For all our customers with US-based bank accounts, we have introduced ACH (Automated Clearing House) Direct Debit as a payment method on Multiplier.
ACH Automatic Direct Debit is a secure and convenient mode of payment that helps you streamline your administrative processes with the least operation hassle and can also be less expensive than a wire transfer.
To start using 'ACH Direct Debit', you must first initiate the setup process, after which the payments will be auto-debited on the specified date. Additionally, you can also use the ‘Invoice Payments’ module to review invoice details and raise queries (if any).
ACH Direct Debit Setup
There are two ways you can setup ACH Direct Debit on the platform
Verification via Plaid (Instant verification)
Plaid is a NACHA preferred partner for Account Validation. Some banks will ask for consent on sharing Account details like Account Number, Routing Number, Account Holder details.
This will be the default mode of verification for setting up ACH DD.
Step 1: Navigate to ‘Company Settings’ under Settings on the left sidebar.
Step 2: You can view the ACH Direct Debit option. Click on ‘Setup’.
Step 3: Fill in the necessary information, such as bank name, bank type, signatory details and click confirm
Note: Please enter the Account Owner name as per the Bank records for verification purpose.
Step 4: Once you continue you will be redirected to Plaid authentication workflow to connect your ACH bank account with Multiplier using Plaid
Step 5: Continue to select your bank from plaid for the setup and verification
Step 6: Select or Search your bank and proceed ahead to login and authorize Multiplier to connect your account. Once authorised you will be shown a list of accounts connected to the authorised bank.
Please select the account which you intend to setup for ACH Direct Debit and hit 'Continue'
Step 7.1: Multiplier will perform Instant Account verification in the background and update you the status accordingly
If the account verification is successful - Your ACH Status will change to 'Awaiting Company Signature'. Multiplier will send you an ACH Authorisation form to the signatory email ID.
As soon as the document is signed, the payment method will be available for usage.
Note: Under ‘Additional settings’ the ‘Automatic Debit’ toggle will be enabled by default. This indicates that invoices payments will get debited automatically on the auto-debit dates.
Step 7.2: If the account verification fails after connecting your bank account
Please contact your CSM or Customer support to help you through the failure reasons.
Manual Verification (Takes 2-3 business days to activate)
Multiplier will allow Manual verification method on request where you will need to submit additional details for the setup. Please reach out to Customer Support or your CSMs to help facilitate this request.
Step 1: Fill in the necessary information, such as bank name, bank type, account number, and routing number.
Once that’s done, you must upload the below documents for verification.
A copy of the latest bank statement (at least 1 month in the last 3 months)
A valid government-issued ID of the person signing the Direct Debit Authorization agreement
Click on ‘Confirm’ to proceed.
Once you have submitted the information and documents, the status of the Direct Debit setup will change to - ‘Awaiting Company Signature’.
Step 2: You will receive an email with the ACH agreement that must be signed to complete the setup.
Step 3: Our team will verify the documents and the information you have provided.
Once the zero-dollar verification is successful, the status on your platform will change to ‘Available for payments’.
Note: To disable automatic direct debit, click on the toggle button and select ‘Yes Disable’. Once disabled you will be required to manually make payments via the ‘Invoice Payments’ module (refer here).
ACH Direct Debit Payments
Automatic Debit
Once ACH is set up for your company and automatic debit is enabled you will receive an email intimation from Multiplier for your upcoming automatic debit 5 days prior to the invoice due date. On the email, you can find the total amount, bundle ID, and auto-debit date. For more details, visit the ‘Invoice Payments’ module on the platform.
The payments will be debited on the specified auto-debit date, i.e, 2 days before the invoice due date.
Note:
- If you have already set up ACH Direct Debit before April 2024, your CSM will reach out to you to enable automatic debit for you.
- If you are yet to begin the setup process, note that automatic debit will be enabled automatically when you initiate the direct debit setup process.
In other words, if 7th April is the invoice due date, watch out for the following:
3rd April | Email notification about the upcoming payment |
Before 5th April | Period to review the invoices |
5th April | Auto-debit will be initiated |
Update on Contractor Payments (Effective from 27th November 2024)
Effective 27th November 2024, you'll have the option to set a preference for initiating auto-debit for contractor invoices between 1 to 5 days from the approval date.
Example: If you set a preference of 3 days, the auto-debit will be initiated 3 days after you approve the contractor invoice. Once the payment is received, the contractor will be paid immediately. If no preference is set, the default schedule will be 2 days post-approval.
Step 1: On the payments section, select the execution day of auto-debit from the drop-down list.
Step 2.1: Read the details and click on "Yes, update"
Step 2.2: The execution date is now updated.
After approving contractor invoices, you will receive an email notification about the scheduled payment based on their selected preference.
On the execution date, the auto-debit process will be initiated automatically.
Note: The auto-debit email notification will be sent only once by the end of the approval date, consolidating all payments approved during the day.
Invoice Review Process
To review the invoices before the auto-debit date you can follow the below steps:
Step 1: Click on ‘Invoice Payments’ under 'Payments' on the left sidebar.
1.1) You can review auto-debit invoices under ‘Upcoming auto-debit’.
Step 2: Click on the view icon to review a particular invoice as shown below.
Step 3: You can check the details & download the invoice if needed.
3.1) If you have any concerns about a particular invoice, click on ‘Raise a Query' from the drop-down menu as shown below.
If you have enabled automatic debit but want to pay the invoice before the auto-debit date then head over to the ‘Invoice Payments’ module and follow the steps mentioned below.
Manual Payment Process
Step 1: Go to ‘Invoice Payments’ and select the invoice(s) you’d like to initiate payments for. You can select and initiate payments for invoices under the following categories:
A)‘Upcoming Auto Debit’
B)‘Employee Invoices’ and ‘Approved Contractor Payments’
A) Upcoming Auto-Debit
1.1) For invoices under ‘Upcoming Auto Debit’ you can pay the bundle amount before the due date by clicking on ‘Pay bundle now’ from the drop-down menu.
1.2) To view the invoices in a bundle, select ‘View all invoices’ as shown below.
1.3) You can view all invoices and pay the bundle amount by clicking on ‘Pay Now’ as shown below.
1.4) If you wish to download the invoice, click on the download icon.
Next steps in the manual payment process cont'd from Step 2 onwards.
B) Employee Invoices and Approved Contractor Payments
1.1) Select the relevant invoices and click on ‘Pay Now’.
Step 2: Review the items and click on ‘Continue to Pay’.
Step 3: On the checkout page, select the payment method as ‘ACH direct debit’.
Step 4: Click on ‘Proceed to Checkout’.
Step 5: Click on ‘Continue’.
Step 6: Click on ‘Confirm and Pay’ to initiate direct debit from the provided bank account.
Step 7: The invoice status will change to ‘Processing’ & you can view the invoices under the ‘Processing’ tab.
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