Question 1

What manual work can I automate when using GoCardless?

Accepted Answer

You can automate the capture of payment status data from GoCardless into your CRM, accounting software, or database, eliminating manual record updates when payments succeed or fail. You can also trigger automated workflows when payments are collected, such as sending confirmations, updating contact records, or generating reports. Additionally, you can automate the creation of payment requests in GoCardless based on incoming data from other systems, reducing data entry work.

Question 2

How does data flow between GoCardless and other business tools?

Accepted Answer

GoCardless connects to other platforms through API integrations that pull payment event data (such as payment completed, payment failed, or mandate created) from GoCardless and push it into your CRM, accounting system, or webhook receivers. Data typically flows one direction (GoCardless outward) unless your automation tool sends payment instruction details back into GoCardless. Real-time webhooks allow you to trigger actions immediately when payment events occur, while periodic API calls can sync historical or batch payment data.

Question 3

What commonly breaks or causes problems when automating GoCardless workflows?

Accepted Answer

Retry logic and failed payment handling often cause issues because automated systems may not account for GoCardless retry behavior, leading to duplicate records or missed payment notifications. Timing mismatches can occur when automations trigger before webhook data fully populates in GoCardless, causing incomplete data syncs. Currency or payment status field mappings may be inconsistent between GoCardless and downstream tools, resulting in data corruption. Additionally, mandate or bank account validation errors in GoCardless may not automatically feed back to your workflow, leaving invalid payment requests stuck.

Question 4

How should I structure GoCardless to make automations reliable?

Accepted Answer

Establish consistent naming conventions and metadata for mandates and payment metadata fields in GoCardless so downstream systems can reliably match and categorize payments. Create separate webhooks or automation rules for different payment types or contact groups to avoid complex conditional logic that may fail silently. Store and reference GoCardless resource IDs (payment ID, mandate ID, creditor ID) in your connected tools to maintain reliable links across systems, rather than relying on external references that may change.

Automate the manual work in GoCardless

GoCardless by the numbers

Top 5 GoCardless friction points when done manually

Reconciling GoCardless payments to invoices

Chasing failed GoCardless collections manually

Updating customer payment info across GoCardless

Exporting GoCardless data for reporting

Handling GoCardless refunds and adjustments

What you can automate in GoCardless

Create instant bank payments in GoCardless for new invitees in Calendly

Create Mailchimp subscribers from new GoCardless instant payments or mandates

Create Slack channel messages for new GoCardless mandates

Notify on Slack with a channel message when mandates are cancelled in GoCardless

Post new failed GoCardless payments to Slack

Record GoCardless failed payments in Google Sheets rows

Tools commonly connected to GoCardless

GoCardless Automation questions

Ready to automate your work in GoCardless?