Bolt-ons
Bolt-on · £19/moDirect Debit mandates through GoCardless
Estimark’s Direct Debit module creates and holds Bacs Direct Debit mandates for your clients through GoCardless. The payer authorises on GoCardless’s own hosted page, so no bank details ever enter Estimark — the system stores only the mandate reference, the customer reference and the authorisation date. Collection against those mandates is deliberately switched off at launch. The module is £19 a month.
What the Direct Debit (GoCardless) module does
- Creates a GoCardless billing request per client and returns the hosted authorisation URL for the payer to complete.
- Tracks mandate status through pending, active, cancelled and failed.
- Stores the GoCardless billing request ID, mandate ID, customer ID, your own reference and the authorisation timestamp.
- Keeps mandates scoped to your company and linked to a specific client record.
- Holds no bank account number, sort code or payer credential of any kind — authorisation happens entirely on GoCardless’s hosted page.
Direct Debit (GoCardless) — how it works
Can I collect payment from my customers through Estimark?
Not yet, and this is deliberate. Direct Debit collections currently settle into a single global GoCardless creditor rather than into your own account, which would make Estimark a payment intermediary — a regulatory position we are not in. The collection endpoint therefore refuses, loudly and with an explanation, rather than quietly taking money. It is switched on once a per-company GoCardless creditor is in place.
- What works today: creating mandates, sending the payer to GoCardless to authorise, and holding the resulting mandate against a client.
- What is switched off today: collecting a payment against a mandate.
- What is unaffected: Estimark’s own subscription billing, which does not go through this path at all.
- In the meantime: send the invoice and take payment through your own bank or card terminal, and record the payment in Estimark so your books and your accounting sync stay right.
NoteThe same guard applies to card payments in the client portal. Estimark does not currently let your customer pay you through Estimark by any method.
Where are the bank details stored?
With GoCardless, never with Estimark. The payer follows a hosted authorisation link and enters their details on GoCardless’s page. Estimark receives and stores only the resulting identifiers — mandate ID, customer ID, billing request ID — plus a status and the authorisation timestamp.
What is a Bacs Direct Debit mandate?
A mandate is a payer’s standing authorisation for a named originator to take payments from their account by Bacs. It is set up once and reused; it is not a payment. Estimark’s module is about the mandate lifecycle — created, authorised, active, cancelled or failed — which is the part a maintenance-retainer business needs to keep straight.
Direct Debit (GoCardless) — at a glance
- Price
- £19 / month
- Type
- Paid bolt-on, every plan
- Provider
- GoCardless (Bacs)
- Collection
- Disabled at launch
Direct Debit (GoCardless)
£19per month
Direct Debit (GoCardless) is a paid bolt-on. It is never bundled with Pro, Enterprise or the free trial — it has to be activated explicitly for your company, on top of whatever plan you are on.
£19 a month, on any plan
- £19 per month, on top of your plan.
- Available on Solo, Core, Pro and Enterprise alike.
- Activated in billing settings; switch it off when you no longer need it.
- Your plan still sets your seat count and job limits.
LimitationCollection is switched off. This module manages mandates only until per-company GoCardless creditors are in place.
Questions
Direct Debit (GoCardless) — frequently asked
How much is the Direct Debit module?
Direct Debit (GoCardless) is £19 a month on top of your Estimark plan. It is a paid bolt-on activated separately on any plan.
Can my customers pay me by Direct Debit through Estimark?
Not at launch. The module manages GoCardless mandates — creation, authorisation and status — but collection against a mandate is deliberately disabled until funds settle into the contractor’s own GoCardless creditor rather than a shared one. Until then, take payment through your own bank and record it in Estimark.
Does Estimark store my customer’s bank details?
No. Authorisation happens on GoCardless’s hosted page. Estimark stores only the mandate reference, the GoCardless customer and billing request IDs, a status and the authorisation date.
Do I need my own GoCardless account?
The module requires a GoCardless access token to be configured; without one it returns a clear 503 rather than failing obscurely. Speak to us about setup before relying on it.
Related
Reactive Maintenance
Maintenance retainers and repairs are the usual reason for a mandate.
Client Portal
A branded client login for progress, documents and variations.
Cash Flow Forecasting
Forecast income against certified value on the job.
For property maintenance firms
Repairs on SLA, appointment windows, schedule of rates and van stock.
Payment applications & retention
Interim applications, retention, payment and pay-less notices under the Construction Act.
Pricing & plans
Solo £29, Core £99, Pro £249, Enterprise £999 a month. Bolt-ons priced separately.
Try it on a real job.
Fourteen days, full access, every plan. No implementation fee.