Monthly payments

Published on: 5th July 2013 | Updated on: 5th February 2024

This section contains detailed information on the payments made to NHS community pharmacies by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

The Schedule of Payments is a document which provides contractors with a summary breakdown of reimbursement for drugs and appliances provided against NHS prescriptions including the fees payable for any additional NHS services provided for example, Advanced Services and any locally authorised payments from your NHS England Area team. Pharmacy contractors can expect to receive their Schedule of Payment from NHSBSA 5 working days before the payment date.

Summary of national service payments including claiming deadlines

A  payment timetable and deadline tracker to assist pharmacy owners with checking and claiming payments for national services is available on the Payment timetable and deadline tracker page.

Timing of monthly payments

Early advance payment

As of November 2021, all community pharmacy contractors can receive earlier advance payments, following agreement between Community Pharmacy England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).  Advance payments are made approximately 20 days earlier than the current payment timetable for contractors who make their monthly FP34C submissions through the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal by the 5th of the month.

The 100% advance payments (for early and current timetables) will continue to be based on the items declared on the FP34C and the latest available Average Item Value (AIV) for that pharmacy, less the value of prescription charges declared on the submission document. Contractors using MYS for submissions must include their paper Account Identifier Document and dispatch it alongside their bundle of paper prescriptions. No advance payment will be received for very late FP34C submissions and an administrative deduction of £25 may apply if a paper prescription bundle is submitted late to the NHSBSA. The final reconciliation payment date remains unchanged i.e. this will be paid on the 1st working day of the month approximately two months after contractors have submitted the appropriate FP34C form and prescriptions for pricing.

The timeline on the below illustrates how the advance payment timetable will work for contractors who submit their FP34C by the 5th of each month:

The table below shows the earlier advance payment timetable dates for prescriptions dispensed over the next 12 months. For example, if submission using MYS is secured by the 5th of the month following that in which supply was made contractors will receive an earlier advance payment from November 2021 (starting for October’s prescriptions).

The table also shows final deadline submission to qualify for normal advance:

Dispensing Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Submission deadline via MYS to receive early advance payment  5th Feb 5th Mar 6th Apr* 5th May 5th Jun 5th Jul 5th Aug 5th Sept 5th Oct 5th Nov 5th Dec 6th Jan 2025*
Earlier advance payment date (4 working days after submission deadline) 9th Feb 11th Mar 11th Apr 10th May 11th Jun 11th Jul 9th Aug 11th Sep 10th Oct 11th Nov 11th Dec 10th Jan 2025
Pay date for reconciled prescriptions  2nd Apr 1st May 31st May 1st Jul 1st Aug 30th Aug 1st Oct 1st Nov 29th Nov 31st Dec 31st Jan 2025 28th Feb 2025

Normal payment option

An estimated 100% of the normal advance payment for prescriptions is made by the NHSBSA for prescriptions submitted one month earlier (dispensed two months earlier). Payments are made on the 1st of each month, where this falls on a weekend or bank holiday payment will be made on the working day prior. MYS is the only route for all monthly submissions. Contractors who submit their figures after the 5th of the following month, will NOT receive any earlier advance payments but instead will receive advance payments in accordance with the current payment timetable i.e on or around the 1st of the month following submission. 

Normal payment option timeline:


For example, June payment will comprise of the 100% estimated Advance payment for prescriptions submitted in May (dispensed in April) with the full value of the priced prescriptions less the recovery of the estimated 100% Advance payment for prescriptions submitted in April (dispensed in March).

An administrative deduction of £25 may apply if a paper prescription bundle is submitted late to the NHSBSA. See here for more information.

Contingency arrangements for submissions using the MYS portal

In exceptional circumstances, where a contractor through no fault of their own is unable to submit the FP34C form through the MYS portal, contractors are advised to contact the NHSBSA either by emailing nhsbsa.mys@nhs.net or by contacting the MYS helpdesk number (0300 330 1368) between Monday – Friday (excluding bank holidays). Contractors should note that this route is available only for emergencies, which are related directly to the contractor (for e.g. connectivity issues/internet outage in the contractor’s area), and unrelated to the MYS platform itself.

Contractors, who will be using the email route, are advised that they must apply an electronic signature to the email to secure payment. Contractors, using the telephone route, are advised that the NHSBSA will contact the contractor via their preferred email address (provided to NHSBSA during the call), for them to confirm that the claim the NHSBSA noted via the phone call was correct, and the contractor must apply an electronic signature to the confirmation email to secure payment. An electronic signature may include a scanned image of handwritten signature added to the email sent to the NHSBSA. In case of the MYS platform being down, there will be instructions for contractors on the NHSBSA’s website on what to do.

Further Resources

Reconciling payments page

Information Services Portal (ISP) by the NHSBSA

Getting Px Reports factsheet

Factsheet: Using Your Schedule of Payments to Monitor Performance

Factsheet:  Claiming for EPS prescriptions on time

Community Pharmacy England Briefing 010/20: Community Pharmacy Funding in 2020/21

Community Pharmacy England Briefing 011/20: CPCF in 2020/21 – Frequently Asked Questions

Summary of funding changes

Prescription submission requirements

Red Separators – end of month submission

 

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