Payment orders and SEPA transfers¶

Payment orders group the vendor bills to pay into one bank file, and debit orders group the customer invoices to collect by direct debit. The file is generated in the SEPA XML format (PAIN) accepted by the banks of the SEPA area:

payment orders (SEPA Credit Transfer) pay vendors from your bank account;
debit orders (SEPA Direct Debit) collect customer invoices from your customers’ bank accounts, based on the direct debit mandates signed by the customers.

Note

The features are provided by the Account Payment Order, Account Payment Mode, Account Payment Partner, Account Banking Mandate, Account Banking SEPA Credit Transfer, and Account Banking SEPA Direct Debit modules. Install the SEPA modules you need; the other modules are installed with them.

Configuration¶

SEPA identifiers¶

Go to Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings, and scroll to the SEPA/PAIN section:

Initiating Party Identifier and Initiating Party Issuer: the identifiers given by your bank for the files you send, if your bank requires them;
SEPA Creditor Identifier: the creditor identifier of your company, required for direct debits. It is composed of the country code, a check number, a business code, and a national identifier (in Spain, based on the tax ID of the company).

If your identifiers depend on the bank (as is common in Spain), enable Multiple identifiers: the identifiers are then entered on each payment mode.

Payment modes¶

A payment mode defines how a payment is made: the payment method (for example SEPA Credit Transfer) and the bank journal used. Go to Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Management ‣ Payment Modes, and click New:

Enter a name, for example SEPA transfer - Bank X.
Select the Payment Method: SEPA Credit Transfer to suppliers for payment orders, or SEPA Direct Debit for customers for debit orders.
In Link to Bank Account, select Fixed to always use the same bank journal (then select it), or Variable to choose the bank journal on each order among the allowed ones.
Keep Selectable in Payment Orders ticked.
In the Options for Payment Orders section, set the Default Payment Execution Date of the orders and, if needed, tick Group Transactions in Payment Orders to pay several invoices of the same partner with one transfer.
In the Select Move Lines to Pay - Default Values section, set the default filters used to add journal items to the orders, for example Linked to an Invoice or Refund and the Type of Date Filter.

Tip

The PAIN version used by the SEPA files is set on the payment method, under Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Management ‣ Payment Methods (PAIN Version). Keep the recommended version unless your bank asks for another one.

screenshot: accounting-payment-orders-payment-mode

menu: Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Management ‣ Payment Modes ‣ New
shows: A payment mode form: name "SEPA transfer - Bank X", payment method "SEPA Credit Transfer to suppliers", Link to Bank Account "Fixed" with the bank journal, "Selectable in Payment Orders" ticked, and the "Options for Payment Orders" and "Select Move Lines to Pay - Default Values" sections.
highlight: The "Payment Method" and "Link to Bank Account" fields.
data: Demo company with a bank journal having an IBAN account.
module: account_payment_mode, account_payment_order
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.

Contacts and invoices¶

On the contact form, in the Sales & Purchase tab, select the Customer Payment Mode and the Supplier Payment Mode. They are proposed on the invoices and bills of the contact, in the Payment Mode field, which can be changed on a draft invoice. For SEPA payments and debits, the contact must also have a bank account (IBAN).

Direct debit mandates¶

A direct debit requires a mandate signed by the customer, attached to the customer’s bank account. Go to Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Banking Mandates, and click New:

Select the customer’s Bank Account.
Select the Type of Mandate: Recurrent for regular debits, or One-Off for a single debit.
Select the Scheme: Basic (CORE) for consumers and most customers, or Enterprise (B2B) for business customers that agreed to this scheme with their bank.
Enter the Date of Signature of the Mandate, and attach the Scan of the Mandate.
Click Validate.

To get the mandate signed, click Print to print the mandate form, or Send by Email to send it to the customer.

The Sequence Type for Next Debit of a recurrent mandate is managed automatically: it switches from First to Recurring after the first debit order is sent. A mandate that has not been used for a long time is set to Expired.

Pay vendors with a payment order¶

Go to Accounting ‣ Vendors ‣ Payment Orders, and click New.
Select the Payment Mode (and the bank journal if the mode is variable).
Click Create Payment Lines from Journal Items, check the filters, then click Add All Move Lines to add all the matching open bills, or add them one by one.
Check the Transactions tab, then click Confirm Payments.
Click Generate Payment File. The SEPA XML file is attached to the order; download it and upload it in your online banking.
Once the bank has accepted the file, click File Successfully Uploaded. The payments are posted and reconciled with the bills.

Tip

Bills can also be added from the list of vendor bills: select them, then click Actions ‣ Add to Payment Order. The lines are added to the draft payment order of the payment mode, or a new order is created.

screenshot: accounting-payment-orders-order

menu: Accounting ‣ Vendors ‣ Payment Orders ‣ (a confirmed order)
shows: A confirmed payment order with the payment mode, bank journal, execution date, the "Transactions" tab listing three vendor bills with partner, IBAN and amount, and the "Generate Payment File" button in the header; statusbar Draft / Confirmed / File Generated / File Uploaded.
highlight: The "Generate Payment File" button.
data: Three open vendor bills of SEPA vendors with IBAN accounts.
module: account_payment_order, account_banking_sepa_credit_transfer
notes: English UI, light theme, 1440px width.

Collect customer invoices with a debit order¶

The steps are the same as for payment orders, from Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Debit Orders, with a payment mode using SEPA Direct Debit for customers. Every customer of the order must have a valid mandate on the bank account used; the mandate is proposed automatically on the lines. Customer invoices can also be added with Actions ‣ Add to Debit Order.

Payment returns¶

When a customer’s bank returns a direct debit (for example, insufficient funds or a mandate revoked by the customer), record the return so that the invoice is open again:

Go to Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Customer Payment Returns, and click New.
Select the bank journal and the date of the return.
In the Lines tab, add a line per returned payment: select the returned payment (journal item), the Amount, and the Return reason. Bank charges can be recorded on the line as well. Alternatively, enter the references and click Match to find the payments.
Click Confirm. A journal entry removes the amount from the bank account, and the invoice is open again.

To debit the invoice again in a later debit order, tick Include move lines from returns when adding the journal items to the order.