Configuring E-automate for Direct Debit

While the EFT options are part of the company-wide e-automate accounts payable options, configuring the EFT options is necessary for processing Direct Debits.

To configure the EFT options, do the following:

From the e-automate Tools menu, select Options to open the Options window.

In the left pane, do the following:

Click the  icon to the left of Accounts Payable.

Under Accounts Payable, click EFT to display the EFT options in the right pane.

In the right pane, do the following:

To enable the system to generate electronic funds transfer (EFT/ABA) files, check the Use EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) checkbox; otherwise, leave this checkbox unchecked.

If you checked the Use EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) checkbox, enabling your system to create electronic funds transfer files, which are then delivered to your financial institution to initiate the transfer described in your EFT/ABA file, do the following:

In the Wait the following days after sending pre-note to activate vendor for EFT field, enter the number of days the e-automate system should wait after sending a pre-note to activate the vendor’s EFT capability. ACH rules state that you cannot send EFT payments until six banking days have elapsed after a pre-notification.

In the File output location field, enter the location on your local computer or network where the system should store the generated EFT/ABA files.

In the Cashbook account field, enter the cashbook account used for EFT transactions.

In the File Format field, use the drop-down menu to select Australia - New Zealand.

Click the [OK] button to save your changes and to close the Options window.

Click the [OK] button to acknowledge the message.

Restart e-automate so that these changes will take effect.

If you are running e-agent, restart e-agent as well.

You can configure a separate account into which the Direct Debit payments will be deposited, or—if you have already configured an account for outbound EFT payments—you can use that same account for inbound Direct Debit payments.

If you have branching enabled, you can configure a cashbook account for EFT for each branch.

To configure a cashbook account for EFT, do the following:

Contact a financial institution and ensure that they offer EFT services.

Work with the financial institution to obtain the following information:

Bank abbreviation: Financial institution abbreviation. Must be an approved financial institution abbreviation. (required)

Bank name: Name of financial institution.

User name: Name of user supplying file. Should be User preferred name.

Remitter: Name of originator of the entry. Produced on the account holder's bank statement. This name may vary from name of the user. (required)

Account name: Name of account to be credited/debited. (Required)

Determine from your financial institution whether or not your EFT file should contain an account debit record.

Determine the account into which the direct debits will be deposited electronically.

From the Accounting menu, select Cashbook Accounts to display the Cashbook Accounts window.

Select the account you intend to use in conjunction with EFT transactions.

Click [Edit] to open the Edit Cashbook Account window.

On the Edit Cashbook Account window, click the EFT tab to bring it forward.

On the EFT tab, do the following:

Check the Use EFT payments checkbox.

Using the information you collected in Step 2 above from the financial institution, complete the following fields:

In the Bank abbreviation field (required), enter the value provided for Step 2.a. above.

In the Bank name field, enter the value provided for Step 2.b. above.

If your financial institution requires the debit record (see Step 3 above), check the Include account debit record in the EFT file checkbox.

Click [OK] to save your changes to the cashbook account.

After you have configured EFT settings on the cashbook account(s), have turned on the accounts payable EFT options, and have enabled the accounts receivable Direct Debit options, you can configure the customers from whom you want to collect payment via Direct Debit.  This process requires obtaining from the customers the information necessary to process Direct Debit transactions from their accounts via their financial institutions and then using this information to configure the payment method portion of the customer profiles for these customers.

For each customer from whom you want to collect payment via Direct Debit, do the following:

Contact the customer to obtain the following information, which the system will use to electronically transfer funds to your account from the customer's account:

Bank name (required for ABA)

Bank branch (required)

Bank account name (required for ABA)

Approved date (required)

Routing number/BSB (required)

Account Number (required)

From the e-automate toolbar, click [Customers] to open the Customers list window.

From the Customers list, select a customer from whom you have collected Direct Debit information.

Click the [Edit] button on the toolbar, or right-click the customer in the Customers list and select Edit from the right-click menu. The system opens the Edit Customer window.

On the Edit Customer window, click the Billing tab.

Using the Billing tab, do the following:

In the Charge method field, use the drop-down menu to select Direct Debit.

Click the [Charge accounts...] button. The system opens the Customer Charge Accounts window.

Using the Customer Charge Accounts window, add a new Direct Debit charge account by doing the following:

Click the [Add...] button. The system opens the Add Charge Account window.

Using the Add Charge Account window, do the following:

In the Charge method field, use the drop-down menu to select Direct Debit.

In the Bank name field, enter the name of the customer's bank (provided in Step 1.a. above).

In the Bank branch field, enter the customer's bank's branch (provided in Step 1.b. above).

In the Bank account name field, enter the customer's bank account name (provided in Step 1.c. above).

In the Approved date field, enter the date on which this account was approved for processing Direct Debit transactions via EFT/ABA file.

In the BSB field, enter the Bank State Branch number used by this customer for processing Direct Debit transactions via EFT/ABA file (provided in Step 1.e. above).

In the Account number field, enter the account number of the account that is to be debited when processing Direct Debit transactions via EFT/ABA file (provided in Step 1.f. above).

Verify the Active checkbox is checked to use this account.

Click the [OK] button to close this window, to return to the Customer Charge Accounts window, and to display this account in the list on the Customer Charge Accounts window.

In the Terms field, make no change to use the terms option displayed, or change the terms option to an appropriate selection for processing Direct Debit payments.

On the Edit Customer window, click the Account tab to bring it forward.

In the Branch field, use the drop-down menu to select the appropriate branch location for this customer or make no change to use the branch location displayed.

Click the [OK] button to save your changes to this customer profile.