Before payments can be collected from a customer by direct debit, authorization must be granted via a mandate. A mandate is a legally binding payment agreement between the company (Vendor) and their debtor (Customer). The mandate will receive a unique id that will also be used to identify the Customer in Uniconta.
These payment agreements must be signed by the Customer before payments can be drawn. We recommend that you contact your bank to ensure that the agreement is set up in accordance with the applicable regulations.
Create a mandate
Mandates must first be set up in Uniconta. This is a simple process which can be carried out under Customer/Customer.
Here, it is possible to create a mandate for one single Customer or a several Customers at a time. Highlight the Customers that you wish to create a mandate for and click the ‘Create mandate’ button.
A dialogue box will appear. Select from the list of ’File formats for methods of payment’ and the ’Scheme type’ (Core, B2B) with which you wish to create the mandates.
A list of all mandates can be found and administrated under Customer/Maintenance/Mandates.
Below is a description of the fields for each mandate.
| Column | Read/Write | Beskrivelse | Note |
| Account | R | The Customer account linked to this mandate. | |
| Account name | R | Customer name | |
| Mandate | R | A mandate is identified by a unique id. | Uniconta automatically generates this id once the ’Save’ button is pressed.
You can define you own unique Id in the field ‘Alternative mandate’. |
| Alternative mandate | R/W | Alternative mandate Id. Max length 35 characters | Manually generated ID. Read more further down.
Field isn’t editable once the status is set to ‘Registered’. |
| Status | W | The status can be any one of the following:
<blank> Status when creating new mandates. Registered: The mandate is registered. Unregistered: The mandate has been unregistered.
The following are only used for the Danish ’Nets’ solution: Register: Not used |
This field will be updated automatically but can also be typed in manually |
| Scheme type | W | The following can be selected:
– Core – B2B |
Core: Can be used for b2b and b2c.
B2B: Can only be used for b2b. |
| Registered | W | Shows the date upon which the mandate was registered. | This field must be updated manually. |
| Unregistered | W | Shows the date upon which the mandate was unregistered. | This field must be updated manually. |
| Status information | R | This is a log of all of the activities that have occurred on this mandate. | This field is updated automatically. |
| Identification of agreement | R | Not used | This field is only used in the Danish ’Nets’ solution. |
| Old mandate | W | Not used | This field is only used in the Danish ’Nets’ solution. |
Mandate vs Alternative mandate
Uniconta will automatically generate a unique Mandate Id which will work well for new customers.
There may be situations where the user would like to define their own mandate Id. This can be done by entering an Id in the Alternative mandate field.
Please note that the Mandate-field value is then replaced by the value from Alternative mandate.
Note: There is no validation that this Alternative Mandate is a unique Id. It is therefore up to the user to make sure that the Id is unique.
Description of local menu buttons
Note that mandates are created using the ’Create Mandate’ button under Customer/Customer.
‘Register’ button
The following fields are updated when a mandate is registered:
- Registered date = Today’s date.
- Unregistered = <blank>
- Status = ’Registered’
- Scheme type = <value entered in dialogue box >
The following fields must be completed on the Customer card, otherwise the warning message ‘No record is selected’ will appear:
- The Customer card must have ‘SEPA’ selected as ‘Payment format;
- The Customer card must ‘Account type’ ‘IBAN’ selected;
- The Customer card must have a valid IBAN account;
- The Customer card must have a valid SWIFT number.
Read more about the warning message here.
Only the highlighted mandates will be signed up/registered.
Note: A status of ’Registered’ can also be updated manually.
’Unregister’ button
The following fields are updated upon signing unregistering a mandate. Note that once a Customer is ’Unregistered’ a mandate, the Vendor will no longer be able to draw funds from that Customer.
- Registered date = <blank>
- Unregistered= Today’s date
- Status = ’Unregistered’
The following fields must be completed, otherwise the update cannot be saved:
- The Payment format ’SEPA’ must be selected for the Customer
- Status = ’Registered’
Only the highlighted mandates will be unregistered.
Note: A status of ’Unregistered’ can also be updated manually.
’Show Status information’ button
The status information is listed directly in the ‘Status information’ column. However, a clearer overview can also be shown at the bottom of the screen by pressing this button.
’Import mandate’ button
Not used – Only used for the Danish ’Nets’ solution.
‘Change’ button
Not used – Only used for the Danish ’Nets’ solution.
‘Activate’ button
Not used – Only used for the Danish ’Nets’ solution.
Change a payment agreement between a Vendor and a Customer.
The following is a general description only. We recommend that you contact your bank when making changes to your payment agreements (mandates).
There are various reasons for which a payment agreement (mandate) may need to be changed. If it is a B2B agreement, then the Customer needs to inform its bank.
In the following cases, the Vendor and/or the Customer must contact their bank.
- The Vendor must change the unique mandate-id if an existing Direct Debit solution is converted to Uniconta;
- The Vendor has changed its name;
- The Customer changes their bank account number within their current bank;
- The Customer switches to another bank and thereby changes their bank details.
Cancel a payment agreement
The following is a general description only. We recommend that you contact your bank when cancelling payment agreements (mandates):
A payment agreement (mandate) can be cancelled by the Vendor or the Customer without informing the banks. However, if it is a B2B agreement then the Customer usually has to inform its bank.
Note that a Vendor may not draw a payment from a Customer that was not activated within in the last 36 months.