Settings of the U.S. ACH Plug-In

You can specify the settings of the U.S. ACH plug-in on the Plug-In Settings tab of the Payment Methods (CA204000) form.

Tip: All the settings shown in the table are displayed if you select the Show All Settings check box on the Plug-In Settings tab.

The following table lists the settings of the U.S. ACH plug-in, grouped according to the specifics of the U.S. ACH file structure.

Table 1. Settings of the U.S. ACH plug-in
Setting Type of Control Description Required Default Value
General Settings section
Include Offset Record Check box

Indicates (if selected) that an offset record should be included in the ACH file.

If this check box is selected, the system generates balanced ACH files. When you select this check box, the system displays a dialog box that prompts you confirm that remittance settings should be added for the offset record.

 No Selected
Include Addenda Records Check box

Indicates (if selected) that addenda records should be included in the ACH file.

If this check box is selected, ACH records of type 7 (addenda records) will be included in the exported ACH file. The system will calculate Payment-Related Information field of the addenda records by using the formula specified in the Payment-Related Information setting of the plug-in. On the Batch Payments (AP305000) form, when you are creating a batch with a payment method that has the Include Addenda Records check box selected, the Payment-Related Info (Addenda) column is displayed in the table so that you can review and manually edit the addenda description.

 No Selected
Payment-Related Information Text box for a formula

A formula to generate payment-related information for Addenda records. This setting is displayed and becomes required if the Include Addenda Records check box is selected.

For details, see Modification of the Payment-Related Information Formula.

 No = Concat('Inv*',[Bill.InvoiceNbr], '\\')
File Header Record section
Immediate Destination Lookup box A nine-digit bank routing and transit number. The lookup table displays the remittance settings specified on the Remittance Settings tab of the Payment Methods form. Yes Routing Number (ABA)
Immediate Origin Lookup box The routing number or a company ID. The lookup table displays the remittance settings specified on the Remittance Settings tab of the Payment Methods form. Yes Company Identification
File ID Modifier Drop-down list The numbering format of file ID. The following options are available:
  • A-Z, 0-9
  • 0-9, A-Z
 Yes A-Z, 0-9
Immediate Destination Name Lookup box The bank name. The lookup table displays the remittance settings specified on the Remittance Settings tab of the Payment Methods form. Yes Bank Name
Immediate Origin Name Lookup box The beneficiary (company) name. The lookup table displays the remittance settings specified on the Remittance Settings tab of the Payment Methods form. Yes Beneficiary Name
Batch Header Record section
Service Class Code Drop-down list The service class code. The following options are available:
  • 200 - Mixed Debits and Credits
  • 220 - Credits Only
 Yes 220 - Credits Only
Company Name Lookup box The short company name, which needs to be recognizable by the receiver. The lookup table displays the remittance settings specified on the Remittance Settings tab of the Payment Methods form. Yes Company Short Name
Company Discretionary Data Text Information that optionally can be specified for the company's internal use. You can enter an alphanumeric value of up to 20 characters. No
Company Identification Lookup box A 10-digit company ID number. The lookup table displays the remittance settings specified on the Remittance Settings tab of the Payment Methods form. Yes Company Identification
Standard Entry Class Code Drop-down list The entry class code. The following options are available:
  • CCD: Corporate credit or debit
  • PPD: Prearranged payment or deposit
 Yes CCD
Company Entry Description Text

The description of the entry's purpose. You can enter an alphanumeric value of up to 10 characters.

This value will be exported to the ACH file by default if on the Batch Payments form, the Description box is empty for the exported batch.

 Yes Payment
Originator Status Text The originator status. An originator status of 1 identifies the company as a non-federal government entity. You can enter an alphanumeric value of one character. Yes 1
Originating DFI ID (first 8 digits) Lookup box The bank routing number (only the first eight digits are used). The lookup table displays the remittance settings specified on the Remittance Settings tab of the Payment Methods form. Yes Routing Number (ABA)
Entry Detail Record section
Receiving DFI ID (first 8 digits) Lookup box The routing and transit number of the receiving bank. The lookup table displays a list of payment details specified on the Settings for Use in AP tab of the Payment Methods form. Yes Routing Number (ABA)
DFI Accounting Nbr. Lookup box The recipient's account number. The lookup table displays a list of payment details specified on the Settings for Use in AP tab of the Payment Methods form. Yes Beneficiary Account No
Receiving Inv./Comp. Name Lookup box The recipient's name. The lookup table displays the list of payment details specified on the Settings for Use in AP tab of the Payment Methods form. Yes Beneficiary Name
Transaction Code Lookup box

The type of the recipient's account, which affects the calculation of the transaction code. The lookup table displays the list of payment details specified on the Settings for Use in AP tab of the Payment Methods form.

For example, if Savings Account is selected for a vendor in the Account Type row in the Payment Instructions table on the Payment tab of the Vendors form, the 23 transaction code is exported to the ACH file for the vendor's payments. If Checking Account is selected for a vendor on the Vendors form, the 22 transaction code is exported for this vendor's payments. If no value is specified for this setting, the transaction code will always be 22 for credit transactions.

 No Account Type
Offset: Receiving DFI ID Lookup box

The routing number of the offset entry. The lookup table displays a list of the remittance settings specified on the Remittance Settings tab of the Payment Methods form.

This setting is displayed and is required only if the Include Offset Record check box is selected on the Plug-in Settings tab of the Payment Methods form.

 Yes Offset ABA/Routing #
Offset: DFI Accounting Nbr. Lookup box

The account number for the offset entry. The lookup table displays a list of the remittance settings specified on the Remittance Settings tab of the Payment Methods form.

This setting is displayed and is required only if the Include Offset Record check box is selected on the Plug-in Settings tab of the Payment Methods form.

 Yes Offset Account #
Offset: Receiving Ind./Comp. Name Lookup box

The description of the offset entry. The lookup table displays a list of the remittance settings specified on the Remittance Settings tab of the Payment Methods form.

This setting is displayed and is required only if the Include Offset Record check box is selected on the Plug-in Settings tab of the Payment Methods form.

 Yes Offset Description

Modification of the Payment-Related Information Formula

You edit the formula specified for the Payment-Related Information setting of the plug-in by performing the following steps:

  1. You double-click the formula in the Value column.
  2. You click the Edit button to open the Formula Editor Dialog Box, where you update the formula.

    For details on working with formulas, see The Use of Formulas.

  3. When you have finished editing the formula, click OK.

The following fields are available in the Component Selection pane of the Formula Editor Dialog Box and can be used to calculate the Payment-Related Information setting for the addenda record:

  • [Payment.RefNbr]: The Reference Nbr. of an AP payment
  • [Payment.DocDesc]: The Description of an AP payment
  • [Payment.DocDate]: The Payment Date of an AP payment
  • [Payment.CuryOrigDocAmt]: The Payment Amount of an AP payment
  • [Bill.RefNbr]: The Reference Nbr. of a bill to which the AP payment is applied
  • [Bill.InvoiceNbr]: The Vendor Ref. number of a bill to which the AP payment is applied
  • [Bill.DocDesc]: The Description of a bill to which the AP payment is applied
  • [Bill.DocDate]: The Date of a bill to which the AP payment is applied
  • [Adjustment.CuryAdjgAmt]: The AP payment amount applied to a specific bill
  • [Vendor.AcctName]: The Account Name of an AP payment vendor

The payment-related information will be calculated separately for each payment application if both of the following are true:

  • An AP payment is applied to multiple bills.
  • The formula specified for the Payment-Related Information setting contains such fields as [Bill.RefNbr], [Bill.InvoiceNbr], [Bill.DocDesc], [Bill.DocDate], and [Adjustment.CuryAdjgAmt].

The standard functions and operations available in the corresponding sections, as well as static text, can be used along with the fields.

If you want to insert the \ character in the formula, use \\ instead. (You can see its use in the default formula specified in the Payment-Related Information setting.)

If you leave the default formula, = Concat('Inv*',[Bill.InvoiceNbr], '\\'), the payment-related information generated for an AP payment will look like this: Inv*VendorRef1\Inv*VendorRef2. In this information, note the following:
  • VendorRef1 is the Vendor Ref. number specified for one bill to which the AP payment is applied.
  • VendorRef2 is the Vendor Ref. number specified for another bill to which the AP payment is applied.

Setup of Payment Processing

To start paying your vendors by using the U.S. ACH plug-in, you should perform the following steps:

  1. You sign up for the ACH service with the ACH operator. As part of the sign-up process, you receive the credentials with which your company is registered in the ACH network, such as account number, bank routing number, and company identification.
  2. You set up agreements with your vendors that cover ACH transaction authorization, and you get information about their accounts in the ACH network.
  3. You set up the payment method to be used for ACH payments. For details, see To Add a Payment Method for the U.S. ACH Plug-In.
  4. You specify remittance information (ACH credentials) for each cash account you are going to use as a source for paying your vendors. For details, see To Add Remittance Information to a Cash Account.
  5. You assign the payment method intended for ACH payments to each vendor that will accept ACH payments. By using the ACH-related information you collected from each vendor in Step 2, fill in the settings of the payment method on the Payment tab of the Vendors (AP303000) form. For details, see To Add a Payment Method for the U.S. ACH Plug-In.