Bank transfers at the service counter
How a workshop takes a bank transfer for a service bill at the till, why the bank's reference is required, and when it is safe to hand back the keys.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Automotive businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
It is late afternoon at the service desk. A customer has come to collect their car after a major service, the bill is larger than they expected, and they would rather pay by bank transfer than by card. They tap through their banking app, turn the phone round and show the service adviser a confirmation screen. The adviser has the keys in one hand. Do they hand them over?
Most workshops have been caught at least once by a transfer that never arrived: a payment that was scheduled rather than made, a confirmation from the wrong account, or simply a screenshot of somebody else's payment. Once the car has left, getting the money becomes a debt collection exercise.
This article sets out how Achekam's till handles a bank transfer at the counter, what it does and does not prove, and a release policy that protects the workshop without insulting honest customers.
A confirmation screen is not money in your account
Start from a simple principle: a transfer is paid when the money shows in the workshop's bank account, not when the customer's app says it has been sent. Depending on the banks involved, the two can be minutes or days apart.
The till does not change that principle. What it does is make sure the transfer is properly identified, so it can be found and checked.
How the till handles a bank transfer
The till is part of the Point of Sale add-on, under Commerce & POS. When the cashier chooses bank transfer as the payment method:
- The till shows the business's bank details and a payment reference, so the customer pays into the right account and quotes something the workshop can trace.
- The customer makes the transfer.
- The cashier records the bank's reference for the payment. Until that reference is recorded, the till refuses the sale.
That last step is a useful discipline: no bank-transfer sale exists in the system without a reference that ties it to a specific payment. It is not, by itself, confirmation that the money has arrived. The cashier types in the reference the customer's bank provides; checking that the money actually reached the workshop's account is a separate step, covered below.
Paid in full, or not through the till
The server refuses any till sale that is not paid in full. The till is not the place for a customer who wants to pay half now and half at month end.
For those cases, use an invoice instead. An issued invoice can be paid through a pay page that shows the business's bank details and a payment reference, and a staff member marks the payment received once it shows on the bank statement. That route suits fleet customers and businesses that settle on account, and it keeps part payments visible on the invoice rather than forcing them through the counter.
Where the transfer posts in the ledger
Every till sale that reaches the server posts a balanced journal in the same step, with each payment method going to its own account. For a service bill paid by transfer:
| What | Where it posts |
|---|---|
| The bank transfer | Account 1000, the account used for EFT |
| The sale | Revenue, account 4000 |
| VAT on the sale | Output VAT, account 2150 |
| Parts fitted from stock | Cost of sales against inventory (1300), at each part's cost price |
Because transfers post to their own account, they can be checked separately from card and cash takings, which is exactly what the next step needs.
Checking it against the bank statement
Achekam imports bank statements as PDF, CSV, Excel, OFX, QIF, MT940 or CAMT.053, and checks each import so that the opening balance plus movements equals the closing balance. Bank lines are then matched by suggestion, and a person accepts each match. AccountingTools walks through the wider bank reconciliation process: comparing the business's cash records with the bank statement and adjusting the books.
For a workshop, a daily routine is enough:
- Import the day's statement the next morning.
- Accept matches for each counter transfer, using the bank reference the cashier recorded.
- Any transfer recorded at the till but not on the statement goes straight to the service manager. The customer is called the same day, while the conversation is still easy.
A release policy for the service desk
Agree a short policy, put it in writing, and apply it to everyone so nobody feels singled out:
- Ask early. When the customer is told the car is ready, ask how they will pay. Suggest paying by transfer before they come in, quoting the reference.
- Release on receipt. Keys go back when the transfer shows in the workshop's account, or when the payment is made by a method confirmed at the counter.
- Know your exceptions. Decide which account customers, such as known fleets, may collect before payment shows, and who can authorise anyone else.
- Record the reference every time. The till insists on it; make sure it is the bank's reference, not a note like "paid".
- Follow up the same day. A missing transfer is a phone call today or a collections file next month.
For customers who would rather pay by card, the counter process is covered in recording card payments from the bank terminal. Kenyan workshops have a faster option still: an M-Pesa prompt when the customer collects.
The short version
The till makes sure every transfer has a reference and lands in the right account. Your policy decides when the keys go back. Together they let the service desk accept transfers without guessing, and give the accounts team a clean list to check the next morning.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
