ACH
Online
OVERVIEW AND TERMINOLOGY
There are ACH terms and definitions that are helpful to understand in order to use the ACH Online Service. In addition, there are basic tasks (accessing ACH and logging out) that are the same for using the Database function and the Validator function.
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Application Type
An application type is an identification of type of transaction items that are submitted in a Batch to Capital One Bank for processing. Example application types are payroll, federal taxes, state taxes, cash concentration, etc.
ACH
The Automated Clearing House (ACH) is a Network of regional associations, inter-bank associations, and private-sector processors. It is an electronic method for transferring funds between banks via the Federal Reserve system. The different types of ACH transactions include, but are not limited to: Direct Deposit Payroll, Vendor Payments, Tax Payments, Consumer Debit/Credit, Customer Debit/Credit, Cash Concentration and Disbursement.
Batch
A Batch is a group of transaction items with the same effective date and application type (e.g. payroll, taxes, cash disbursement) that are ready to submit to Capital One Bank for processing.
Company ID
An ACH Company ID identifies a profile within the ACH processing system. The profile provides specific information about each customer. This information includes the method by which the customer submits files, how the customer receives returns notification, and the account to which settlement entries should post
Database
Effective Date
The date that the items in a batch should settle. For example, the date that employees would get paid.
NACHA
The National Automated Clearinghouse Association ensures that ACH processing meets certain standards by maintaining operating rules that govern acceptable ACH formats. They also serve to determine the rights and responsibilities of those taking part in ACH transactions, including financial institutions.
NACHA Formatted File
A NACHA formatted file is a file containing payments or related information that is in the format as accepted by the Electronic Payments Association.
Validator
ACCESSING ACH FROM TREASURY OPTIMIZER
If you have Treasury Optimizer, you will access ACH through Treasury Optimizer. You will be provided a token for you to securely use the ACH service.
1. Click the ACH tab within Treasury Optimizer.
2. You will be prompted to enter your token number. Press the button on your token to retrieve a number. 3. Enter that number within the token prompt.
4. The ACH main screen will display.
LOGGING OFF OF ACH
When you are done using ACH, you must log off properly. If you use the ‘x” in the upper-right corner of the window, you will still be logged into the ACH Online system and will not be able to log into ACH again for 15 minutes.
To log off, make sure to click the Return to Previous Service option from the left menu.
If you access ACH from Treasury Optimizer, you will return to the Treasury Optimizer main page.
Click here to return to
WORKING WITH DATABASES
If you have ACH Database functionality as part of your contract, you will be able to build your database of information within the system. The database will always be there and when you are ready to submit information, you will create a batch from the database. If you need to modify the information in the database, you can do that.
CREATING A DATABASE
When you create a new database, you will set the options for the database, such as giving it a name, selecting the Company ID and Application.
1. When you access the ACH Application, the main page displays:
2. From the main page, click the ACH Payments option from the menu on the left. ACH Payment options display at the top and the Database List screen will display.
3. Click the Add button. The Add Database screen displays:
4. Select the following:
Company – this field will display a list of choices if your contract has more than one ACH Company ID profile. Select the correct Company ID for this database.
Application – lists the Application Types that your contract includes; for example, payroll, taxes, etc. Select the applicable Application for this database.
Database Name – enter the name of the database.
If the Effective Date falls on a non-business day – select what day the database information should be processed if the effective date lands on a non-business day.
Please do not set a frequency. This should remain as “None”.
ADDING ITEMS TO A DATABASE
Once you have created your database, you can then add or edit items within database.
1. From the Database List screen, click the database name in the Name column. The Database Summary screen displays.
The first time you add items to a database, this screen will not show any items. After items have been added, they will display, as shown here.
3. Enter the details of the item you want to add.
NOTE: Depending on the Application Type of the database,
the field choices to complete will vary. In addition, application types such as Federal or State taxes will have additional fields. Some things to point out are:
Employee ID field (For Payroll Application Type only) – this field is an optional identifier.
Net Pay Amount – this is the amount for that item. Start Date – enter a date that is prior to the first
effective date, such as the current date that you are creating the item or the date that the file will be sent. Do not enter the Effective Date as the item will fail. Last Pay Date – leave this field BLANK. It will update
automatically each time the item is submitted with the latest date.
Create Prenote – by selecting this checkbox you can send an item with a $0 amount. This allows you to send an item to verify a Bank ID or Account Number.
Prenote Date – this is similar to the Start Date; if “Create Prenote” has been selected, enter a date that is prior to the first effective date, such as the current date that you are creating the item or the date that the file will be sent. Do not enter the Effective Date as the item will fail.
For federal and state tax Application Types – you must register with the Fed or State prior to processing ACH payments to them. The state will provide an Access Code that to use when setting up the ACH State detail item.
MODIFYING A DATABASE OR AN ITEM
Modifying Database Properties
If you need to modify the properties of the database (Application Type, Database Name or how to handle the batch if the effective date lands on a non-business day, select the checkbox next to the name of the Database and click Modify Database.
Modifying Items Within a Database
1. If you need to add or edit items within a database, from the Database List screen, click the name of the Database in the Name column.
The Database Summary screen displays. From this screen, you can add, delete or modify an item. 2. To modify an item, click the name of the item in the Name column.
Deleting or Holding Items
If an item should no longer be a part of a database (e.g. someone no longer works for your company and thus will no longer receive payroll) you can delete it.
Select the checkbox to the left of the item and click Delete.
However, if the item only needs to be temporarily eliminated from future batches (e.g. someone goes on maternity leave and for a certain time period will not receive payroll), you can “hold” the item.
Select the checkbox in the Hold column and click Save.
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CREATING A BATCH FROM A DATABASE
When you are ready to submit information from a database, you need to create a batch. By creating a batch, you will enter the Effective Date and indicate whether you want to include all items from the database or to just include the prenotes.
1. From the Database List, select the database to create into a Batch. (A Client can select more than one database, but the same effective date will be assigned to all batches selected.)
2. Click Create Batch. The database(s) that were selected display:
3. Enter an Effective Date.
4. Click “Prenotes Only” to create a batch of only the Prenote Items.
5. Click OK.
6. The Batch screen will display.
7. Press <F5> to refresh the screen and see the batch.
WORKING WITH VALIDATOR
ACH Validator is used to import NACHA formatted files directly into Capital One Bank’s ACH module. The ACH Validator verifies that the output of your accounting package is in the NACHA file format and then creates the batches from the file.
CREATING A NACHA FORMATTED FILE
Before you can use Validator, you must have a NACHA formatted file. You will use your internal system/application to create the NACHA formatted file. (Refer to your system’s instructions.)
USING VALIDATOR TO UPLOAD THE FILE TO CREATE A BATCH
Once you have created the NACHA formatted file from your system, you will upload it ACH Validator function. When you upload the file, Capital One Bank’s Validator function will verify that it is in the correct NACHA format and will display a message if it was a successful upload or not. If it is successful, it will automatically create a Batch file.
1. When you access the ACH Application, the main page displays:
3. Click the ACH Validator option at the top of the screen. The Validator screen appears.
4. Click Browse and locate and choose the file. The path to the file displays in the Validator File Name/Location text box, as shown below.
5. Click OK when the desired file is showing on the Validator screen. A message displays – Validation was successfully started for the file
6. Press <F5> to refresh the screen in order to view whether the validation was successful or not. If validation was successful, a message link will indicate as such at
the top of the screen as shown in the screen to the right.
If Validation was not successful, a message will display indicating the type of error. (Messages are listed on the next page, with recommendations for corrective actions if they are required.) 7. If Validation was successful, click the message link to view the Batch
Report to make sure that it is accurate.
8. If the Batch report looks accurate, you must release the Batch in order for Capital One Bank to process it. Refer to the next section for instructions on how to release a batch.
“Error” Messages When Validation is Not Successful
There are 3 types of error messages that you may receive – which are described below. If you need any assistance understanding an error message, or resolving an error, please contact Treasury Management Client Services.
Validation of the file, <NACHA file name> was successful with exceptions.
One or more transactions in the file did not result in batches, due to an error. Batches were created for the other transactions in the file. To understand more details about the error, you can click the error message to view the Validator report, which will describe the error(s). Validation of the file <filename> failed. <reason for failure>.
No batches were created due to an error with the whole file. To understand more details about the error, you can click the error message to view the Validator report, which will describe the error(s).
WORKING WITH BATCHES
There are 3 different statuses for a batch.
Entered: The batch has been created successfully
Released: The batch has been released to the Bank for processing
Submitted: The batch has been scooped by Capital One Bank for processing.
Once the batch is successfully created, it is in an ‘Entered” status. The Batch Report should be reviewed to ensure accuracy. Once it is deemed accurate and is ready for processing, it must be released to Capital One Bank. The Bank will then scoop the batch at the next scoop time and the status of the batch will change to “Submitted”.
VIEWING A BATCH REPORT
When your have created a batch from a database or from Validator, you will view the batch report to make sure that all of the line items are correct. The newly-imported batches will show a status of “Entered” at this time. When viewing the batch report, if everything is accurate, you may want to print a copy for your records as released batches only remain on the system for 30 days.
When you create a Batch from a database, you will manually need to view the Batch List in order to view the Batch report. Whereas when you create a Batch using Validator – you can view the Batch report right from the successful message.
1. Click ACH Batch List from the options at the top.
2. Mark the batch(es) by selecting the respective checkbox(es). (You can select all of the batches at once by checking the Select all “Entered”
3. Click the Batch Report button. A screen displays options for viewing the report.
4. Select how you wish to sort and press the Display button. In a separate Explorer window, the report displays.
5. Review the data on the report to ensure that all records to be released are correct. If any records are incorrect, close the report, and then delete those batches from the Batch List. 6. OPTIONAL: Print the report for your records by clicking the Print
button. (We recommend printing your batch report, because released batches only remain on the system for 30 days.) 7. When finished with the report, click the Close button to close
the separate window. You will be returned to the screen shown in Step 2 above.
RELEASING A BATCH
Once you have successfully reviewed the batch report, you can release the batch to Capital One Bank for processing. 1. Click the ACH Batch List option at the top of the screen to return to the Batch List.
2. Select the batches to be released, using the check boxes as you did when viewing the Batch Report. Click the Release button to release the selected batches. When the process is completed, the screen will display a message verifying the number of batches released, as shown here:
3. The status of the batches will change from “Entered” to “Released”. (When Capital One Bank scoops the released batches, the status of the batches will change to “Submitted”.)
NOTE: If you receive an Invalid Effective Date error, then the Effective Date of the batch is probably a date that is either in the past or is the current
date.
If the batch was created from a database – recreate the batch from the Database and indicate an Effective Date in the future.
UN-RELEASING A BATCH
When a batch is released, the status is “Released”. Once the batch is scooped, the status is “Submitted”. Before the batch is scooped, you can un-release the batch if you realize that there is an error.
1. Select the released batches from the Batch List that you wish to un-release.
2. Click the Un-Release button.
