When a bill payment fails, the funds will be returned to your Float balance, and Administrators will receive a notification outlining why. You can retry the failed payment directly on the existing bill. No need to create a new bill.
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?
Will Failed or Cancelled Payments Sync to QuickBooks Online (QBO) or Xero?
Can I delete a Failed or Cancelled Bill Payment?
How to Retry a Failed or Cancelled Bill Payment
Common Payment Failure and Cancellation Reasons
What does a Failed Payment look like in Float?
In Float, a failed 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.
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?
- Log in to your account at app.floatfinancial.com
- Go to Accounts > Statements
- 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)
Click Download CSV
-
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) or Xero?
No, failed and cancelled payments do not sync to QuickBooks Online (QBO) or Xero. The bill will remain marked as "Unpaid". However, if you retry the failed payment and the new payment is successful, the bill will be updated to paid in QBO or Xero.
If you do not retry the payment, 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 retrying failed payments, see How to Retry a Failed or Cancelled Payment below.
How to Retry a Failed or Cancelled Bill Payment
You can retry a failed or cancelled bill payment directly on the existing bill. Once you have resolved the issue that caused the payment to fail, follow the steps below to reschedule the payment:
- Log in to Float app.floatfinancial.com
- Go to the Payments page > Complete tab
- Filter for "Status" > "Payment Failed" to locate the failed payment
- Select the ellipses to the right of the payment > Select "Reschedule"
- Select a new payment date > Select "Reschedule Payment"
- Once rescheduled, the payment will move to the Needs Authorization tab of the Payments page to be authorized before the new payment date
For details on authorizing funds release for payments, see: Authorizing Funds Release for Bill Payments.
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
- Log in to Float and go to Bill Pay > Manage Vendors > locate and click the applicable vendor
- Ensure the name matches the name the bank has on file (not case sensitive)
- Ensure the routing, transit, and account numbers are correct
- Save your changes
Account Inactive, Dormant or Account Closed
- If payment was issued, the receiving bank will return the funds. See: Beneficiary bank returned below
- Contact the vendor and request alternative payment details to send the payment
- Once received, log in to Float and go to Bill Pay > Manage Vendors > locate and click the applicable vendor
- Update the name, routing, transit and account numbers as applicable
- Save your changes
Insufficient Funds (NSF)
When paying from your Float Cash Balance:
- Top up your Float business's Float balance from Accounts > "+Add Funds". See: Funding Overview
- To add funds in the time it takes to send an email, use Interac e-Transfer. See: Funding Your Business's Float Balance with Interac e-Transfer
When paying from your connected bank:
See which account is connected to Float from Accounts > Bank Connections > Funding Source
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
- Verify that the receiving account details you have are correct and contact the vendor if necessary to receive accurate details
- Log in to Float and go to Bill Pay > Manage Vendors > locate and click the applicable vendor
- Update the name and/or other details to accurately match the receiving account information
- Save
Account currency mismatch
- Contact the vendor and receive account details for the account where they will receive payment in the correct currency
- Log in to Float and go to Bill Pay > Manage Vendors > locate and click the applicable vendor
- Update the Payment Credentials to match the new account
- Save
Beneficiary bank returned
- The receiving bank is returning the funds received, usually due to a closed or frozen account
- The funds will be returned to your business's Float balance following normal transfer timelines
- See Account Inactive or Dormant / Account Closed above for steps to resolve
Beneficiary requested
- The recipient or the recipient's financial institution returned the funds, and the payment was not completed
- The funds will be returned to your business's Float balance following normal transfer timelines
- Contact the vendor to verify the reason they or their financial institution returned the payment
- 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.