How to record a customer's direct debit mandate

What is it for?

The mandate is the customer's written authorisation that lets you collect from their account by (SEPA) direct debit. fiscaldoo keeps the mandate with a unique reference (RUM), the customer's IBAN, the date of signature and the validity. Without an active mandate, the customer is not included in a direct debit batch or in a subscription collected by direct debit.

When to use it?

• When a customer authorises, in writing, collection by direct debit.
• Before you create a subscription with Collection set to SEPA direct debit.
• Do not use it for a customer who pays by bank transfer or Multibanco: no mandate is needed.

Where to find it?

Accounting › Record › Collections from customers › Direct debit mandates.

Before you start

• Your profile is Accountant or Certified accountant. Management and Auditor open the list and the mandates, but do not have New, Activate or Cancel. The Billing profile does not have this menu.
• The customer has a bank account recorded with the IBAN. Without it, the Debtor account field says “No records”: record it first, in step 1.
• You have the mandate signed by the customer and the date they signed it.

How to use it

1. Open the customer's record in Accounting › Record › Customers (Partners and assets group). In the Billing tab, type the IBAN in the Bank accounts field, choose “Create “…”” and save the record. The account tag stays red, with an exclamation mark, until it is marked as a Trusted bank account: this does not prevent the mandate.
2. Open Direct debit mandates. In a company with no mandates, the list says “You have no direct debit mandate yet. The mandate is the customer's authorisation that lets you collect by direct debit.” Click New mandate (or New, if the list already has mandates).
3. In Customer, choose the customer and, in Debtor account, the account from step 1. The list only shows that customer's accounts.
4. In Scheme, choose CORE (consumers) (the suggested value) or B2B (companies) (see “B2B mandate” below). Tick One-off only if the mandate is for a single collection.
5. In Date of signature, type the date the customer signed (for example, 01/11/2026).
6. Click Save. The mandate gets the reference RUM/… (for example RUM/00001) and stays in Draft. Expires on shows 01/11/2029 for a signature of 01/11/2026.
7. Click Activate. The mandate becomes Active, with Active since set to today's date (03/11/2026, in the example).

Expected result

• The mandate is Active, with Collections at 0, and appears that way in the list, with the IBAN without spaces.
• The Activate button disappears and only Cancel remains. Customer, Debtor account, Scheme, One-off and Date of signature can no longer be changed.
• A subscription of the customer with Collection set to SEPA direct debit can now be activated: see subscriptions. The mandate does not collect anything yet: collection is done in a direct debit batch.
• This step makes no journal entry and issues no document: only the mandate record remains.

Important notes

Cancelling a mandate cannot be undone

Cancel asks for a Reason and sets the mandate to Cancelled, with no button to reactivate it; the reason is kept in Reason to void. To collect from the customer again, record a new mandate, with a new signature. A mandate that has been activated is never deleted; a draft is deleted from the actions menu.

• B2B mandate. The Validated by the debtor bank field only appears with B2B (companies). Tick it when the customer's bank confirms the mandate: without it, Activate refuses. With B2B, Refund right is unticked. According to the screen help, with CORE the debtor can ask for a refund for 8 weeks, without justification, and with B2B there is no automatic refund.
• Validity. Expires on counts the months set in the company (36, by default) from the signature and, after the first collection, from the last collection. The months are changed with the Administrator profile, in Settings, Billing tab, SEPA direct debit group, Months without collection before a mandate expires field. Once the date passes without a collection, a daily job sets the mandate to Expired: it can no longer be used to collect and, with no buttons, cannot be reactivated; record a new mandate.
• Agreed pre-notification days comes at 0: it is the period, in days, for notifying the customer before each debit, and it can be changed even with the mandate active. Pending validation by a certified accountant: pre-notification period, mandate validity and how long to keep the signed mandate.
• fiscaldoo keeps the mandate data, not the customer's signature: the signed document stays in your keeping.

Common problems

“The IBAN … is invalid”

• Symptom: when you create the account on the customer's record, the Create Bank accounts window opens and, on saving: “The IBAN "PT50 1234 5678" is invalid (Portuguese bank account check digits, NIB). Check the number on your bank statement.”
• What to do: check the IBAN on the customer's document, correct Account Number and save. If the window keeps refusing, click Discard: no account is created.

“The date of signature … is in the future”

• Symptom: when you save with a date later than today: “The date of signature 31/12/2026 is in the future.”
• What to do: type the date the customer really signed (today's or earlier) and save again.

“Some required fields are empty”

• Symptom: when you save without Customer, Debtor account or Date of signature: “Some required fields are empty. Fill in the fields marked in red to be able to save.”
• What to do: fill in the fields in red. If Debtor account says “No records”, the customer has no account: record the IBAN on their record (step 1) and go back to the mandate.

“… already has the active mandate …”

• Symptom: when you click Activate on a second mandate for the same customer, with the same account and the same scheme: “Escola de Condução Rota, Lda already has the active mandate RUM/00001 for this account and scheme: cancel it first or use the other account.”
• What to do: if the new mandate replaces the old one, cancel the old one (Cancel button) and activate the new one. If it is the same mandate, delete the draft.

“A B2B mandate needs the confirmation of the debtor bank”

• Symptom: when you click Activate with B2B (companies): “A B2B mandate needs the confirmation of the debtor bank before the first collection: tick “Validated by the debtor bank” when you have it.”
• What to do: leave the mandate in Draft until you have the confirmation; then tick the field, save and click Activate.

“A mandate that was activated is never deleted”

• Symptom: when you choose Delete in the actions menu of an active or cancelled mandate: “A mandate that was activated is never deleted: cancel it (it stays in the history).”
• What to do: click Cancel, type the Reason and confirm with Cancel mandate. Without a reason, the window says “Some required fields are empty.” and does not cancel.