Clients are told before each collection, not after. Every direct debit needs advance notice of the amount and date, and once it's collected you can send an emailed receipt. With Adfin the notice goes out at least three working days before the payment with the invoice attached, and a statement shows anything still open.
In this article
The short version
- Clients must be told the amount and date before each direct debit collection.
- With Adfin, that notice goes out at least three working days before, with the invoice attached.
- After collection, you can send an emailed receipt, and a statement shows anything still open.
- Send the notice to whoever pays your invoices, not just the contact who signed the mandate.
- Adfin marks each invoice paid in Xero or QuickBooks and can send receipts and statements automatically.
What your client hears before the money leaves
Under Bacs rules, your client must be told the amount and date of each collection before it's taken. The default notice period is 10 working days plus postal time, unless a different period was agreed when the direct debit was set up. Many providers agree a shorter one, and send the notice by email.
For an MSP, the notice can be the first time the client's finance team looks at this month's figure. Your invoice changes most months as seats, licences and project time move, so the client's finance team sees a different figure each time. If the notice arrives with the invoice behind it, they can check the seat count before the money goes, and a query reaches you while there's still time to correct it.
When the notice turns up without an invoice, or goes to the IT contact who signed the mandate and not to whoever pays the bills, it's easily missed. Then the first the finance team knows about a change is a debit on their bank statement they can't match.
What they can get after it's collected
A receipt confirms the money has arrived. It's useful for the client's bookkeeper, who wants something to match against the bank line, and for anyone who'd like confirmation without logging in anywhere.
A statement lists what the client still owes across all their invoices. For a client whose direct debit runs smoothly, there may be nothing on it. It's most useful when one collection has failed, or when you've invoiced a one-off project alongside the monthly retainer and the client wants to see the whole picture.
Your client's bank statement shows the collection too, under your provider's name or your own, depending on how your direct debit is set up. On its own, that line rarely tells their finance team which invoice it paid.
What to send each month
A short routine covers most clients:
- Send the invoice before the collection, with enough time for the notice period.
- Make sure the advance notice goes to the person who pays your invoices, with the invoice attached.
- Send a receipt once the collection has gone through, if the client wants one.
- Send a statement to clients with anything outstanding, on a set day each month.
- Give each client one named contact for billing queries, so a question about seat numbers isn't lost in the support queue.
Ask new clients at onboarding who should get each of these. It's often three different people in a growing business, and getting it right once saves a run of forwarded emails later.
How to stop sending it by hand
Most of those steps can run automatically.
With Adfin, the direct debit follows the invoice you've raised in Xero or QuickBooks, so a month with more seats is collected at the higher figure. Your client gets an email at least three working days before each collection, with the amount, the date and the invoice it relates to. When the payment's collected, the invoice is marked paid in Xero or QuickBooks automatically, so your records match what the client's been told.
You can switch on payment receipts, which email the client when their payment has been received. Statements can go out on a schedule you choose, with rules so they only reach clients over a set balance or number of days overdue, and the client can pay several invoices in one payment straight from the statement. Statements come with the free essential credit control.
If a collection does fail, it's retried and can fall back to a saved card or a payment link, and Adfin's collection agents chase anything still unpaid within the rules you approve.
Common questions
How much notice do I have to give before a direct debit collection? The Bacs default is 10 working days plus postal time, unless you've agreed a shorter period with the client. Adfin tells clients at least three working days before each collection.
Do I need to send a receipt for every direct debit payment? There's no general rule that says you must. Many finance teams like one for their records, so it's worth offering, and with Adfin it's a setting you switch on.
Can the amount change each month without the client signing again? Yes. One mandate covers varying amounts, as long as the client has notice of each amount and date before it's collected.
Who should get the advance notice at an MSP's client? Whoever approves and pays your invoices, usually a finance or office manager. The IT contact who signed the mandate isn't always the right person.
What should a client do if a collection looks wrong? Contact you straight away so you can correct it before or after the collection. Under the Direct Debit Guarantee, they can also get a full and immediate refund from their bank if an error is made.
Does a statement replace the advance notice? No. The notice tells the client what's about to be collected, while a statement shows what's still outstanding, so a client on direct debit tends to get the notice every month and a statement only now and then.
Sources
- Bacs - FAQs (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.bacs.co.uk/resources/faqs/
- Direct Debit - The Direct Debit Guarantee (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.directdebit.co.uk/direct-debit-explained/direct-debit-guarantee/
- Adfin Help Centre - What does my customer see when I use direct debit? (accurate as of November 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/10199778-what-does-my-customer-see-when-i-use-direct-debit
- Adfin Help Centre - How to get paid with collection agents (accurate as of November 2026) https://support.adfin.com/en/articles/15288807-how-to-get-paid-with-collection-agents
- Adfin - Changelog (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.adfin.com/changelog
