Best practice

Adopting these guidelines will help to reduce or eliminate problems, resulting in more effective use of time and resources.

• Make sure the sort code, account number and any reference are accurately quoted
• Payees should always tell you if there are any changes to their sort code or account number
• Clear your system of previously transmitted data to reduce the risk of making duplicate payments
• Do not quote all zeros in the sort code or account number, as the payment may be delayed or returned
• Notify any errors in your file submission immediately to your bank
• Back up your system at regular intervals to minimise problems arising from system or PC failures
• Never insert all zeros in the amount field, as the whole file will be rejected
• Identify rejected and returned payments by examining your input report and take appropriate action
• Ensure that recalls of individual payments are made by day two of the processing cycle, for example one business day before they are due to be credited
• Confirm that the recall was actioned by checking that the appropriate account has been re-credited
• Before tracing a Bacs Direct Credit check the payment was processed by the Bacs payment service and the details are correct.