Introduction to Direct Debit using GoCardless

What is a Direct Debit?

A Direct Debit authorises you to collect payments from your customers' bank account when they are due. Your customers give this authorisation by completing a Direct Debit mandate online. Once authorised, you can automatically take payments from your customer.

There are two things that make Direct Debit unique:

• Bank to bank payment method - There are no card networks involved, which makes it cheaper
• Pull based system - Instead of a business waiting for the customer to push funds, the business has permission to pull funds when a payment is due

Paying customers are notified before a payment is taken, and details are taken using a secure GoCardless hosted payments page.

What is the Direct Debit Guarantee?

The Direct Debit Guarantee is the Direct Debit scheme's consumer protection. The Guarantee protects consumers against payments made in error or fraudulently. The guarantee protects customers in three ways:

• Notifications - customers must be notified in advance of each payment
• Refunds - customers are entitled to a full and immediate refund of any payment that has been taken in error
• Cancellations - customers can cancel a Direct Debit mandate at any time by contacting their bank

What are Direct Debit mandates?

A Direct Debit mandate is an authorisation from your customer to collect future payments. This means you can collect a payment of any amount and at any time. Your customer must be notified before a payment is collected and all payments are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee which protects customers from payments taken in error.

When should I use Direct Debit?

Direct Debit payments are particularly good for:

• Regular payments - for example, subscriptions or regular donations
• Customers with an ongoing relationship - for example, account customers
• Invoicing for services - for example, accountancy, tax advice, etc.

Payments Direct Debit is not so good for:

• Transactions which need instant clearing - for example e-commerce
• High-value, one-off payments for liquid goods - for example gold bullion
• Transactions likely to experience chargebacks - for example gambling

Introduction to GoCardless

GoCardless is the UK’s leading Direct Debit provider, providing payment services for more than 25,000 businesses.

They process over £3bn worth of transactions with clients ranging from small businesses to household names, including Sage.

GoCardless are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to provide payment services as an Authorised Payment Institution and serve more businesses than any other Direct Debit provider.

Find out more about GoCardless and their security credentials.

How does GoCardless work with Sage 50 Accounts?

With Sage 50 Accounts you can integrate with GoCardless to take payment from your customers using Direct Debit.

You can manage the whole process from within your Sage 50 Accounts software.

• Create a new GoCardless account or link to an existing account
• Request Direct Debit mandates from your customers
• Request payments from your customers
• Automatically post and allocate any receipts and GoCardless fees

For further details of how to get started, please refer to our Direct Debits - get started guide.

Pricing

For details on pricing, please visit the GoCardless - Pricing plans.