What's covered in this guide?:
What Is BACS Export?
BACS export lets you generate a bank-ready payment file from a posted pay run. You can then upload this file to your banking provider to pay staff.
What You Need Before You Start
Before exporting a BACS file, make sure your companies bank details are added.
To add your organisation bank details:
Navigate to Payroll > Payroll Settings > Company Setup > Bank Details
Enter the required banking information here.
How to Export a BACS File
Once your setup is complete:
Open a posted pay run.
Select 'Actions' > “Export BACS payment file”
Fill out the required fields and confirm the export.
Once processing finishes, you can download the file in either format:
Download BACS file – the standard file in your bank's normal format (.txt)
Download BACS file (CSV) – the same payment data as a .csv file
After you start the export, the system will process the file in the background. You'll see a processing status indicator (e.g. "Pending") while it runs.
When processing is complete, the status will update to show the file is ready, and a Download button will appear (Actions > Download BACS File).
Workforce will also notify you via email once the file is ready, in case you want to come back to the page later, the file is attached to that email on success.
Which bank files are supported?
Workforce generates bank-specific BACS formats for:
Barclays – Custom Barclays format
HSBC – Custom HSBC format
Lloyds – Custom Lloyds format
NatWest – Custom NatWest format
NatWest (Bankline Bulk) – a second, separate custom NatWest format for Bankline Bulk uploads
Santander – Custom Santander format
Other Banks – Standard 18 format (select this if your bank isn't listed above)