Preparing your bank details spreadsheet
This article explains how to build the spreadsheet of bank account details used to set people up for bank debit (also called pre-authorized debit, or "PAD"), the automatic payment method that draws...
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This article explains how to build the spreadsheet of bank account details used to set people up for bank debit (also called pre-authorized debit, or "PAD"), the automatic payment method that draws each fee straight from a person's bank account. It is for property managers, building staff and board members preparing this file.
This is a second, separate file
This bank details file is not the same file as your fee and lease spreadsheet. On the Upload step, the question "What are you uploading?" offers Fees only, Bank details only and Both. If you choose Both, you upload the fee and lease file first and add the bank details file later, on the Review step of the wizard, after the fee rows have been resolved. If you choose Bank details only, you do not need a fee file at all. That choice is for units whose fees already run, and it skips the Units and Payer steps.
If you chose Both, follow these steps.
- Complete the Upload, Units and Payer steps of the wizard using your fee and lease file, as described in the article on preparing that file.
- Continue to the "Review and commit" step.
- Look for the block about bank debit details, further down the same page as the fee review.
- Upload your bank details file there.
Every column, in full
| Column | Required? | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
unit_label |
Required | The unit the bank details belong to |
payer_name |
Optional | The payer's name, matched against the people already recorded on that unit. Leave it blank to use the unit's current payer. If the unit has no payer, or more than one, you are asked to choose |
institution_number |
Required | The bank's institution number, exactly 3 digits |
transit_number |
Required | The branch's transit number, exactly 5 digits |
account_number |
Required | The bank account number, between 7 and 12 digits |
account_holder_name |
Required | The name on the bank account, written in Latin letters |
occupant_email |
Optional | The payer's email address. The strongest way to match the right person, when present. A blank cell is treated as if it were not there at all |
bank_name |
Optional | The bank's name. If you leave this out, the row is simply labelled by its institution number instead |
Institution number, transit number and account number
These three numbers together identify exactly where the automatic payment is drawn from. All three come from the same place: the bottom of a cheque, or the account details section of an online banking statement.
- The institution number is always 3 digits. It identifies the bank itself.
- The transit number is always 5 digits. It identifies the specific branch.
- The account number is between 7 and 12 digits, depending on the bank. It identifies the individual account.
On a printed cheque, these three numbers appear along the bottom edge, usually in that order: transit number, then institution number, then account number, each group separated from the others. On an online banking statement or a bank app, look for a section labelled something like "Account details" or "Direct deposit information", which will usually list the institution number, transit number and account number separately and by name.
The account holder name column
account_holder_name is the name printed on the bank account itself. It does not need to match
payer_name. For example, a unit's fee might be paid by Sarah Chen, but the bank account could be
held jointly with a spouse, or in a company name. Write whatever name actually appears on the
bank account, regardless of who the payer is on the fee and lease file.
The bank needs the account holder name in Latin letters. Type it as it appears on the bank account, for example Wang Xiaoming.
The optional email column
occupant_email is optional here too, but it plays the same role it does in the fee and lease
file: it is the strongest way to make sure the bank details land against the right person,
particularly when a unit has more than one person with a similar name. Add it whenever you have
it.
Keeping bank details safe
Bank account numbers are sensitive, and this import is built around that.
- The full account number is never shown back to you anywhere in the wizard, not even to the person who uploaded it.
- The account number is never kept as a file after it has been read and matched. Only the last four digits are stored for display. The file itself is never stored, because it is read once.
- Bank details you have uploaded but not yet committed expire after 30 days. If they expire, you see "The bank details expired. Uploaded bank details are kept for 30 days." and you upload the file again.
- Every screen that shows a staged bank details row shows only the institution number, the transit number, and the last four digits of the account number, for example "Institution 001, Transit 12345, ending in 6789".
- If you discard an uploaded bank details file, the details are genuinely deleted on the server, not just hidden from view. Once discarded, they are gone, and you would need to upload the file again to bring them back.
Where to get the sample file
On the Review step, in the same block where you upload the bank details file, there is a button labelled "Download Sample File". It gives you a small file with the correct column headings already in place and one example row filled in, so you can see the expected format before typing in your own rows.
A correctly filled-in sample
A small, correctly filled-in bank details spreadsheet, matching the file the "Download Sample File" button provides.
| unit_label | payer_name | institution_number | transit_number | account_number | account_holder_name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Jordan Rivera | 003 | 04322 | 1234567 | Jordan Rivera |
How a staged row appears afterwards
Once uploaded, a bank details row is shown masked, never with the full account number.
Sarah Chen, Unit 304
Institution 001, Transit 12345, ending in 6789
Matched
The full account number that was uploaded is not shown here, and cannot be recovered from this screen; only the last four digits ever appear.