Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) is a process that enables customers to authorize the transfer of funds from their bank accounts to your bank accounts to pay their invoices.

Automated Clearing House (ACH) processing is used to process financial transactions through the ACH Network for the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) feature.

  • Electronic Funds Transfer transactions in Canadian accounts are processed using Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS) instead of Automated Clearing House (ACH).
  • Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) through the ACH network is available only for accounts in the United States. 

NetSuite integrates with Coastal Software & Consulting, Inc. to allow the transfer of funds through the ACH Network and process EFT transactions, which simplifies your customers’ payment processing.

Processing financial transactions through the ACH network is available only for accounts in the United States.

To use the EFT feature:

  1. Activate the feature
  2. Apply to Coastal for an ACH processing account.
  3. Set up customer records for ACH payments.

Activating Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)

After you activate the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) feature, you can accept electronic payments from customers enabled for EFT payments.

Only your company’s administrator can activate this feature.

To activate Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT):

  1. Go to Setup > Company > Setup Tasks > Enable Features. Click the Transactions subtab.
  2. Check the Electronic Funds Transfer box.
  3. Click Save.

After you activate the EFT feature, you must apply to Coastal Software & Consulting, Inc. for an ACH processing account. After your ACH account is established, you must set up your company bank accounts for use with EFT processing.

To apply for an account with Coastal, Click on the link  Coastal software go to the Coastal Web site or call Coastal at 360-891-6174 to request an ACH Originating Agreement. Follow the instructions supplied by Coastal to complete and submit the application.

After you have received your account confirmation from Coastal, keep your unique 6-character company ID in a secure place. Then, set up your company bank accounts for use with ACH processing.

To set up company accounts for EFT transactions:

  1. Go to Setup > Accounting > Setup Tasks > ACH Processing.
  2. Click the Company subtab.
  3. If you have not yet entered it, enter the 6-character company ID number you received from Coastal in the ACH Company ID box.
  4. Click the Accounts subtab.
  5. Check the box next to the bank accounts you will use with EFT.
    For example, check the Checking Account box to receive payments from customers into the company checking account.
  6. For each account you select, enter the following:
    • Bank Name – Enter the name of the bank.
    • ACH Message – Enter a text message to include with all ACH transmissions using this account.
    • Bank Routing Number – Enter the 9-digit routing number.
    • Bank Account Number – Enter the account number, up to 20 digits.
    • Maximum Amount Per Transaction – Enter the dollar amount limit per transaction with this account.
  7. Click Save.

You can now transfer funds from customers’ bank accounts when you process customer payments. Submitting a Cash Sale, Sales Order or Customer Payment with EFT selected as the payment method generates an EFT transaction that must be approved by an administrator before it can be processed for payment.

Approving Electronic Funds Transfers

To approve Electronic Funds Transfers:

  1. Go to Transactions > Customers > Approve Electronic Funds Transfers (Administrator).
  1. For each transaction, select a processing option:
    • Approve – Check this box to approve the transmission of this EFT payment.
      When you submit an approved transaction, the payment information is transmitted to Coastal for processing by the Automated Clearing House.
      To view the status of EFT transactions, go to Transactions > Customers > View Electronic Funds Transfer Status (Administrator).
    • Cancel – Check this box to deny approval of the transmission of this EFT payment.
      When you cancel payments for ACH processing, payment information is not transmitted to Coastal. The EFT payment transmission is canceled, but the invoice or cash sale remains valid.
  2. Click Approve All to mark all transactions on the list as approved for transmission.
  3. Click Unapprove All to clear all approved marks on the list.
  4. Click Submit.

Note: To process a payment for the invoice or cash sale by resubmitting an EFT payment or accepting payment by other means, go to Transactions > Customers > Accept Customer Payments > List.

When you click Submit, approved transactions will have payment information transmitted for processing through the ACH Network. If the transmission is approved, the total dollar amount of the transaction will be withdrawn from the customer’s account and deposited in your company’s account.

Submitted payment transmissions are assigned a Batch ID. Each transmission is assigned a Tran ID. The batch is transmitted to Coastal for processing. If 10 attempts to contact Coastal are made without success, transactions in the batch will be returned to the Approval queue for submission.

After you approve an EFT transmission, the payment cannot be edited while it has an ACH transmission in the process.

You can void, edit or delete the transaction only if the transmission has a Failed status, or if the transaction is canceled from the EFT Approval page or the EFT Status page.

Viewing Electronic Funds Transfer Statuses

Your EFT transactions have statuses that reflect where the transmission is in the fund’s transfer process.

To view the status of an EFT transmission:

  1. Go to Transactions > Customers > View Electronic Funds Transfer Status (Administrator).
  2. The following information is shown for each transmission listed on the Electronic Funds Transfer Status page:
    • Batch Number – the batch number assigned when the transmission is approved. Transmissions are sorted by batch number first.
    • Tran ID – the ID assigned when the transmission is approved
      Transmissions are sorted by ID second.
    • Date – the date the transmission is approved
      Clicking the date will open the transaction.
    • Account – the name of the bank associated with the transmission
    • Amount – the dollar amount of the transmission
    • Status – the current state of the transmission in the withdrawal or refund process
    • Code – the numeric tag that explains why a transmission has the status that it does.
  3. Click the date to open a transaction. The status of the transaction shows at the top of the page.
    Possible statuses for an EFT transaction are:
    • Valid – The batch has been accepted and verified.
      EFT transactions with a Valid status can be canceled.
    • Unknown Error – An unknown error prevented successful batch transmission.
      EFT transactions with an Unknown Error status can be resubmitted.
    • In Network – The batch has been transmitted, but not yet accepted and verified.
      EFT transactions with an In Network status can be canceled.
    • Failed – The transaction has been rejected. Each Failed transaction has a code that explains why it failed.
      EFT transactions with a Failed status have the option to be resubmitted.
    • Paid – The payment transaction has been successfully processed.
      EFT transactions with a Paid status have no options for further processing.
    • Wrote Check – The EFT transaction was canceled and a check was written instead.
      EFT transactions with a Wrote Check status have no options for further processing.
    • Resubmitted – The EFT transaction has been submitted for processing again.
      EFT transactions with a Resubmitted status have no options for further processing.
    • Canceled – The EFT transaction was canceled.
      EFT transactions with a Canceled status can be resubmitted.
  4. Select to filter the list by:
    • Batch – Choose from a list of batch numbers.
    • Date – Select the date range of transmissions.
    • Status – Choose from transmission statuses.
    • Customer – Choose from a list of customers records with EFT payments enabled.

Each EFT transmission has a code that explains why it has its status.

ACH Transmission Response Codes

 When you view the status of an ACH transmission, it has a response code that explains why it has the status that it does. Click ok the link to view transmission codes.

ACH Transmission Codes

ACH Processing

Automated Clearing House (ACH) processing is used to process financial transactions through the ACH Network for funds capture and funds disbursement(spend). In NetSuite, ACH is used with the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), and ACH Vendor Payments features.

ACH processing enables you to:

  • accept electronic payments from your customers
  • send electronic payments to your vendors

NetSuite integrates with Coastal Software & Consulting, Inc. to allow the transfer of funds through the ACH Network for EFT and ACH Vendor Payment transactions.

To set up ACH processing for these features, you need to apply for an account with Coastal and set up your company bank accounts

NetSuite sends ACH data to Coastal each time you submit a batch of approved ACH transactions. Coastal sends the data to the ACH Network and verifies that the data was received. Then, the ACH network transfers funds to the appropriate financial institutions.

One time a day before 7:00 a.m. PST, Coastal retrieves ACH responses from the Network. Coastal then transmits the response data to NetSuite and corresponding transaction statuses are updated.

You can view the status of ACH transactions you submit by going to:

  • Transactions > Employees > View Direct Deposit Status (Administrator)
  • Transactions > Customers > View Electronic Funds Transfer Status (Administrator)
  • Transactions > Purchases/Vendors > View Vendor Payment Status (Administrator)

ACH transactions take place in real-time over the Internet, and have an immediate accounting impact on your books:

  • Accounts receivable payments you receive with EFT are deposited directly into your company’s bank account.
  • Vendor payments you make with ACH Vendor Payments are withdrawn from your company’s bank account and deposited into your vendor’s bank account.

Setting Up ACH Processing

To set up Automated Clearing House (ACH) processing, you must first apply to Coastal Software & Consulting, Inc. for an account. You must be approved for a Coastal account before you can use the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or ACH Vendor Payments features.

Processing financial transactions through the ACH network is available only for accounts in the United States.

To apply for an account with Coastal, Click on the link  Coastal software go to the Coastal Web site or call Coastal at 360-891-6174 to request an ACH Originating Agreement. Follow the instructions supplied by Coastal to complete and submit the application.

After you have received your account confirmation from Coastal, keep your unique 6-character company ID in a secure place. Then, set up your company bank accounts for use with ACH processing.

To set up company accounts for ACH transactions:

  1. Go to Setup > Accounting > Setup Tasks > ACH Processing. Click the Company subtab.
  2. Enter the 6-character company ID number you received from coastal in the ACH Company ID box.
    This enables your account for transfer of funds so you can begin processing ACH transactions.
  3. Click the Accounts subtab.
  4. Check the box next to the bank accounts you will use with ACH transactions.
  5. For each account you select, enter the following:
    • Bank Name – Enter the name of the bank.
    • Bank Routing Number – Enter the 9-digit routing number.
    • Bank Account Number – Enter the account number, up to 20 digits.
    • Maximum Amount Per Transaction – Enter the dollar amount limit per transaction with this account.
    • ACH Message – a text message included with all ACH transmissions using this account.
  6. Click Save.

Setting Up Customers for EFT Payments

You can set up a customer for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments by entering bank account information on the customer’s record. Then, you can use the EFT feature to accept electronic payments from your customers.

To use EFT for payment transactions you must first enable the EFT feature.

After the EFT feature is enabled, set up customer records to allow EFT transactions.

To set up customer records for EFT transactions:

  1. Go to Customers > Lists > Customers.
  2. Click Edit next to the customer for whom you want to set up EFT processing.
  3. On the Customer record, click the Financial subtab.
  4. Click the Electronic Funds Transfer subtab.
  5. Enter your customer’s bank account information:
    • Bank Name – Enter the name of the bank.
    • Account Number – Enter up to 20 digits for the account number.
    • Routing Number – Enter the 9-digit routing number.
    • Limit – Enter the authorized dollar amount limit per transaction.
  6. Check the Savings Account box if this is a savings account.
  7. Click Save.

Now, the EFT payment is available as a payment method for this customer.

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