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Handling Unsuccessful Bill Payments

  • Updated

A bill payment that failed or was cancelled will show on Float as a failed payment. When a bill payment has failed, the funds will be returned to your Float balance, and Administrators will receive a notification outlining why.

You may also see the bill status "cancelled". This indicates that the bill payment was cancelled by Float.

 

Guide Overview

What does a Failed Payment look like in Float?

What does a Cancelled Payment look like in Float?

When will the Funds for Failed Payments be Returned?

How do I Verify that the Funds have been Returned?

Will Failed or Cancelled Payments Sync to QuickBooks Online (QBO), Xero or Microsoft Dynamics?

Can I delete a Failed or Cancelled Bill Payment?

How to Re-Submit a Failed or Cancelled Bill Payment

Common Payment Failure and Cancellation Reasons

 

What does a Failed Payment look like in Float?

In Float, a reversed bill payment will show as "Failed" in the Bill Status column, from both the Scheduled and All Bills tabs of the Bill Pay page, as well as the Complete tab in the Payments page. 

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Hover over the question mark icon beside the reversed bill status to see the reason for the reversal.

 

What does a Cancelled Payment look like in Float?

In Float, a cancelled bill payment will show as "Cancelled" in the Bill Status column, from both the Scheduled and All Bills tabs of the Bill Pay page, as well as the Complete tab in the Payments page. 

Hover over the question mark icon beside the cancelled bill status to see the reason for the reversal.

 

When will the Funds for Failed Payments be Returned? 

If your bill payment has failed, the funds will be returned to your Cash balance in 1-3 business days.

How do I Verify that the Funds have been Returned?

  1. Log in to your account at app.floatfinancial.com
  2. Go to Accounts > Statements
  3. Click on CSV Statements > Use the date picker to select a date range > Locate the account and currency you want (Cash CAD or Cash USD)

  4. Click Download CSV

  5. In the downloaded CSV:

    • Scroll to find the line item of the reversed payment and funds being returned to your Float Cash balance

 

Will Failed or Cancelled Payments Sync to QuickBooks Online (QBO), Xero or Microsoft Dynamics?

No, failed and cancelled payments do not sync to QuickBooks Online (QBO), Xero or Dynamics. The bill will remain marked as "Unpaid". However, depending on when the payment failed, a payment record may or may not appear in your accounting system.

Make sure to manually reconcile failed payments in your accounting system. You may need to remove or void partial payment records created before the failure occurred.

 

Can I delete a Failed or Cancelled Bill Payment?

No. Failed or cancelled bill payments cannot be deleted from Float. Unsuccessful bill payments remain visible in the All Bills tab in Bill Pay, and the Complete and All Payments tab of the Payments page for record-keeping and audit purposes.

For steps on resubmitting unsuccessful payments, see How to Re-Submit a Failed or Cancelled Payment below.

 

How to Resubmit a Failed or Cancelled Bill Payment

Note, it is not possible to reschedule payment for a failed or cancelled bill, and these bills can not be deleted in Float. For this reason, a new bill will need to be created and scheduled for payment.

Once you have resolved the issue that caused the payment to have failed or cancelled, you will be able to resubmit your invoice.

Bill created in Float:

  • Create a new Bill to reattempt the payment
  • To avoid a duplication error in your accounting software, add a suffix like "-1" to the invoice number, ie "INV-1234-1"
  • The original failed payment will remain as Failed/Cancelled in the Complete tab of the Payments page

Bill imported from an accounting sync (QBO or Xero):

  • In your accounting sync:
    • Either edit the invoice number of the bill or create a new bill with a different invoice number from the original
  • In Float:
    • Go to Bill Pay > Select the "Import unpaid bills" button
    • The new bill will import to Float in the Unpaid tab of the Bill Pay page
    • The original failed payment will remain as Failed/Cancelled in the Complete tab of the Payments page

 

Common Payment Failure and Cancellation Reasons: 

Invalid Account Name/Number or Invalid bank/branch code
Account Inactive or Dormant or Account Closed
Insufficient Funds (NSF)
Beneficiary name mismatch or Invalid beneficiary details
Account currency mismatch
Beneficiary bank returned
Beneficiary requested
Validation Failed

 

Invalid Account Name/Number or Invalid bank/branch code

  1. Log in to Float and go to Bill Pay > Manage Vendors > locate and click the applicable vendor
  2. Ensure the name matches the name the bank has on file (not case sensitive)
  3. Ensure the routing, transit, and account numbers are correct
  4. Save your changes

 

Account Inactive, Dormant or Account Closed

  1. If payment was issued, the receiving bank will return the funds. See: Beneficiary bank returned below
  2. Contact the vendor and request alternative payment details to send the payment
  3. Once received, log in to Float and go to Bill Pay > Manage Vendors > locate and click the applicable vendor
  4. Update the name, routing, transit and account numbers as applicable
  5. Save your changes

 

Insufficient Funds (NSF)

When paying from your Float Cash Balance:  

When paying from your connected bank:

  1. See which account is connected to Float from Accounts > Bank Connections > Funding Source

  2. Log in to the online banking portal where you manage that account and add funds to the account

  •  

Beneficiary name mismatch or Invalid beneficiary details

  1. Verify that the receiving account details you have are correct and contact the vendor if necessary to receive accurate details
  2. Log in to Float and go to Bill Pay > Manage Vendors > locate and click the applicable vendor
  3. Update the name and/or other details to accurately match the receiving account information 
  4. Save

 

Account currency mismatch

  1. Contact the vendor and receive account details for the account where they will receive payment in the correct currency
  2. Log in to Float and go to Bill Pay > Manage Vendors > locate and click the applicable vendor
  3. Update the Payment Credentials to match the new account
  4. Save

 

Beneficiary bank returned

  1. The receiving bank is returning the funds received, usually due to a closed or frozen account
  2. The funds will be returned to your business's Float balance following normal transfer timelines
  3. See Account Inactive or Dormant / Account Closed above for steps to resolve

 

Beneficiary requested

  1. The recipient or the recipient's financial institution returned the funds, and the payment was not completed
  2. The funds will be returned to your business's Float balance following normal transfer timelines
  3. Contact the vendor to verify the reason they or their financial institution returned the payment
  4. See Account Inactive or Dormant / Account Closed above for steps to resolve

 

Validation Failed

This reversal reason can occur if your Float business has a P.O. Box listed as the office address instead of a street address.

To resolve, you'd have to update the business's address in Float. To do so, see: How to Change your Business's Physical and Billing Address.

 

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