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Generate an ABA file for EFT Payments

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Summary

Learn how to use filters and settings to generate accurate ABA files for EFT transactions.

This article covers:

How it works 

Electronic payments, also known as Direct Deposit or ABA payments, let you send funds directly from your trust account to other parties. 
Instead of manually re-entering payment details into online banking, you can generate a ready-to-upload ABA file to process multiple payments efficiently and accurately.

Before creating your ABA file:

Each transaction in an ABA file includes a reference that appears in the bank statement. 
The reference is generated as follows:

  • If a Solicitor Reference is entered in the listing, the reference will be: [Solicitor Reference] + [EFT Number]
  • If the Solicitor Reference field is empty, it will use: [Ledger Name] + [EFT Number] 

After confirming that your payment and reference details are correct and your system is configured to be able to create an ABA file, you can now proceed to generating the ABA file

Note: Incorrect or incomplete bank details may cause the ABA file to fail during bank upload.

Rules for ABA transactions

Each transaction must meet the following conditions to be eligible for inclusion in an ABA file:

  • The Transaction Type must be Trust Payment
  • The Payment Type must be EFT
  • The payment must not be marked as Excluded from ABA (ensure the checkbox in the Add Payment screen is unticked)
  • The payment must not be approved — there should be no “Presented” label
  • The payment must not already been paid via ABA 
  • The payment must not be paid manually
  • The payment must not be reversed or a reversal transaction
Tip: Only payments that meet all of the above criteria will appear as eligible transactions when creating your ABA file.

Generate an ABA file

Note: You must have appropriate trust account permissions to generate ABA files.

To create and download an ABA file:

  • Go to: Accounting > Trust > Payments
  • Use the filters in the sidebar to narrow down the transactions you want to include
Note: Ticked checkboxes will not be recognised by the file creator – it will include all eligible transactions that are in the filtered list. If you wish to exclude any, use the filter options to do so.

  • Click the ABA Files
  • Select Create ABA file (#), where # is the number of eligible transactions

  • Enter a Processing Date and a Description for the file

  • Click Create ABA

Once completed, the file will automatically be downloaded to your computer. You can now upload the file to your online banking portal or keep a copy of the ABA file for reference or auditing.

Retrieve past ABA files

You can also retrieve saved ABA files using the ABA Files Archive button.  

To view previous ABA generated files:

  • Go to: Accounting > Trust > Payments
  • Click ABA Files
  • Select ABA File Archive

  • Click Download next to each file to save it locally
Important: The tick boxes beside each payment do not determine which transactions are included in the ABA file. To exclude payments, adjust your filters so only the desired transactions are displayed before creating the file.

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