you need to do so.

Please note that GoCardless will not be able to payout any collected funds to you until your account is fully verified.

Once you select an option, you'll be directed to your GoCardless for Xero dashboard homepage.

We're sorry to hear that you're looking to close your GoCardless account!

To close your account, please get in touch withour Support team and they will be able to help with this request.

This article will explain how to addyour company details if you're a limited company. You can also view our frequently asked questions.

1. Tell us about yourbusiness

a). Select the country your company was registered in

b). Select "Limited company" in the Business type field

c). Provide a brief description of what your business does. Please be as clear as possible, otherwise we may need to ask for clarification which will increase the time it takes tocomplete your verification process.

d). Enter your company number. (If you're unsure of this, a quick searchon Companies House should help).

2. Enter your Director details

This is the name and home address of a company director

3. Enter yourShareholder details

You need to add the name and date of birth for each company shareholder owning 25% or more of the business.

4. Enter Support contact details

These are the contact details your customers will see within the notification emails they receive.

5. Enter Billing contact details

This is where we send your invoices if you have signed up to our Plus or Pro packages.

Frequently asked questions

My UK company numberisn'tbeing accepted. Why might this be?

Why do you ask for the home address of a Company Director rather than the business address?

My limited company doesnt have a bank account. Can you payout to my personal one?

My UK company numberisn'tbeing accepted. Why might this be?

There are a few possible reasons for this, try troubleshooting from the suggestions below:

Scottish companies: You will need to enter SC at the beginning of the company registration number.

Companies on the Mutuals Register (Community Benefit Societies, Industrial and Provident Societies, Community Interest Companies etc.): If your company number begins or ends with R, RS, IP (amongst others) and you are registered on the Mutuals Register, then you will need to sign up as a registered charity and enter your company number in the Charity number field.

This is because these types of organisationdon'tfile annual returns and accounts with Companies House, so wewon'tget the information we require back from Companies House using the company number.

Please enter the names of all company directors under the trustee details on the company verification form.

Check thatyou'veselected the correct country your company is registered in: the registry office we check these details against is dependent on the country and/or region your company is registered in.

Missing digits in the number entered. Most UK company numbers are 8 characters long, usually beginning 0 or 1. Older companies may have shorter numbers - if this is the case enter 0s at the beginning of the company number until it is 8 characters in length (UK limited companies only).

Its not a valid company number: we can only accept company numbers as issued by Companies House. We cannot accept VAT or other HMRC issued numbers or similar.

If you believe the company number to be correct and its still not being accepted, please email [email protected] with the following and we will be happy to look into this further:

The company number youre entering

The registered company name and where your company is registered

Screenshot of the company verification form (with the details youre trying to submit entered)

Any error message you receive when trying to submit these details

Why do you ask for the home address of a Company Director rather than the business address?

As part of the verification process we are required to verify the identity of a named director of the company. In doing this we ask that you provide the home address of said director so we are able to perform this verification check.

My limited company doesnt have a bank account. Can you payout to my personal one?

Unfortunately this would not be possible as we must payout to the same legal entity we are collecting payments on behalf of.

As such, if you are collecting payments on behalf of a limited company we must payout to a bank account registered in the name of your limited company.

Every Direct Debit payment goes through certain stages before it is paid out to your registered account. Thesestages are displayed at the top of the details section within the dashboard when viewing individual customer payments.

This article will help give some insight into the following payment statuses:

Pending submission

Submitted

Confirmed

Paid out

Failed

Cancelled

Pending customer approval

Charged back

Pending submission here

The payment has been created in your dashboard, but hasnt yet been submitted to the banking system for processing. The payment will be automatically submitted prior to thecharge date. You can still cancel payments while they are pending submission.

Submitted

The payment has been submitted to the banking system for processing, and can no longer be cancelled. If you would still like to cancel the payment at this stage, please advise your customer to contact their bank directly with this request.

Confirmed

The payment has been confirmed by the customers bank as having been successfully collected from their account. Once the payment has been confirmed, GoCardless will arrange for it to be paid out to your registered account. Please note that we can only pay out to a bank account that has been fully verified.

Paid out

The payment has been paid out by GoCardless to your registered account. Payouts are typically generated in the morning and should arrive into your account in the afternoon. Please note that all times are estimated.

Failed

The payment was not successfully collected from the customers bank account.The reason for this failure will be listed on your GoCardless dashboard. You can manually retry a failed payment up to 3 times.

Cancelled

The payment was cancelled before the charge date. No further action will be taken on this payment. If you would like to retry this payment, we would advise creating a new payment for the customer.

Pending customer approval

The customer has selected More than one person is required to authorise Direct Debits on the online mandate form, but has not yet sent this to GoCardless. You can read more about mandates requiring multiple signatures here.

Alternatively, the customer is set up with a restricted mandate and has not yet approved the payment.

Charged back

The payment was returned to the customers bank account in accordance with Direct Debit rules. This is actioned by the customers bank at the request of the customer. You can read more about chargebacks .

Summary on home page

The information displayed on the home page of your GoCardless dashboard gives a brief overview of your payments.

Pending:This figure refers to all funds that are due to be processed and have not yet reached the 'Confirmed' stage. These are made up of all payments with a the following statuses:

Pending submission

Submitted

Pending customer approval

Collected: These funds have been marked as confirmed and are due to be paid out to you.

To be paid out: These funds are due to be paid out to you by GoCardless.

For reconciliation to work between GoCardless and Xero, you need to have two bank accounts in Xero.

The reason for this is that GoCardless charges a fee on all successful transactions, which is taken from the payouts you receive from your customers. This means that the net amount received against any individual invoice is not equal to the total amount due on each invoice, and the fees that GoCardless have taken need to be recorded on your accounts. Using a clearing account enables both to be reconciled.

We post a payment for the full invoice amount into the clearing account. Then on the day you receive payouts from GoCardless (which could include multiple payouts from customers) we will:

Post GoCardless fees against your nominated fee account

Transfer the payout (net of fees) into your current account

This ensures that your clearing account has all the correct transactions and reconciling your current account is as simple as marketing one transaction against each transfer, instead of having to mark multiple individual invoices and fees.

Figurative Example

Screenshot shows the Direct Debit bank account

In this example we have received two invoice payments. One for 900.00 and one for 70.00. The total fees for the payout were 2.70 that have been allocated to our Bank Fees account and into our Current Account we have received 967.30.

On your Current Account reconciliation page, once your bank feeds have imported, your receipt from GoCardless should auto match for reconciliation against the transfer we created from the Direct Debit account.

Screenshot shows the Reconcile screen of your Current Account

The only part of the reconciliation process that we cannot yet automate, is the final reconciliation of the transfer out of the Direct Debit account. When viewing the Direct Debit Account Transactions page, you will see the transfer as unreconciled.

Screenshot above shows the unreconciled transfer transaction in the Direct Debit account

In order to reconcile this, you must click into the transaction, and then click Options (top right of the transaction details) and then choose 'Mark as Reconciled'.

Screenshot shows the 'Mark as Reconciled' option within the Options menu

The Reconciliation Report can be found on the main menu and is to help you reconcile payouts where payments haven't been applied to invoices, or the balance in your Direct Debit account is not correct.

When viewing the Reconciliation tab, you will be able to see all the payouts received into your account from GoCardless. When you view a Payout, all the payments that are included in that payout are listed, and whether or not we have applied the payment to Xero.

The list is ordered with the latest payouts at the top.

You can change the number of entries shown on a page via the drop down at the top of the page.

EXAMPLE:

Clicking on a report shows you more information about that payout:

Here you can see the date and time that the Receipt and Fee details were pushed to Xero. If we have not been able to push details you will see a red x and details of the error message we received. If you see a red cross you most likely need to update your reconciliation settings.

Each payment will be listed with its reconciliation status.

A green tick means there are no problems.

Red X 'Not reconciled' - This means we have had a problem reconciling the payment, you can click the details button for more information.

A payment might not be reconciled because:

The invoice amount has been paid off by other means

The amount outstanding on the invoice is lower than the amount of the payment that was taken

The payment was not taken by the GoCardless for Xero dashboard (e.g. it was taken via the GoCardless dashboard or via another platform. You will need to reconcile this manually)

Error messages will be shown in each case.

GoCardless for Xero enables businesses to collect & reconcile payments in a more streamlined way. However, in some instances, businesses also pay their suppliers via GoCardless and accounting for different expenses in Xero can be confusing based on the information on the transaction.

As we want to take the pain away from the process of using GoCardless, both as a business and as a customer, we have put together this guide that will help you reconcile payments collected via GoCardless.

Please note that this only applies to organisations using our services on a Standard package, as on Plus & Pro, the name of the organisation youre paying is displayed on your bank statement directly.

Scenarios:

If there is a Direct Debit mandate reference displayed on your bank statement/in your bank feed

If your bank statement shows the mandate reference for the payment, you can create a bank rule in Xero to pick up on this reference and allocate the payments correctly. This way, payments collected under that same Direct Debit mandate will be attributed to that particular category selected in your bank rule.

If the Direct Debit mandate reference is not displayed on your bank statement but the payment amount is the same for each payment to the same organisation

If the amount that you are being charged is fixed, you could create a bank rule in Xero for the specific amount you are being charged. Please note that if you are paying different suppliers the same fixed amount, this method would not be suitable.

If the Direct Debit mandate reference is not displayed on your bank statement and the payment amounts vary

All payments collected via GoCardless are submitted against a unique mandate reference. However, unfortunately some banks don't display this information on their bank statements.

If your bank does not display the unique mandate reference on the transaction, in order to keep track of your payments you would need to look out for the email notifications that we send out or speak with the organisation you are paying directly and then manually account for these payments in Xero.

For more information on how to create bank rules in Xero, click here.

Why do mandates fail?

Will I be notified if a customer's mandate fails?

Why do mandates fail?

A mandate can fail when being set up on a customers bank account for several reasons. The most common reasons are:

The customer has entered their bank details incorrectly

The customers bank account does not support Direct Debit payments eg. a savings account

Will I be notified if a customer's mandate fails?

Yes, both youand yourcustomer willreceive an email notification once the customer's bank advises us that their mandate has failed and cannot be set up on their account.