Importing Bacs customer data

This article will guide you through the process of completing the bulk change mandate submission process for the Bacs Direct Debit scheme.

Please note: The online bulk change upload tool is supported by Chrome, Firefox and IE 9+ internet browsers. You will need to use one of these browsers to complete this process. 

• Import process
• How to enter your customer data into the upload template

Import process

1. Log into the Import area of your GoCardless account by clicking here

This will bring you directly to the correct page on your dashboard.

 

2. Click the Import button

 

3. Select Migrate Bacs mandates (GBP)

4. Click Download template for Bacs mandates (CSV) 

 

5. Convert the CSV spreadsheet into Text format within Excel

To do this...

a). Click the arrow in the top left of the spreadsheet to select all cells

b). Right-click anywhere within the selected area and select Format Cells...

c). Select Text from the options in the left column and hit OK

 

6. Add your customer data to the CSV template

Please note: You will need to delete the example data row in the CSV before uploading the template.You can do this by selecting the full row, right-click, and select Delete.

 

7. Upload the template via step 3

 

8. Send us (GoCardless) confirmation that you have agreed the bulk change with your existing Direct Debit provider and have notified your customers

You can see more information on notifying your customers here.

When you're ready, click Upload and review your import to proceed

9. Your CSV data will then run through a short validation process

If there are any errors, you will receive an error message.

You will also see details of the error(s) and where to find them.

Once you have corrected the errors, save your CSV file and retry the upload.

  

Your GoCardless Onboarding Advisor will receive a notification advising that you have completed the upload process. Your upload will then be reviewed and verified. We’ll confirm with you once this is complete.

 

How to enter your customer data into the upload template

Ensure you complete the CSV template according to the requirements in the table below to avoid receiving errors.

Some fields in the example row in the CSV include "(required)" after the information entered into that cell. This is just for example purposes but is used to identify the field as mandatory when entering customer information.

Data fields and examples: 

COLUMN	DATA	EXAMPLE
A	customer.given_name	John
B	customer.family_name	Smith
C	customer.company_name	John's Gyms Ltd
D	customer.email	john.smith@example.com
E	customer.address_line1	Flat 12
F	customer.address_line2	123 Imagination Lane
G	customer.address_line3	Islington
H	customer.city	London
I	customer.postal_code	N1 1AB
J	customer.country_code	GB
K	bank_account.account_holder_name	John Smith
L	bank_account.account_number	55779911
M	bank_account.branch_code	200000
N	customer.metadata.custom_reference	GYM441231
O	customer.language	en

 

Useful information to help when entering customer information:

COLUMN	INFORMATION
A, B, C	Enter either customer given name+surname OR company name. If your previous provider exported your customers full names together, use text to columns function in Excel to separate.
D	A valid email address is required for each customer so that they receive notifications from GoCardless about their payments. If you are planning to send your own notifications to your customers, please speak with your Account Executive to organise this.
E, F, G, H, I, J	A valid billing address is required for all customers.
K	The account holder name can differ from the individual or company name and so is a separate required field.
L	Account number can be entered with or without spaces, our system accepts either format.
M	Customer's branch code.
N	(Optional) - Use this field to add a custom reference for your customer if required. This will be assigned to your customer within your dashboard and is a searchable field.
O	This will determine the language of customer notifications.

Entering local bank details (rather than IBAN)

If you need to enter your customers' bank details in local format rather than IBAN, you are able to do so. For more information, please see here.