Scheduling New Year’s Collections With Our Bacs Processing Calendar

Would you believe it’s that time of the year again? With so much to do during this busy period for many businesses, the last thing you want is to take your eye off the ball when it comes to collecting payments from regular and occasional business and private customers.

Direct Debit saves time, reduces the cost of collections and puts cleared funds directly into your account, but at this time of year, it does require some degree of preparation. With so many public holidays, it’s good practice to plan ahead and take note of the dates when Bacs won’t be processing payments. This will help to avoid disruption and keep your cash-flow flowing and ensure no Christmas or New Year’s collections are missed.

The Bacs processing calendar for Christmas and New Year 2017/18

During this time of year it pays to be diligent by following our Bacs processing tips:

Bacs processing and collection tips

• Make sure you submit all payment files as much as 30 days before the processing date and make sure you are of the Automated Direct Debit Amendment and Cancellation Service (ADDACS) and the Advice of Wrong Account for Credit Service (AWACS).
• Make sure all staff involved in the payment collections process are aware of the Bacs processing calendar dates.
• Regularly review all your Bacs payment submissions.  

Be aware of the requirement to give advance notice

We also thought we’d take this opportunity to remind you of your obligation to notify your customers before submitting a payment to be collected by Direct Debit, as this could be overlooked in the Christmas rush. You must give 10 working days advance notice by default, although this can be reduced through an agreement with the customer or your bank.

Exceptions to the advance notice rule include:

• Explicitly authorised payments – Where a customer authorises a single payment to be taken immediately.
• Fixed payment schedules – Where a customer has previously been notified of the date and amount that will be collected for a regular payment.

Need a little help?

Then learn more about our branded collection service or get in touch with London & Zurich today.

If you need to get in to contact over the Christmas and New Year’s break, you will be able to do so. Detailed below are our office closure dates over the Christmas and New Year period.

25th Dec 2017 (Closed)

26th Dec 2017 (Closed)

27th Dec 2017 (Closed at 12noon)

28th Dec 2017 (Closed at 12noon)

29th Dec 2017 (Closed at 12noon)

1st Jan 2018 (Closed)

Collections falling over the Christmas period will be processed as below. These dates allow for the Banking system non-input and non-processing days.

London & Zurich would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.