Account NI - Customer help and support

Contact Account NI

The Account NI Service Desk is the first point of contact for any correspondence.

Account NI Service Desk

email: servicedesk@accountni.gov.uk

Correspondence can be hand delivered at Goodwood House, however, there is no facility to talk to someone in person.

Account NI - questions and answers

Further information on Account NI is available through this list of questions and answers.

Who exactly does Account NI process invoices for?

Account NI process invoices for the following departments, and not the wider public sector.

Does Account NI support the 10 day prompt payment commitment?

Yes, Account NI has taken steps to reduce invoice processing times to within 10 days of receipt of invoice for goods and services. Invoices are paid as soon as they have been fully authorised and quality assured by the departmental officials. This applies to all suppliers of goods and services but our existing contractual terms and conditions remain unchanged.

Does the 10 day prompt payment commitment apply to my organisation?

Yes, we have speeded up the payment process for all suppliers.

When will Account NI start counting the 10 days?

We will count from the day the invoice is received by government.

How will I know when a payment has been made?

You will receive a remittance advice by email or post. We make payments every working day and the advice will be sent out on the day after we make the payment. Where possible payments are made by BACs and will take a minimum of three days to arrive in your account.

What would be the preferred method of payment?

Our preferred method of payment is BACs. This is a more secure and convenient method for both Account NI and suppliers and we would encourage you to provide your bank details and avail of it.

What steps can I take to speed up my payment?

Make sure you:

a) send your invoice to the correct address (see under where to send your invoices)

b) ensure your invoice is valid (see under good invoicing practice)

What other steps could we take to ensure that our invoices are in order?

Ensure that your invoice/credit note is legible, especially if handwritten (our preference is for typewritten). In addition, ensure that it is:

• printed on light colour paper
• printed in a colour of ink that is not difficult to scan
• not stapled, as this also creates problems for scanning

How is Account NI performing against the 10 working day target?

In November 2008 the Minister for Finance and Personnel announced that NICS departments had been set a target to pay valid invoices within 10 working days. Since then, Account NI has taken steps to reduce invoice processing times, with invoices being paid as soon as they have been fully authorised and quality assured by departmental officials.

Payment processing performance tables show each department against this target. The figures reflect invoices received from suppliers, including utility bills and construction-related invoices for the Central Procurement Directorate's (CPD) works order processing system (WOPS).

Account NI customer feedback process

Account NI is improving the delivery of financial transaction processing services across the NI Civil Service. We value customer feedback/complaints as one way of understanding how our customers view us, and the service we deliver.

How we deal with your customer feedback

We aim to provide a high quality, efficient and professional service, but occasionally things can go wrong and we are keen to learn from our mistakes. The following are the steps that will be taken to both communicate with you and resolve any issues that you have raised.

In the first instance

If you are not happy with either:

• our service to you
• decisions we have made that affect the way in which we do business with you

Please get in touch with the service desk as soon as possible, by emailing servicedesk@accountni.gov.uk. They are best placed to sort out most problems. If this does not resolve the problem, we will follow our complaints and disputes procedure.

Complaints and disputes procedure

We will ask you to submit your problem in writing or by email if you have not already done so, we do not normally deal with complaints and disputes verbally, as it is best to keep a written record.

Stage one

The Customer Service Executive will undertake an investigation and will send you a full response within 10 working days of receiving your complaint or dispute. If our investigation is taking longer than this, then we will let you know when you can expect a full reply.

Stage two

If you remain dissatisfied following the Customer Service Executive's response, you should write and ask for the matter to be referred to the head of service management at the address given below or by email to servicedesk@accountni.gov.uk.

The head of service management will arrange to have the matter investigated and will aim to send you a full response within 15 working days of receiving your complaint.

If the investigation is taking longer than this, then we will keep you informed of progress and let you know when you can expect a full reply.

Stage three

If you remain dissatisfied following the head of service management’s response, you should write and ask for the matter to be referred to the director of Account NI at the address given below or by email.

The director will arrange to have the matter investigated and will aim to send you a full response within 10 working days of receiving your complaint.

If the investigation is taking longer than this, then we will keep you informed of progress and let you know when you can expect a full reply.

Stage four

If you feel the complaint still has not been resolved the final internal escalation point is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Enterprise Shared Services. The CEO can be contacted at the address given below
or by email.

The CEO will arrange to have the matter investigated and will aim to send you a full response within 10 working days of receiving your complaint.

If the investigation is taking longer than this, then we will keep you informed of progress and let you know when you can expect a full reply.

Stage five

The final escalation point for all complaints is the Northern Ireland Ombudsman.

The Northern Ireland Ombudsman deals with complaints from people who believe they have suffered injustice as a result of poor administration - or the wrong applications of rules by government departments and public bodies.

The ombudsman is the last resort, normally only investigating cases when the complainant has already exhausted the formal complaints procedure of the organisation concerned.

All complaints made to the ombudsman are treated in the strictest confidence.

Email: servicedesk@accountni.gov.uk