Once you've set up a recurring payment, every parent needs to set up a Direct Debit mandate before anything can be collected. Some do it straight away. Some open the email, start the bank steps, and wander off. A few sit with it for weeks. The Recurring Payments page shows you exactly where each parent is in that journey — so you know at a glance whether to wait, nudge, or move on.
Opening the page
Go to Finance → Online Payments and open the Recurring Payments tab.
Each subscription plan is a row you can expand. Expanding shows every member signed up to that plan, with the Status column telling you where their parent is with mandate setup.
The setup stages
Each member row shows one of these labels in the Status column. Hover any of them to see the full explanation in a tooltip.
| Label | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Requested | The mandate setup link has been sent to the parent. They haven't started setting up their Direct Debit yet. | Give it a few days. If nothing's moved after a week, resend the link. |
| Setting up mandate | The parent has opened the link and is part-way through the bank steps. | Nothing for you to do — this usually moves on shortly. |
| Parent confirming with bank | The parent has set up the mandate and their bank is asking them to confirm it inside their banking app — open banking / Strong Customer Authentication. | Nothing for you to do — this usually clears within one to two working days. Resending the link won't help; the action is in their app. |
| Bank verifying mandate | The mandate has been submitted to the parent's bank, which is checking the account. Usually takes one to two working days. | Nothing to do — this moves on automatically. |
| Mandate setup overdue | The setup link has been sitting in the parent's inbox for over a week. They haven't acted on it. | Resend the link, or contact the parent directly for a chat. |
| Mandate setup failed | The bank rejected the mandate, or the setup attempt errored out. | Resend the link so they can try again — they may need a different account. |
| Mandate cancelled | The parent cancelled their Direct Debit mandate themselves. | Nothing to action from here. If you think it's a mistake, contact them — otherwise you may want to remove them from the subscription. |
| Approval required | The parent already has a Direct Debit mandate set up, but they haven't approved this specific subscription yet. Nothing will be collected until they do. | Send the parent a reminder to log in and approve the subscription. |
| Mandate ready | The mandate was just set up as part of this subscription's onboarding. Waiting for the first collection on the parent's payment day. | Nothing to do. |
| Awaiting first payment | The parent already had a mandate set up before this subscription was added. The subscription is approved and will start collecting on the next payment date. | Nothing to do. |
| Active | The subscription is collecting on schedule. | Nothing to do. |
Where it helps, the label also includes how long the parent has been at that stage — for example, Mandate setup overdue · 12d means the setup link has been outstanding for twelve days.
Resending the mandate setup link
On the rows where a nudge makes sense — Requested, Mandate setup overdue, and Mandate setup failed — a Resend link button appears next to the status.
Click it to email the parent a fresh mandate setup link. A small confirmation toast appears once it's sent.
Filtering by stage
Use the Status filter at the top of the page to narrow the list to a specific group of parents. The filter includes every setup stage as its own option, so you can jump straight to:
- Requested — parents who haven't acted on the email yet
- Approval required — parents who have a mandate but still need to approve this subscription
- Parent confirming with bank — parents who've set up the mandate and just need to confirm in their banking app
- Mandate setup overdue — the ones you want to chase first
- Mandate setup failed — parents whose setup didn't go through
- Mandate cancelled — parents who've opted out
The broader groupings — Active, Pending Setup, Pending, Overdue, Inactive — are still there too, for when you want a higher-level view.
You can pick more than one at a time. Selecting, say, Mandate setup overdue and Mandate setup failed together gives you a clean list of every parent who needs you to get in touch.
The filter is saved in the page URL, so you can bookmark or share a specific view — for example, a "parents to chase this week" bookmark that opens filtered to overdue and failed.
What's next
- Collecting Subscriptions from Parents — setting up the recurring plans that these stages apply to.
- Catching Up on Missed Subscription Payments — what happens when the parent sets up Direct Debit late.
- Setting Up Payments with GoCardless — the one-time setup that makes Direct Debit possible.
Was this article helpful?
What's next?
Related guidesCollecting Subscriptions from Parents
How to set up recurring Direct Debit subscriptions to collect regular payments from parents, including adding members who join part-way through a term.
Read articleCatching Up on Missed Subscription Payments
What happens when a parent sets up Direct Debit after a subscription's start date, or when banking timing pushes the first payment forward, and how Scoutworks collects the missed payments alongside the regular schedule.
Read articleSetting Up Payments with GoCardless
How to connect GoCardless to your group and start collecting Direct Debit payments from parents.
Read article