Custom fields you can or can't do for PM EFT formats in Microsoft Dynamics GP

There are many Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) formats available in Microsoft Dynamics GP.  These formats were coded to make sure all the required fields in these formats are available, and intended to be used for 'EFT' transfer file purposes.  With that said, we know that many banks offer other services, such as Check Printing services, and we know that many of you are trying to use these EFT file formats to make flat files or xml files to provide to the banks to be used for these other services.  Our support policy is that we will help you with one field or error message per support case, or 30 minutes per custom field.  Not all fields are attainable with the current functionality in Microsoft Dynamics GP and some may require a consulting service to achieve.  The intent of this article is to share with you some of the fields that I have been asked to help with and provide information on whether specific fields can be achieved, provide a work-around, or simply to state if it can't be done with the current functionality in Microsoft Dynamics GP.  Hopefully this will save you some time so you don't have to test for these custom fields.

UNIQUE FILE IDENTIFIER / EFT DOCUMENT ID: 

A unique number per EFT file generated is not a requirement on the standard NACHA EFT format, and therefore, this functionality in not available in Microsoft Dynamics GP at this time. You will need a dexterity customization to achieve this unique number per file. Please consult your Partner, or open an Advisory/Consulting request with Microsoft to request this customization.

The work-around is a manual process to hard-code a constant value such as XX in the EFT file format as a placeholder.  Then the user must store this unique number in a different location outside of Microsoft Dynamics GP such as an Excel spreadsheet.  The user will need to edit the EFT file each time to replace the XX with a valid number, and save it, before sending the file to the bank each time.  (Be sure to hard-code as many X's as you need for the unique number, as the spacing is very important on a fixed format file.  You should not enter more or less digits than what you are overwriting as the bank may require the line to be a certain number of characters across.)

BATCH ID IN BATCH HEADER/BATCH CONTROL LINES:

Microsoft Dynamics GP is designed to put all payments into a single batch in the EFT file, and this is acceptable. (Most banks don't care how many individual batch ID's were included in Microsoft Dynamics GP.) So all the batches pulled into the file will appear as one big batch in the EFT file. Therefore, you will only see one  Batch Header , and one Batch Control line per file. This is by design and is acceptable to the bank. 

SEQUENCE NUMBER:

This field was designed to work in the Addenda  Line type only. If this field does not work in any other line types, you will need to request a customization. 

CHECK NUMBER:
The Check Number and Check Amount was intended to be in the Addenda Line and should be mapped as follows to pull the correct information:

Check Number:
Maps to:  Data Field
Table:  PM Apply To History File
Field:   Apply To Document Number

Check Amount:
Maps to:  Data Field
Table:  PM Apply To History File
Field:   Applied Amount

ANY 'COUNT' or 'SUM' fields in Header Lines:

As a general rule, any 'count' or 'sum' fields will only work in footer lines, or AFTER the lines have been listed. Therefore, most of the 'count' or 'sum' fields only work in the Batch Control and File Control footer lines, and do not work in Header or Detail lines. You will need to test to verify.

NUMBER OF ADDENDA RECORDS ON DETAIL LINE: 
The  Addenda Count will only work in an Addenda line type, and does not work in a Detail, Batch Control or File Control line. The Addenda lines can only be counted after they are consecutively listed, and not before. 

For example, the 'Addenda Count' will not work in a File Control header line, or the Detail payment line because the number of addenda records has not yet been listed. The system is unable to count or total them before they are listed.

As a work-around, there is an option for 'Detail + Addenda' available in the Batch Control and File Control lines that has been accepted by most banks instead. So verify with your bank if they would accept this field instead. Another option is to generate the EFT file using 'one check per invoice' instead of 'one check per vendor'. Since you will have one addenda line per Detail line with this option, you can then hard-code this as '1' in the Detail Line.

LINE COUNT:
The Line Count data field was designed to work in the File Control line and will count all lines of the file. This field does not work in any other line type.

For example, if you have 10 total lines in an EFT file, the Line count in the Batch Control line will list 9 because it can only list the preceding lines. The Line Count in the File Control Line will list the correct count of 10, as this field was designed to work in this line. However, the Line Count field will not work in the additional footer lines (Trailer Label 1 and Trailer Label 2) since these additional footer lines are not part of a standard NACHA format.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

•KB ARTICLES:  The above information is documented in KB 2956922.   For more information on EFT setup, troubleshooting tips, etc, I recommend to read the Commonly Asked Questions section at the end KB 945955.

• SUPPORT POLICY: Please review the support policy in the KB 850201 for Configurator File setup for eBanking modules.  Our support policy is that we will help you with one field or error message per support case, or 30 minutes per custom field/format.

• CONSULTING: If you need assistance to set up an EFT file, or a custom field, please create an Advisory request for a consulting service.  To open an advisory case to request a customization, please contact your Partner first.  An advisory case can be opened with Microsoft, but all customizations will be billed through the Partner. Partners can submit an advisory service online under the Support Benefits and Incidents page in PartnerSource.

• SUGGESTIONS: If there are any fields you would like to see considered for a future enhancement, please enter your suggestions in to the MS Connect product suggestion database.

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I hope this information will be helpful to you and save you time from having to test for these fields in the future.  For any additional questions on the above information, please open a support case so a Support Engineer can work with you directly. Thank you in advance.  

Best Regards,

Cheryl Waswick | Sr. Technical Support Engineer | Microsoft Dynamics GP Support