Common questions for PM EFT in Microsoft Dynamics GP
There seems to a be a lot of questions around setting up Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for Payables Management. First, you will need to obtain the requirements from the bank and adhere to their requirements. Hopefully one of the standard formats provided in Microsoft Dynamics GP will be what you need, but if not, then you need to map it as a customized format in GP. We only support the standard formats available in GP so any additional questions may be considered a consulting engagement which is a billable service. Support wanted to document the most common questions we receive in a Q&A format for you below, so I hope this information will be helpful to you and eliminate the need for a billable consulting engagement.
Q1: When does a support case for EFT assistance become a consulting expense? How long can I keep an EFT support case open?
A1: Setting up the EFT file format would be considered a consulting expense. Each support incident should be scoped to address 1 field or error message per case. Each new question or error message that can be researched separately from the original scope defined in the case should be put on a new support case. So if the bank rejects the test EFT file and gives you a new error message to troubleshoot, we ask that you open a new support case for the new issue. These guidelines are published in the Ebanking configurator section of KB 850201:
850201 Guidelines that Microsoft support professionals use to determine when a support case becomes a consulting engagement for Report Writer, SmartList Builder, SQL scripts, Business Alerts, VB Script, Modifier/VBA and eBanking Configurator Files
support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;850201
Q2: Are you able to send 'invoice' information in the EFT file?
A2: Yes, this is called the 'Addenda' line. You will need to map out the Line Type for the 'Addenda' line on the EFT file format according to your bank's specifications.
Q3: Are you able to send multiple addenda lines in the EFT file?
A3: The functionality for addenda lines works differently in different versions of Dynamics GP, so the answer will depend on what version you are using. In GP 10.0, you are able to send only 0 or 1 addenda line per payment. GP 10.0 does not have functionality to include multiple addenda lines for one payment. In GP 2010 RTM, you are only able to send 0 or All addenda lines per payment. However in GP 2010 SP2, additional functionality was added so you can send 0, 1, or All addenda records for each payment by utilizing the newly added checkbox for "Detail Line Addenda" found on the EFT File Format Maintenance window. More information on this topic can be found in KB 2551488.
2551488 Multiple Addenda Lines in the EFT file in Microsoft Dynamics GP
support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;2551488
Q4: Are you able to put multiple invoice numbers in one addenda line?
A4: No. Each addenda line would store the information for each invoice that makes up the payment. So for example, if you have 6 invoices that make up the payment, you would get 6 addenda lines if you chose to include al the addenda lines. There is no functionality to include all 6 invoice numbers on the same addenda line.
Q5: Are you able to configure any EFT file format to produce a "Check Printing File" format? ( Many banks are now offering this service to print checks and require an XML format where each addenda line would be in its own remittance format.)
A5: No. At this time, Microsoft Dynamics GP does not offer or support "Check Printing File" formats. The xml format where the information for each remittance is listed in its own grouping would need to be a customization. If you would like to request a customization for this, please open a support case to ask to be put in touch with MBS Professional Services and include a copy of your bank's requirements for the file format setup. We also encourage you to vote on this product suggestion in the MS Connect product suggestion database so this functionality can be reviewed for a future enhancement:
https://connect.microsoft.com/dynamicssuggestions/SearchResults.aspx?SearchQuery=693612
Q6: Does the EFT banking information flow through an upgrade?
A6: The banking information on the vendor and the checkbook are brought through the upgrade. The banking information on the vendor will be written to the SY06000 table and will use the vendor's main address found on the Vendor Maintenance card. The only information that is not brought through the upgrade is the EFT file format. You will need to re-set up the EFT file format in GP 10.0 or GP 2010, by either setting it up from scratch yourself, or picking from one of the standard formats already supplied in the pick-list. It may be helpful to make screenprints of the file format setup in GP 9.0 to refer to. GP 10 and GP 2010 have standard file formats available to choose from, as published by the National Automated Clearning House (NACHA). We code to these standard published formats, so if your bank requires any other format, or a customization to the standard format, we would consider that to be a consulting request.
Q7: What EFT file formats are supplied in GP 2010?
A7: GP 10.0 and GP 2010 offer ten standard EFT file formats that are published according to the standard requirements set by the federal banking agencies and National Automated Clearing House (NACHA). One user-defined file format is also available to allow for custom formats. Use the below KB to see how the Bank Groups in GP 9.0 correspond to the new File Formats offered in GP 10.0 and GP 2010:
945789 How EFT for Payables Management bank groups in Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0 correspond to EFT format types in Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0
support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;945789
This KB article shows how the tables are cross-referenced from version GP 9.0 to GP 10.0 and GP 2010:
944889 Upgrading tables for EFT for Payables Management and EFT for Receivables Management between versions of Microsoft Dynamics GP
support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;944889
Q8: What if my bank uses a file format that varies slightly from one of the standard formats offered in GP?
A8: The EFT file formats available in GP are standard formats published by federal banking agencies such as the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA). These formats available in Microsoft Dynamics GP adhere to the standard requirements published and are not created by Microsoft. Therefore, if your bank requires a format that varies slightly from one of the standard formats offered in GP, we will assist you with 1 field per support case. If the field is not within the product limitations, you may be referred to MBS Professional Services to pursue a consulting service for the customization.
Q9: My bank does not use any of the EFT File formats listed in GP. How can I create a new format to comply with my bank?
A9: You can use the user-defined EFT file format to create your own format. However, you are responsible for setting it up and testing it. Microsoft is not able to support your custom format. We will help you with one field or error message per case. If you would like assistance setting up the file format, Microsoft can help through a consulting engagement, which is a billable expense to you. You can also try to set up the format yourself. If you tackle this yourself, we suggest setting up another sample format using one of the formats in the system such as the PPD format as a reference so you can see how the fields are mapped and you can mirror your format the same way. This should help you accomplish most fields. However, all the fields you need may not be available, or may appear to be available but don't work (such as counts or totals). Any assistance to obtain a field that currently is not available or doesn't work would have to be handled through a consulting engagement. Just because the field appears to be available in the mapping in GP does not necessarily mean that it will work. You will need to test generating the EFT files to see the final result.
Q10: How do you set up settlement lines for the EFT File format? (Or the bank is asking for a total debit or credit line in the footer that will offset the file.)
A10: A settlement line is basically where the bank is asking for debit and credit lines in the EFT file that will balance each other out. You can have one settlement line per detail line, or one settlement line for the whole file. The below KB shows you how to correctly set up one settlement line for the whole file:
2026313 Settlement Line calculates incorrectly in the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) file for Payables Management in Microsoft Dynamics GP
support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;2026313
Q11: What is an IAT format?
A11: The IAT formats are provided to accommodate changes in the IAT (International ACH Transaction) rules as mandated by the NACHA and OFAC organizations for use with international ACH files.
Q12: What does PPD and CCD mean for the standard US NACHA files? What does the + mean next to each?
A12: These types mean:
- PPD means 'Prearranged payment and deposits'. Used to credit or debit a consumer account. Popularly used for payroll direct deposits and preauthorized bill payments.
- CCD means 'Corporate credit or debit'. Primarily used for business to business transations.
- The + next to each file format means that the file format includes mapping for the Addenda Line Type.
Q13 : Why is the Bank/Transit Routing number in the EFT file set set to 10 digits if most US routing numbers are only 9 digits long?
A13: The Transit Routing number field is meant to hold the 9 digits of the routing number, plus the 1 Check Digit number behind it. The bank may split these two fields separately on your bank specifications, so you can choose if you want to lump them together in one field in your EFT file mapping, or split them out as two fields. For example, if the check digit is always 1, then you can split this into two fields. Have the bank routing number populate into the first field, and then hard-code the second field as a constant of 1.
Q14: How do I handle the Bank Transit Routing routing number when it is only 8 digits long in Canada?
A14: Canada used to have an 8 digit routing number, but changed it to 9 digits to match the United States. They just added a 0 in the front of the existing 8 digit routing number.
Q15: I added the "line count" or "Addenda count" to the header or detail lines and they do not work. Why do the 'count' lines only work in the footer lines?
A15: At this time, the 'count' lines only work in the footer lines in Microsoft Dynamics GP. For instance, you would be able to have an Addenda Count in the footer line. However, if you mapped this field in the header line or detail line, it would not produce any results. If you would like to vote on this suggestion to have this be considered as a future enhancement, please access this link to cast your vote:
https://connect.microsoft.com/dynamicssuggestions/feedback/details/687970
Q16: The bank is asking me to add pad blocks or 'block count 10' to the EFT file format. What does that mean?
A16: Pad Blocks are where the bank requires the EFT file to have a certain number of lines in it. For example, if they require a Pad Block of 10, this means that they want the file to be in multiples of 10 lines. So if the file is 22 lines, the system will need to add 8 dummy lines so the total line count of the file is 30. Or, if the file is 49 lines long, then the system would only need to add 1 dummy line to get the file to be 50 lines. The total number of lines of the file needs to be in a multiple of 10. The EFT File Format Maintenance window includes a section to Add Pad Blocks. So for this example, you would mark the checkbox for Add Pad Blocks and Pad Lines in Multiple of 10. Furthermore, the bank will also indicate what character to print in the dummy lines and how many characters across. Usually they have you add a Pad Character of '9' and the Number of Pad Chars to be 94, which is the standard width of a line, so the 9's get printed all the way across the padded line. You must consult your bank's requirements and set this section up according to your bank's requirements.
Q17: If a value does not fill the entire field in the EFT file, how do you fill the rest of the field with zeroes or spaces?
A17: In the EFT File Maintenance window, there is a Pad Char field on each line. Leave this field blank if you want the field to have spaces. Or put a 0 in this field, if you wish for the unused portion of the field to be padded with 0's. The zeroes will be padded in the remainder of the field based on whether you set the data in the field to be right or left justified.
Q18: In the PM Paid Transaction History file, there is a field called the 'Transaction Description'. This field prints blank and doesn't pull the description from the invoice.
A18: The Transaction Description field is available to pull into the file, however it pulls the description on the 'payment' and not the invoice. Therefore it produces a blank field since the payment does not typically have a description associated with it. The Transaction Description associated with the invoice is not a standard field, and so is not supported to be populated from the invoice at this time. If you need this functionality at this time, this would be considered a consulting request for a customization. In the meantime, please vote on this suggestion so it may be considered as a future product enhancement:
Q19: How do you get the document number for the invoice to print in the addenda line?
A19: To get the Document Number for the invoice, you will need to map it as follows:
TABLE: PM APPLY TO HISTORY FILE
FIELD: APPLY TO DOCUMENT NUMBER
Q20: I have keyed multiple invoices to one vendor in Microsoft Dynamics GP. Some of the invoices were keyed to an Address ID with banking information and some of the invoices were keyed to an Address ID without EFT banking information. When I build the check batch or EFT batch, it does not work the way I expect. How do the invoices pull into the check and EFT batches?
A20: The functionality for how check and EFT batches pull has changed across versions of Microsoft Dynamics GP as follows:
- Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 - If you build the check batch first, both the check and eft invoices will pull in. The work-around is to build the EFT batch first and then the check batch can be built last.
- Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 SP2 - The system will read and use the REMIT TO Address ID saved on the Vendor Maintenance card. Unfortunately, it does not read the Address ID actually keyed on the specific invoice. This was logged as quality issue #64038.
- Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 RTM - If you build the check batch first, nothing pulls in (when the vendor has both types of invoices due for payment). To get around this, you must build the EFT batch first and then the check batch. This is the current design. If you would like to see this design changed in future versions, please log a product suggestion.
Q21: How do you log a product suggestion?
A21: The Development team has created a product suggestion database named MS Connect. They do read each and every product suggestion entered and give it a priority rating based on several criteria such as:
- Is it data damaging?
- How many customers have voted for this?
- Is there a work-around?
- Will it conflict or break other functionality?
- Does it violate any federal or standard regulations?
After each suggestion is given a priority rating, it stays in the database so that other customers can also vote on it over time. The more votes it receives, the higher in priority it will go, so your votes do count and are very important. This database is used to determine what enhancements customers would like to see in future versions so please log product suggestions. The link to use is:
https://connect.microsoft.com/dynamicssuggestions
I hope this information has been helpful to you. These Q&A questions will be added to the bottom of KB article #945955 as well. You can check this KB article for further information updates.
support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;945955
Thanks and have a great day!
Cheryl W.
Microsoft Dynamics GP - Financials Support