Remittance advice: Definition, template, and how to send it

What is remittance advice

Remittance advice is a document or message a payer sends to a supplier to notify about the payment and list the invoices it covers. It usually shows the payment amount, date, method, and invoice numbers, so the supplier can match the money to the right account without chasing you.

You'll see it most in business-to-business trade on account terms, where one transfer often clears several invoices at once. Some businesses call it a remittance slip, a payment advice, or a remittance notice.

What does remittance advice mean for your business

A remittance is money you send to settle a debt. Advice is an older business word for a notice. Put together, the term means a notice that money is on its way, along with what it's for.

The remittance is the payment itself, whether it moves by NPP, BECS, BPAY, card, or cheque. The advice is the paperwork that explains it. You can pay without sending one, but your supplier then has to work out what the money covers.

Remittance advice vs invoice

An invoice asks for payment. Remittance advice tells the supplier you've paid. The two sit at opposite ends of the same transaction, and neither one replaces the other.

The tax invoice matters at BAS time. The ATO lists a tax invoice from your supplier as a condition for claiming a GST credit on purchases more than AUD $82.50, including GST. The advice you write yourself doesn't meet that condition, so file it along with the tax invoice, not in place of it.

Why remittance advice matters

A payment without context creates work at both ends. The advice closes that gap for your supplier and for your own books.

For your supplier

Your supplier gets early notice that money is coming, which helps them plan cash for the weeks ahead. Their accounts team can apply each dollar to the right invoice and stop sending you reminders for bills you've already paid.

For your business

You get a written record of what each payment covered. If a supplier later says an invoice is unpaid, you can point to the advice and the bank record together. Listing every invoice against a payment also makes it easier to spot a bill you're about to pay twice.

Why a bank reference isn't enough

Everyday account-to-account transfers in Australia use one of 2 systems. BECS Direct Entry clears payments in bulk. The New Payments Platform, or NPP, offers "near real-time funds availability to the recipient, on a 24/7 basis," according to the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Did you know? The RBA notes that Direct Entry payments currently carry just 18 characters of remittance information. An NPP payment can carry "up to 280 characters of structured or unstructured data," according to Australian Payments Plus.

Eighteen characters doesn't leave much room. Here's what that looks like on a real supplier payment.

Worked example: paying 3 invoices in one BECS transfer

The figures below are illustrative. Harbour Roasters Pty Ltd owes Blue Gum Packaging for 3 invoices and holds a credit note from an earlier short delivery.

Harbour Roasters wants to use the reference INV1041 1052 1060 CN212, which runs to 23 characters. The BECS field holds 18, so the credit note drops off. Blue Gum's accounts team then sees AUD $8,140 arrive against invoices that add up to AUD $8,470, and it chases Harbour Roasters for the missing AUD $330.

Sending the advice on the same day helps close that gap. It lists each invoice, applies the credit note, and states the total, so the supplier can reconcile in one pass.

NPP gives you more room, but a long supplier run may not fit in 280 characters. Send the advice whichever system you use.

What to include on remittance advice

Write it so someone in your supplier's accounts team can match the payment without calling you. Every advice needs these core fields:

• Your business name, ABN, and a contact for payment queries
• Your supplier's business name
• Payment date and payment method, such as NPP, BECS, or BPAY
• Bank reference you used on the transfer
• Invoice numbers, with the amount paid against each one
• Total amount paid, in AUD

Add these when they apply to the payment:

• Your purchase order number, if the supplier quoted one
• Credit notes, discounts, or deductions, with a short reason
• Balance still owing, if it's a part payment
• Exchange rate and any fees deducted, if you're paying an overseas supplier

Leave your own bank account details off. The supplier doesn't need them to reconcile the payment, and a document without them is less useful to anyone who intercepts it.

Remittance advice template

Copy this layout into an email or your own document. The example values come from the worked example above.

Keep the same field order every time. Your suppliers learn where to look, and your own team can check any advice at a glance.

How to send remittance advice

Sending it on the day you pay is good practice, because your supplier can match the money as it lands, whether that's one invoice or a whole payment run. Timing can vary by supplier and payment arrangement, so check your trading terms. Here's the process:

• Pay the invoices using supplier bank details from your own records, never from a new email.
• Use one consistent reference on the transfer, such as your payment run number, so the deposit and the advice carry the same ID.
• Create the advice in your accounting software, or from the template above if you pay only a handful of suppliers.
• Send it through the channel your supplier prefers. Email with a PDF attached is common, and some accounting programs deliver it for you.
• Save a copy against the payment in your own records.

Ask new suppliers how they want to receive advice, and note it in their record. If they take it by email, use the accounts address on their invoice. A general inbox is where a payment notice gets lost.

Types of remittance advice

Businesses send remittance advice in a few common formats. Which one fits depends on how often you pay and how your supplier processes payments. Suppliers can accept more than one, so check which they prefer.

Is remittance advice mandatory in Australia?

Sending remittance advice is a business courtesy for everyday supplier payments. Your supplier or customer can still require it in writing, so check before you skip it.

A written requirement usually sits in one of three places:

• Your trading terms or credit application may say that every payment needs an advice.
• A supply contract or purchase order conditions may set when and how you send it.
• The other party's accounts payable policy may name the format or channel they accept.

If one of these applies, follow it, including any timing or format it sets.

How to spot fake remittance advice and payment redirection scams

Fake remittance advice is one version of a wider problem. The Australian Cyber Security Centre describes business email compromise as targeted phishing and warns: "The email may request payment for an invoice or ask to change bank account details." A convincing payment email can be used to redirect your money, whether it claims you've been paid or asks you to pay.

Australians reported losing AUD $166.8 million to payment redirection scams in 2025, according to the ACCC.

Run these checks before you act on any payment email:

• Verify any change of bank details by calling the supplier on a number from your own records
• Check the sender's address and domain against the ones you already deal with
• Question any request to skip your normal approval or payment process
• Treat an unusual payment request with suspicion, even when it arrives from a familiar name
• Check where a link goes before you click it
• Confirm the deposit in your bank account before you mark an invoice as paid

When you pay a new account, read the Confirmation of Payee result, which tells you whether the account name is a match, a close match, or no match. Australian banks launched it on 2nd Jul 2025. It checks the details at the moment you pay, which makes it a useful second check after a phone call.

How long to keep payment records

The ATO puts it plainly: "You need to keep most records for 5 years." The period starts from when you prepared or obtained the record, or completed the transaction, whichever is later.

Keep the advice you send and receive with the matching invoices and bank records for the same period. Digital copies work, provided the records are in English or easily converted into English and kept in a form the ATO can access and understand to determine your tax liability.

How Aspire helps you pay suppliers and keep records in step

Remittance problems often start when the payment and the paperwork live in different places. You pay from one system, record the bill in another, and email the supplier from a third. Accounts payable automation exists to close that gap.

Aspire gives founders one place to run supplier payments. Forward a supplier bill to Aspire by email, and its AI assistant creates a draft payment for you. The bill then moves through approval before anyone pays it, and a scheduled payment starts automatically on the date you set.

Local transfers over NPP or BECS carry zero fees, and bills sync with Xero and QuickBooks, so you can reconcile without manual entry. On the other side of the ledger, Aspire's invoicing reconciles incoming payments automatically, so fewer customer payments land without context. It handles invoice matching and month-end reconciliation without replacing any tool in your stack.

Open an Aspire business account and run your next supplier payment from one place.