Manage your Direct Debit collections with CareHQ
CareHQ's new Direct Debit functionality allows you to set up mandates and collection days then automatically generate payment collections based on a client's outstanding balance.
Direct Debit accounts for a significant percentage of payments to care providers and is often the preferred method due to its reliability, predictable payment dates, lower costs and the Direct Debit Guarantee, which protects consumers against payments being collected for the wrong amount or on the wrong day.
CareHQ simplifies collecting payments
CareHQ automatically generates the transactions needed for new mandates, payment collections and cancellations. Payment collections are generated based on a billing party's outstanding balance (excluding any invoices currently in dispute). This is different to how some other Direct Debit systems work where Direct Debits are based purely on the last invoice raised.
Direct Debit transactions can only be processed on valid processing days (weekdays excluding UK bank holidays). CareHQ automatically adjusts the collection date for all transactions to ensure they fall on valid processing dates.
Against each payment collection record we keep a record of the amounts collected for each invoice. This information is included in advance notices sent to customers and allows CareHQ to automatically reconcile Direct Debit payments from a bank statement against the relevant invoices.
CareHQ takes care of advance notice for you
To collect payments using Direct Debit care providers need to follow a few rules including sending customers notice when a new mandate (a.k.a. Direct Debit Instruction) authorising the care provider to collect payment is set up, and in advance of each payment collection. The timings of these notices and the information they contain must adhere to the requirements set out for Direct Debit.
CareHQ will automatically generate and send notices at the correct time to ensure that you remain compliant. Email notices are sent on the required date, and notices that must be sent by post are emailed to you 3 working days in advance of them needing to be sent.
We provide compliant Direct Debit notice templates for clients, however, these can be customised if required.
Exporting your transactions
Once you've generated Direct Debit transactions within CareHQ you'll need to export them to submit to your Payment Service Provider (PSP). We provide support for exporting transactions from CareHQ as a Standard 18 CSV.
Whilst all banks and PSPs require transactions to include the information set out in Standard 18, they often require different formats for the information. We provide a number of formats out of the box and if we don't currently support the format required by your PSP we'll add it for you without charge.
Bank account verification
A common problem when setting up a new Direct Debit mandate is incorrect bank account details being entered. Sort codes and account numbers can be misread or mistyped, or the bank account might not support Direct Debit (for example if it's a savings account). These mistakes can lead to delays in payment and lost time resolving them.
CareHQ reduces this risk by verifying the bank details for a mandate as soon as you enter them, and won't allow the mandate to be saved until the details given are both valid and for an account that supports Direct Debit.
Also included...
Re-present payments
If a Direct Debit payment fails for a temporary reason, such as insufficient funds, then re-presenting the payment can be an effective way to collect the outstanding balance. CareHQ allows you to simply re-present the payment collection on a date you've agreed with the billing party.
Do not collect
If for any reason you have agreed with the billing party not to collect a payment on a given date then you can flag that transaction as "Do not collect" within CareHQ. Transactions flagged as do not collect are excluded from exports to your Payment Service Provider (PSP). Any outstanding balance for the billing party will be carried on to the next Direct Debit collection.
Mandate and payment references
CareHQ will automatically generate valid mandate and payment references for you, ensuring they are compliant and unique. We also provide support for bulk importing Direct Debit mandates if you're moving over from an existing platform. Existing mandate references will be retained by CareHQ, so provided you are not changing your Payment Service Provider (PSP) or bank there is no requirement to transfer mandates or create new ones.
Multiple Direct Debit setups
If you have multiple companies within your portfolio you may need to collect Direct Debit using multiple bank accounts and/or Payment Service Providers (PSPs). CareHQ supports this through the creation of additional named Direct Debit setups.
Each named setup contains details of the company collecting the Direct Debit along with any branding that should appear on notices. When adding a new mandate to CareHQ you simply select the relevant Direct Debit setup for the billing party.
It's included in your subscription
As with all CareHQ's features, Direct Debit is included in the cost of your monthly subscription; there are no additional charges. If you're already using CareHQ and would like to enable Direct Debit please contact support@crmhq.co.uk who can help you get set up.