How to Move Receipts, Payments and Payroll When Adding or Changing a Bank in Sri Lanka

You have decided to add or change a bank, but you are concerned that customers may still pay into the old account, suppliers may not receive funds, or payroll may be due before the new payment process is ready. In most cases, the safer approach is not to switch everything on one date. It is to keep the old and new accounts running in parallel for a controlled period and move each cash flow separately.

A common misunderstanding is that once the new account is open and online banking access has been granted, the old account can be stopped immediately. In practice, the bank account itself is only the starting point. Customer payment instructions, payment approvers, online banking user roles, payroll files, direct debits and internal reconciliation procedures may still be tied to the old account. Closing it too early can cause more than a delayed payment: receipts may become unidentified, salaries may be returned, and month-end reconciliation can become difficult.

Map the cash flows before sending new bank details

Before starting the migration, bring together recent bank statements, accounts receivable records, pending payment lists and payroll arrangements in one working file. The aim is not to create a complex analysis. It is to identify which payments and receipts may occur during the transition.

At a minimum, separate them into four groups:

Cash flow	Questions to confirm	Migration focus
Customer receipts	Which customers pay using contract details, purchase orders or historical bank details?	Update payment instructions and keep a process for payments sent to the old account by mistake
Supplier payments	Which suppliers have fixed payment cycles, advance payments or direct debits?	Update beneficiary details and approval routes; prevent duplicate payments
Payroll and employee reimbursements	Who prepares, reviews, uploads and authorises payroll files?	Complete a limited test first and clarify responsibility for failed payments
Payments to government, tax or other institutions	Are any payments made through designated accounts, fixed reference numbers or online platforms?	Update records in line with the relevant platform or appointed professional adviser’s instructions and retain evidence

Do not only ask whether an account still has a balance. More useful questions are: who initiates this payment, who approves it, what bank details will the other party use, and who will detect and handle a failed payment promptly?

Configure the new account for real operating use

An available account is not necessarily an account that is fully ready for business operations. You should confirm with the bank its current requirements for signing arrangements, online banking user roles, payment authorisation levels, adding beneficiaries, payment limits, payroll batch files and reviews of unusual transactions.

Internally, make three points clear:

• Who maintains bank account records and the beneficiary list;
• Who may initiate payments, who reviews them, and who has final authority;
• Who can handle urgent payments under the agreed authority structure if the main approver is travelling, leaves the company or cannot access the system.

If your company uses accounting software, a payroll system or payment templates, check the file formats, fields and upload methods required by the new bank. Do not make the first upload of a full payroll batch on payday. A controlled, approved test process makes it easier to identify file-format or access-right issues before they affect employees.

Customer receipts: notification is not enough

A notice of changed bank details should be issued by someone authorised to represent the company and should use consistent company name, account name and payment instructions. It does not need to be lengthy, but customers should understand when the new account should be used, how payments to the old account will be handled during the transition, and where they should send payment confirmation or reference information.

For customers making larger, less frequent payments or payments subject to internal approval, a bulk email is often not enough. Mark these customers in the accounts receivable register and ask the relevant sales, project or finance owner to confirm that the updated payment details have been received.

During the transition, the old account may still receive funds. Assign a person to review its statements regularly and match each receipt against invoices, contracts, customer names and payment reference numbers. If a receipt cannot be identified, confirm it with the payer promptly rather than leaving an unexplained amount on the ledger for an extended period.

Supplier payments: avoid missed payments and duplicate payments

The most common supplier-side issue is not that a supplier is unaware of the new account. It is that the company keeps old payment templates, new beneficiary information and different versions of the accounts payable list at the same time. During the transition, a payment already arranged through the old account may be submitted again in a batch from the new account.

One practical control is to assign ownership to each payment batch. Each accounts payable list should state which account will be used, who updates the payment status, and whether a failed or returned payment may be initiated again. For rent, telecommunications, software subscriptions, insurance and other recurring expenses, check separately for direct debits, standing instructions or pre-authorised payment arrangements.

For cross-border payments, changing the bank account does not remove the need to prepare transaction background documents. Contracts, invoices, payment purpose explanations, internal approvals and other supporting documents should still be traceable to the specific transaction. For internal coordination when a bank requests additional background documents for an international payment, see the published article, “How Businesses Can Organise an Internal Response When a Bank Requests Additional Background Documents for a Cross-Border Payment.”

Schedule payroll migration separately

Payroll should not be treated like an ordinary supplier payment. It involves employee bank details, payroll calculations, payment files, management authorisation and employee confirmation after payment. An error at any point may directly affect whether employees receive their salary.

A more cautious approach is to avoid changing accounts immediately before payroll day. Before migration, check that employee banking details are complete, the payroll register version is locked, responsibilities for generating and reviewing the payment file are clear, and payment confirmations will be retained. After the first payroll payment through the new account, compare the payroll register, bank confirmations and unsuccessful payment records to ensure there are no omissions, returned payments or duplicates.

If outsourced payroll providers, accounting service providers or an HR team are involved, clarify in advance what information each party may access, who submits the file and who may amend employee bank details. External providers can support process execution, but payment authority and final review responsibility should not become unclear.

When can the old account stop being used?

Before closing or deactivating the old account, do not look only at whether its balance is zero. More practical checks include whether key customers have updated their payment details; outstanding supplier payments have been completed or transferred; payroll has been completed and reconciled under the new process; direct debits and recurring payments have been addressed; recent old-account activity contains no unexplained duplicates or missing items; and the bank has clearly explained the procedures for closure, downgrading or retaining the account.

Cost and timing should also be addressed directly in the migration plan. Costs commonly arise from account maintenance, online banking or payment functions, payment transactions, payroll batch processing, foreign currency or cross-border payments, and internal staff time. The actual charging structure depends on the bank and services selected. When requesting a quotation or fee schedule, do not ask only about account opening charges. Ask whether account maintenance, online banking access, batch payments, international payments, account closure and account changes are charged separately. To assess whether a quotation is appropriate, compare the fee schedule item by item with your actual payment frequency, currencies, number of approvers and payroll process.

Timing depends on several moving parts: the bank’s account setup, internal access configuration, customers and suppliers updating their records, and the payroll cycle. Rather than committing to a fixed switch date, set clear completion conditions: the new account can receive funds, payments can be made under the correct authority levels, payroll has been tested, someone is responsible for exceptions in the old account, and finance can reconcile transactions across both accounts.

Documents to retain during the transition

Keep the following documents in a central location with controlled access: versions of account-change notices and sending records; customer and supplier confirmation records; bank mandates and online banking user information; payment approval records; payroll files and bank confirmations; statements for both accounts during the transition; records of exception-payment handling; and final account-closure or account-status-change documents.

These records are not only useful for resolving immediate payment issues. They can also explain, during future monthly reconciliation, audit preparation, tax record organisation or bank enquiries, why two accounts existed during the same period, why funds moved through different accounts, and how the company controlled payment authority.

This content is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax or immigration advice. Specific requirements should be confirmed against the latest guidance of the relevant Sri Lankan authorities and appointed licensed professional advisers.