To meet a Friday pay day using the standard four-day schedule would require that files be submitted to InterceptEFT by the cutoff time on Tuesday, however earlier
ACH transmissions would be required during holiday periods. A schedule example for a Friday payday is shown in the following table:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Processor sends
If you or your payroll clients require a faster turnaround, InterceptEFT also offers a premium service to enable a three-day schedule. A schedule example for a Friday payday is shown in the following table:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Processor sends
Note that if a bank holiday were to fall on the Friday, the ACH files would need to be transmitted to InterceptEFT one day earlier (Tuesday) for a Thursday rather than a Friday pay day. Otherwise, InterceptEFT would be required to change the effective date to the next business day and employees would not get paid until Monday.
To specify the processing window required for your client, mark the appropriate option in the Direct Deposit tab of the File / Client Properties window. The complete setup and processing steps are covered in the section of this document entitled
“Setup steps in Payroll CS and the Direct Deposit module” that begins on page 17.
Vendor and tax payment 5-day processing window
For vendor and tax payment transactions, InterceptEFT requires a 5-day processing window. To ensure processing can be completed without any unexpected delays, send vendor and tax payment transactions in an ACH file separate from payroll transactions. The effective entry date must be 5 days from the submission date to InterceptEFT. For example, if you submit a file on Monday, the effective entry date would be Friday, as shown in the following table.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Processor sends
Billing and tax impound processing
For billing or tax impound transactions, the effective entry date is handled differently. The effective entry date can be as soon as the next available banking business day. However, there is a 3-day hold on the funds after the effective entry date. Make sure you set the effective entry date as early as necessary to
accommodate the 3-day hold on the funds.
To ensure processing can be completed without any unexpected delays, send billing and tax impound transactions in an ACH file separate from payroll, vendor payment, or tax payment transactions.
Payroll impound processing
Similar to billing and tax impound transactions, for payroll impound transactions the effective date can be as soon as the next available banking business day. However, there is a 2 day hold on the funds after the effective entry date. Be sure to set the effective entry date as early as necessary to accommodate the 2 day hold on the funds.
InterceptEFT processing days with example scenarios
These scenarios are provided to help you more clearly understand the InterceptEFT processing windows. InterceptEFT begins counting transmission days based on the date you send the file. The transmission days are numbered below the illustrations.
First, here is a glossary list of terms in the InterceptEFT calendar.
Processor sends file to InterceptEFT. This is when the client takes the payroll file created in CSA and sends it to InterceptEFT.
InterceptEFT pulls funds (collects money). This is when InterceptEFT takes the money from your client’s bank.
InterceptEFT sends payroll credits / collected funds to banks. This is when InterceptEFT forwards the funds to the Federal Reserve for disbursement to banks.
Banks pay employees. This is when employees are paid.
Standard 4-day processing window examples
Scenario one
In this scenario, you send a direct deposit file to InterceptEFT on Tuesday for employees to be paid on Friday. On Wednesday, InterceptEFT pulls funds from the client’s bank, on Thursday the credits are sent to the Federal Reserve for
disbursement to banks, and on Friday, the banks pay the employees.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Processor sends
In this scenario, you send a direct deposit file to InterceptEFT on Wednesday to be paid on the effective date (based on the check date) of Tuesday of the following week. Thursday is a hold day, on Friday, InterceptEFT pulls the funds from the clients bank. On Monday of the following week, credits are sent to the Federal Reserve for disbursement to banks, and on Tuesday the banks pay the employees.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Processor sends
1 1 (hold) 2
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
InterceptEFT
Premium 3-day processing window examples
Scenario one
In this scenario, you send a direct deposit file to InterceptEFT on Wednesday for employees to be paid on Friday.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Processor sends
In this scenario, you send a direct deposit to InterceptEFT on Monday for employees to be paid on the effective date (based on the check date), which is Friday. In this case, Tuesday and Wednesday would be considered hold days. Then on Thursday, credits are sent to the Federal Reserve for disbursement to banks, and on Friday the employees are paid.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Processor sends
5-day processing window examples (for tax payments and vendor checks only)
A 5-day processing window is used only for tax payments and vendor checks.
Scenario one
In this scenario, you send a tax payment to InterceptEFT on Monday to be paid to the agency on Friday. On Tuesday, InterceptEFT pulls the funds from the client’s bank, Wednesday is a hold day, on Thursday InterceptEFT sends credits to the Federal Reserve for disbursement to the bank, and on Friday the bank pays the tax agency (posts the payment to the account).
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
In this scenario, you send a tax payment to InterceptEFT on Tuesday to be paid on an effective date (based on a check date) of Friday of the following week.
Wednesday of this week through Monday of the following week are considered idle days. On Tuesday, InterceptEFT pulls the money from the client’s bank,
Wednesday is a hold day, on Thursday InterceptEFT sends money to the Federal Reserve for disbursement to the bank. On Friday, the bank pays the tax agency (posts the payment to the account).
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Processor sends
file to InterceptEFT
1 (Idle) (Idle) (Idle)
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
InterceptEFT
InterceptEFT accepts the following types of transactions for ACH processing:
Payroll
Child support withholding payments
Direct vendor payments
Tax payments
Impounding for taxes
Impounding for billing or other
Impounding for payroll
Setup steps in Payroll CS and the Direct Deposit module
Request and install the Direct Deposit Transmission license from Thomson Reuters
Contact Thomson Reuters, Professional Software & Services, to ask for the free-by-request Direct Deposit Transmission license that is required to activate the
InterceptEFT functionality in your Payroll CS and Direct Deposit module software.
To purchase the Direct Deposit module as well as to request the Direct Deposit Transmission license that enables you to transmit ACH files directly to
InterceptEFT, contact your CS Sales Representative at 800-968-8900 or via our website at CS.ThomsonReuters.com.
If you are already a licensed user of the Direct Deposit module but want to request just the Direct Deposit Transmission license to add the ability to transmit ACH files directly to InterceptEFT, contact a CS Sales Representative at 800-968-8900 or via our website at CS.ThomsonReuters.com.
Thomson Reuters will provide you with an updated software license for your CS Professional Suite Accounting Products software. When that file becomes available, complete the following steps to download it via CS Connect.™
1. Open your CSA software and choose File / CS Connect.
2. In the CS Connect dialog, mark the Retrieve licenses checkbox and then click the Call Now button to begin the download process.
Note: The Direct Deposit Transmission license is not required if you are already a licensed user of both Payroll CS and the Direct Deposit module and you choose to work with individual banks rather than with InterceptEFT.
Important! To ensure that your ACH files will be transmitted to InterceptEFT correctly, you need to complete the steps outlined below exactly as described.
Complete the global setup steps
You first need to set up InterceptEFT as one of your direct-deposit “banks” that will be sending or receiving electronic payments on behalf of you and your clients. The steps in this section will make InterceptEFT available for selection as the
Immediate Destination Bank for any of your payroll clients.
1. From the CSA main window, choose Utilities / Direct Deposit.
2. From the Maintain Electronic Transaction Files dialog, choose Setup / Bank Information.
3. In the Bank Information dialog, click the Add button and enter the following information for InterceptEFT:
Description InterceptEFT
Bank name InterceptEFT
RTN (routing/transit number) 0912-14847
4. Click the Enter button to save the record.
5. Continue adding a bank information record for each bank used by any of your clients or their employees. Remember to verify the bank’s routing number prior to clicking the Enter button.
Notes
Because each bank has a unique routing number (RTN), any bank needs to be set up only once in Payroll CS to make that global bank information available for all clients and employees.
By default, the ACH banks list is sorted by Description, but you can click on any column heading to modify the sort order.
6. Click the Done button to return to the Maintain Electronic Transaction Files dialog.
7. Click the Done button to return to the CSA main window.
Complete the client and employee setup steps
File / Client Properties dialog
1. Open the client in CSA and then choose File / Client Properties.
2. In the Client Properties dialog, click the Direct Deposit tab and enter from the following table. (Also see the following illustration.)
Field Enter the following information:
Immediate destination bank ID InterceptEFT
Immediate origin <Enter your own accounting firm’s 9-digit tax ID number.>
Immediate origin name <Enter your own accounting firm’s name, using up to 23 characters.>
Originating DFI bank ID <From the drop-down list, select the bank from which the funds will be debited.>
Processing window <Specify the processing window appropriate for the selected client.>
Important! All other fields in the Direct Deposit tab of the Client Properties dialog must be left blank.
3. Click OK to return to the CSA main window.
Setup / Checkbook dialog
1. From the CSA main window, choose Setup / Checkbook.
2. In the Checkbook Setup dialog, select the appropriate checkbook and then click the Edit button.
3. In the Direct Deposit tab, specify the withdrawal bank (client), account type, and status by selecting the appropriate information from the drop-down lists.
4. Click the Enter button to save the information, and then click the Done button to close the Checkbook Setup dialog.
Setup / Employees window
Repeat the following for each employee who requests payroll direct deposit.
1. From the CSA main window, choose Setup / Employees.
2. In the Employees window, highlight the employee who will receive the direct deposit and click the Edit button.
3. In the Tax Withholdings and Deductions tab, verify that the employee record includes a deduction item for direct deposit.
4. If you are using journal entries, enter a GL number for the deduction item in the G/L Acct column. This is generally the same net pay GL number used for the checkbook from which the deduction is being taken.
5. Click the button for the direct deposit deduction item and enter or verify the information in the Item Properties dialog.
Note: If you have created a new direct deposit deduction item (rather than using the default CSA Direct Deposit deduction item), the item must be specified for the CSA direct deposit calculation in order to prompt creation of the EPS file. Choose Setup / System Configuration / Deduction Items. Edit the item you are using for direct deposit, click the Calculations tab, and then mark the CSA direct deposit checkbox.
6. In the Direct Deposit tab, enter or select the appropriate information as specified by the employee:
Select the employee’s bank ID from the drop-down list.
Enter the employee’s bank account number.
Select the employee’s account type from the drop-down list.
Enter either the amount or the percentage for the direct-deposit deduction.
Select the status from the drop-down list. (You may choose Approved, Suspend, Waiting, or Prenote / Zero Balance. Note that a “Suspend”
status is used if the employee wants to temporarily stop the direct-deposit deduction. For Prenote information, please refer to the processing section below.)
7. If the employee is having funds direct deposited in more than one account, use the additional lines to enter the required information for those accounts.
Note: There is no limit for the number of accounts you can set up into which funds can be deposited.
8. Click the Enter button to save the information for the selected employee.
Complete the vendor setup steps
Setup / Vendors window
If appropriate for your client, use the following procedure to set up a payroll agent vendor for direct deposit or, if applicable, for discretionary tax payments. (Please refer to the CSA help topics for more details about vendor setup, including
information about the automatic creation of vendor checks for payroll agents using GL account triggers.)
1. From the CSA main window, choose Setup / Vendors.
2. In the Vendors window, select the vendor, click the Edit button, and then click the Direct Deposit tab.
3. In the Direct Deposit tab, enter or select the appropriate information as specified by the vendor:
To have payroll agent checks posted to a direct deposit account, mark the Process electronic payment checkbox.
Select the vendor’s deposit bank from the drop-down list.
Enter the vendor’s deposit account number.
Select the vendor’s account type from the drop-down list.
Select the status from the drop-down list. (You may choose Approved, Waiting, or Prenote / Zero Balance. For Prenote information, please see the “Processing steps” section that begins on page 23.)
Impound transaction setup
Use the following procedure if you plan to impound money for tax, billing, or other purposes for your client:
1. In the CSA main window, choose Utilities / Direct Deposit.
2. In the Maintain Electronic Transaction Files dialog, choose Setup / Processor Information.
3. In the Processor Information dialog, enter your company name and tax ID number.
4. Click OK to save your information and close the Processor Information dialog and then click Done to close the Maintain Electronic Transaction Files dialog.
5. Choose Setup / Vendors to open the Vendors window and then set up your firm as a vendor for your client. Please refer to the CSA help topics for more details about vendor setup.
6. In the Direct Deposit tab of the Vendors window, be sure to mark the
Commercial account checkbox, which will activate the Impound type drop-down list. Select the appropriate impound option from this list.
7. When you have finished entering information, click the Enter button to save the vendor record and close the Vendors window.
Note: To impound money for tax purposes as well as for billing or other purposes, you must set up your firm as two separate vendors, one for each impound type.
Alternate accounts for employee direct-deposit setup
A checkbox option called Activate alternate accounts on the Direct Deposit tab of the Employees window enables you to use a different direct-deposit setup
configuration for the employee, and the Type field allows you to choose either the primary or alternate configuration when specifying the information for direct deposit.
For example, if an employee has a fixed direct deposit of $100.00 to pay a bill from his normal payroll check, he may not want to make an extra payment if he receives a bonus check; the alternate account type enables the employee to direct deposit the bonus check into his regular checking account.
Use the following procedure to set up and use an alternate account for a check run:
1. In the CSA main window, choose Setup / Employees.
2. Select the appropriate employee and then click the Edit button.
3. Click the Direct Deposit tab.
4. Mark the Activate alternate accounts checkbox.
5. Select Alternate from the drop-down list in the Type field.
6. In the Direct Deposit Information grid, enter the employee’s information for the special check run.
Note: If this information is not set up or does not have approved status when paychecks are processed, a live check will be produced.
7. Click the Enter button to save the employee, and then close the Employees window.
Setup of calculation profiles when using alternate accounts 1. Choose Setup / Calculation Profiles.
2. Click the Add button to create a new calculation profile and enter the appropriate information on the General tab.
3. Click the Deduction and Withholding Overrides tab.
4. Mark the Use alternate direct deposit account checkbox.
Note: This checkbox will be available only if the Activate alternate accounts checkbox in the Employees window has been marked for at least one
employee. The program automatically uses the primary direct deposit information for employees who do not have the Activate alternate accounts checkbox marked.
5. Click the Enter button to save your choices, and then click Done to exit the Calculation Profiles dialog.
Processing steps
Prenoting test files
When setting up any new employee direct-deposit information and before sending actual payroll data, the status for all accounts on the Direct Deposit tab of the Setup / Employees window should start as Prenote / Zero Balance. Prenote files are used to verify the receiver’s account number, name, and bank routing number prior to any transmissions of live payroll files for ACH processing.
Note: While sending prenote files is not mandatory, InterceptEFT does strongly recommend using prenote files for file testing prior to transmitting live data. Please allow 5 to 6 business days after transmitting a prenote file before sending ACH files with live payroll data. This gives the RDFI time to respond if account information has been recorded incorrectly.
After you have transmitted a prenote file, the status of all accounts associated with the file automatically changes from Prenote to Waiting. However, if corrections are needed, you can make those changes and transmit another prenote file. (To create another prenote file, you must change the status of all accounts from Waiting back to Prenote. This will prevent actual payroll information from being rejected.) 1. Choose Utilities / Direct Deposit.
2. From the menu bar in the Maintain Electronic Transaction Files dialog, choose Tasks / Prenote Accounts. A message appears telling you the prenote file was created successfully. Click OK to dismiss the message prompt.
3. Choose File / Refresh. Note that the prenote file you just created now appears in the left pane of the dialog.
4. Double-click the file to move it to the right-hand (Selected) pane, and then click the Create ACH File button.
5. In the Create ACH File dialog, enter Prenote as the file name. Note that the effective entry date defaults to the system date.
6. Transmit the prenote file to InterceptEFT (by following the steps that begin on
6. Transmit the prenote file to InterceptEFT (by following the steps that begin on