Setup for ACH or EFT Payments

This section reviews the following setup procedure for configuring Connected for use with ACH/EFT payments.   These steps are  required if you are going to be submitting payment files to your bank and have them issue electronic payments on your company's behalf.

The topics covered in the following section are:

• Enabling EFT Settings
• Updating your Connected Bank Information for ACH/EFT Payments
• Adding the EFT/ACH Export File Format
• Adding Vendor Information for ACH/EFT Payments

Enable EFT Settings

To begin submitting payment files to your bank, the following must be enabled:

Under the File menu select Company Setup -> A/P Defaults.  In the A/P Defaults screen, click the “Payments” tab, as shown in the following screen.

Select the check box Make Payments for EFT Vendors so that payment runs can be generated with electronic payments. Set the Next Number as needed.   This is required to emulate the traditional "check run" without printing checks.

Click OK to save and exit the window.

Updating Bank Information for ACH/EFT Payments

Each bank that ACH/EFT payments will be generated from requires some additional information to identify to the financial institution which account the payment should be made from.

To update the Bank payment details in Connected:

1. Open the Banks screen from the G/L -> Setup menu or by from the Connected Desktop, as shown in the following screen.

2. Select from the list of bank codes the bank which requires the additional information for the ACH/EFT payments.   This would be the bank account that payments are being issued from.

3. Click Modify and add the additional information.  Common fields required are "Bank Account No", "Transit No", "Bank ID No", and "Company ID No".  Please refer to the additional instructions provided by Accountek, for information on the specific field requirements.

Adding the EFT/ACH Export Format

Each financial institution will require a different payment format.  If you have confirmed and received the payment export format from Accountek, you can add it by using the following steps:

1. Under the File Menu select Company Setup and then A/P Forms, as shown in the following screen.

2. Select EFT Export from the "Show Forms" drop down menu, as shown in the following screen.  Click Import and select the file that was received from Accountek for your specific financial institution.

Once the file is imported it will appear in the list for use when creating payment files.  Click Done to exit the A/P Forms window.

Adding Vendor Information for ACH/EFT Payments

Before vendors can be paid using ACH/EFT, each vendor requires additional information to route their payments to the correct bank account.  If a vendor is to always be paid electronically, the default setting should be selected.

1. Open the Vendors screen from the A/P menu or from the Connected Desktop.  You can also use the Vendor Query window to access a list of vendors.

2. Use the Find command to locate the vendor that will be updated.

3. Click the Bank EFT Details tab, as shown in the following screen.

4. Enter the Vendor's banking information in the spaces provided.  

NOTE: If ACH Payments are being made, ensure that an Account Type is selected (Checking Account or Savings Account)

5. Select the EFT Export checkbox if the vendor will always be paid electronically when doing payment runs.

6. When complete, click Save to update the vendor with the changes.