One platform for municipal eBilling and payments
PCL One eBilling and Payments issues eBills and eInvoices, gives residents a self-service account, and collects payment by pre-authorized debit, AutoPay, debit and credit card. It connects to CentralSquare Vadim, so Vadim stays your system of record and every payment posts back to it automatically.
The round trip of a resident payment
Your finance team keeps working in Vadim. The PCL One platform runs every step in between.
Bill issued
CentralSquare Vadim
Bills and balances for utility, tax and AR accounts are read from Vadim.
Resident pays
PCL One platform
eBill by email or SMS. The resident pays by bank account, AutoPay, debit or credit card.
Funds settle
Processor and your bank
Card funds settle through the gateway. PAD files go to your bank in CPA 005 format automatically.
Receipts post
CentralSquare Vadim
A daily receipt file loads through Vadim's import routine, with control totals and an exception queue.
A complete platform for every bill and every payment
PCL One eBilling and Payments is a hosted platform in its own right. It presents bills and invoices, takes payment through every common Canadian tender, and reconciles the money back to your ERP. The Vadim connector is one part of it.
What the platform does
- eBilling for utility bills and property tax notices, by email, SMS and PDF
- eInvoicing for general receivables: leases, tipping fees, permits and recoveries
- A resident account with current and historical bills and payment history
- Payments by PAD/EFT, AutoPay, debit and credit card, and pay-an-invoice with no login
- Automated bank file exchange, returns and NSF handling
- Daily posting and three-way reconciliation back to your ERP
What stays in Vadim
- Utility billing, property tax and accounts receivable subledgers
- General ledger and month-end close
- Rates, levies and account master data
- Your existing finance processes and reports
Inside the platform
Six components work together. Each one has a clear owner and a clear hand-off to your bank or your ERP.
Resident portal and eBilling
One login for utility, tax and AR accounts. Email and SMS bill notices, PDF bills, consumption and payment history.
Vadim connector
Scheduled extract of bills and balances from each subledger, and a receipt file loaded through Vadim's own import routine.
Card payments
A hosted card frame from a PCI DSS Level 1 processor. Card data stays off your network and your PCI scope stays at SAQ A.
PAD and AFT file service
Resident-entered bank details, e-PAD agreements, CPA 005 file build and transmission, and automatic return and NSF handling.
Reconciliation hub
Daily three-way match across gateway settlement, bank deposit and Vadim posting, with control totals and an exception queue.
Staff console
Account lookup for the front counter, exception ownership and status, interface monitoring and reconciliation reports.
How the platform connects to Vadim
The Vadim connector uses Vadim's own extract and import routines. We confirm your Vadim version, hosting model and file formats during discovery.
Extract
A scheduled billing extract pulls new bills, balances and account status from each subledger.
Present
Bills publish to the portal and notify residents by email or SMS. 24 months of history loads at go-live.
Collect
Payments are taken by card, PAD or AutoPay. Card and bank details never touch your network.
Post and reconcile
A daily receipt file in Vadim import format carries control totals. Gateway, bank deposit and Vadim are matched, and breaks go to an exception queue.
Platform capabilities
Each capability can be phased in on its own. Most municipalities start with utility billing and add tax and AR once the first cycle is stable.
| Capability | What residents and staff get | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| Utility Billing eBilling | Email and SMS notification, PDF bill, consumption history | Residents |
| Property Tax eBilling | Tax notices online for municipalities that issue their own notices | Where you issue notices |
| General AR eInvoicing and payments | eInvoices for leases, tipping fees, permits and recoveries, with a pay-an-invoice path | Residents and businesses |
| Citizen online account | One login across utility, tax and AR accounts | Residents |
| Bills and payment history | Current and historical bills, 24 months online | Residents and front counter |
| Bank-account payments (PAD/EFT) | Resident-entered bank details, CPA 005 file, returns handling | Residents and finance |
| Recurring payments / AutoPay | Self-enrolment, amount caps, pre-debit notice, self-cancel | Residents |
| Credit and debit cards | Visa, Mastercard, Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard through a hosted card frame | Residents |
| Posting and reconciliation to Vadim | Daily receipt file, control totals, exception queue, interface monitoring | Finance staff |
Canadian pre-authorized debit, explained
PAD is the lowest-cost way for residents to pay a recurring bill. These are the rules and terms that matter when you offer it.
- Payments Canada Rule H1
- The rule that governs pre-authorized debits in Canada. It sets the requirements for the payer's agreement, advance notice of debits, and the payer's right to dispute and recover an unauthorized debit.
- Standard 005
- The file format Canadian financial institutions accept for automated funds transfer (AFT). PCL One generates the file and transmits it to your bank on schedule.
- Electronic PAD agreement
- The resident authorizes the debit online. The agreement is stored with a timestamp, and a confirmation is sent to the resident.
- Pre-notification
- Residents are told the amount and date before each variable debit.
- Returns and NSF
- Returned items come back from the bank automatically and are reversed against the account in Vadim. Staff work from an exception list.
- Cancellation
- Residents cancel or change PAD in the portal at any time.
What the resident enters
Security, privacy and data residency
Built for the expectations of Canadian public bodies and provincial privacy law, including BC FIPPA.
Canadian data residency
All production and backup data is held in Canadian regions.
Support is Canadian-based. Residency commitments can be written into your agreement.
Card security
Card payments run through a PCI DSS Level 1 processing partner.
A hosted card frame keeps card data off your systems, which places the municipality in SAQ A scope.
Platform controls
Encryption in transit and at rest, multi-factor authentication for staff, and an annual penetration test.
PCL One's SOC 2 Type 2 examination covers Security, Availability and Confidentiality. See the Trust Centre for current status.
Implementation in 10 to 16 weeks
Measured from contract to the first live bill cycle. Utility billing on its own sits at the short end. Bank and merchant onboarding is the critical path, so it starts in week 2.
Advisory: the decisions that shape the project
Technology is the smaller part of this work. Most of the risk sits in six decisions. PCL One advises on each one before build starts, with your finance, IT and front-counter leads in the room.
ERP direction
Keep Vadim and add a resident channel, or plan a replacement?
We review your Vadim version, hosting, licensed modules and vendor roadmap, and set out the options side by side. The portal and payments sit outside Vadim, so they can carry forward to a future ERP.
Payment channel strategy
Which payment types to promote, and how hard?
PAD is the cheapest and most reliable channel for recurring bills. We help set the AutoPay enrolment approach and a card fee policy that follows card network rules.
Bank and merchant readiness
Is your financial institution ready for automated file exchange?
We work with your bank on PAD sponsorship, AFT file delivery and the merchant account. This is the critical path, so it starts in week two.
Privacy and security
What does council and your privacy officer need to sign off?
We support the privacy impact assessment under FIPPA, document PCI scope, and draft data residency and breach-notification clauses for the agreement.
Finance process redesign
Who owns an exception, and when does the day close?
We map cash receipting, front-counter payments, daily reconciliation and month-end close, then assign an owner and a cut-off to each step.
Resident adoption
How do residents move to eBills and AutoPay?
We plan the launch messaging, bill inserts, paperless enrolment and the adoption measures you report to council.
Already weighing a wider ERP change? Our ERP Advisory and Oversight service covers the full options assessment.
Budgeting for eBilling and payments
Our advisory guide helps finance teams build a budget case for council. It is shared on request with public-sector finance and IT leaders.
- How one-time and annual costs are structured
- Payment processing costs by tender, and the case for PAD first
- Whether to absorb card fees or pass them to the payer
- Third-party and ERP vendor costs to plan for
- How to phase modules to fit your budget cycle
Questions finance teams ask
Is PCL One eBilling and Payments just an integration to Vadim?
No. PCL One eBilling and Payments is a full platform for eBilling, eInvoicing, resident self-service, payments and reconciliation. The Vadim connector links it to your ERP, so Vadim remains the system of record for the subledgers and the general ledger.
Can residents enter their own Canadian bank account details?
Yes. Institution, transit and account number are entered by the payer in a secure hosted form and tokenised on entry. Staff see the last three digits only and never handle a void cheque.
Do staff generate and upload a bank file?
No. The CPA 005 AFT file is generated and transmitted to your bank automatically. Returns and NSF items are ingested and reversed against the account in Vadim. Manual upload is kept only as a fallback.
Does the platform follow Canadian PAD rules?
Yes. It follows Payments Canada Rule H1 and Standard 005, including electronic PAD agreement capture, pre-notification, recall and dispute handling, and cancellation in the portal.
Where is our data held?
All production and backup data is held in Canadian regions with Canadian-based support. Residency can be written into the agreement.
Should we replace Vadim instead?
It depends on your Vadim version, support roadmap and the modules you use. Our advisory work sets out both paths. A resident channel added now sits outside Vadim and can be re-pointed to a future ERP, so it does not lock you in.
Can residents pay an invoice without creating an account?
Yes. General AR includes a pay-an-invoice path with no portal registration, suited to tipping fees, permits and one-off recoveries.
How does reconciliation work?
Each day a receipt file in Vadim import format carries control totals. The gateway settlement, the bank deposit and the Vadim posting are matched three ways. Anything that does not match goes to an exception queue with an owner and status.
How long does implementation take?
10 to 16 weeks from contract to the first live bill cycle. Starting bank and merchant onboarding early keeps you at the short end.
See the platform in a 60-minute session
A live demonstration of eBilling, eInvoicing and payments, a walkthrough of the Vadim connector, and a first pass through the six advisory decisions for your organization.
Related pathways
Timelines are indicative and depend on scope, Vadim version and hosting, and your financial institution.
CentralSquare and Vadim are trademarks of their respective owners. Their use here describes interoperability only.