Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD) Setup and Processing

 Pathway: Setup > System > Division

1. Open the Setup > System > Division set up screen.
2. For each division requiring PAD, click on the division and select the Credit Card / ACH Processing tab.
3. Set Enable Pre-Authorized Debit to "Yes".  This will cause the Pre-Authorized Debit Export Format field to be displayed.
4. Select the Pre-Authorized Debit Export Report format to use for this division.

The originator is the company that authorizes and submits a debit to collect payment form a customer's bank account. It is the business receiving the payment. The originator fields identify the company and do not contain the customer's bank information.

• Originator Number - An identifier assigned to the company for submitting PAD transactions.
• Originator Short Name - A shortened name of the originating company.
• Originator Long Name - The company's full business name.
• Routing Number - The routing information for the company's bank account wher PAD funds are deposited.
• Account Number - The company's bank account number where PAD funds are deposited.

Routing and account numbers are masked when entered and displayed. They can be replaced or explicitly cleared when needed.

Pathway:  Setup > Accounting > Bank Account

A PAD payment batch includes accounts that meet all of the following criteria:

• Match the selected division, account class, and bill group. 
• Have an active PAD payment method type. 
• Have a balance greater than zero.

PAD payment methods are excluded from scheduled payment processing because they are handled through the manually created PAD batch.

Pathway:  Accounting > AR Payment Batch

1. Open the Accounting > AR Payment Batch List screen.
2. Select the green + icon in the lower right corner .
3. On the Create Pre-authorized Debit Batch screen. enter the batch criteria:
   • Division  - required and limited to the divisions available to the user.
   • Account Class — optional.
   • Bill Group — optional and limited by division. Bill groups with no division can still be selected when applicable.
   • Date — required; defaults to today's date.
   • Period — populated automatically based on the date selected.
   • Bank Account — required.
   • Note — optional.
4. Select Process.

Keep the following considerations in mind:

• The batch uses the account balance when the batch is created, not necessarily the balance shown during the original billing run.
• Only accounts with a balance due are included. 
• If an Account balance exceeds the payment method's Maximum Automatic Payment Amount, the account is charged only up to that limit.
• PAD batches are posted immediately.
• PAD batches cannot be un-posted.
• PAD batches are excluded from standard scheduled payment processing.

After  processing is complete, the creation dialog closes and the Batch Detail window opens with the new batch listed.

Pathway:  Accounting > AR Payment Batch > Batch details

For each qualifying account:

• The payment amount is the lesser of the account balance and the payment method’s Maximum Automatic Payment Amount.
• The payment is automatically applied to the account’s open items, beginning with the oldest invoice and progressing to the newest.
• The payment batch is posted immediately.

In the above example, one account met the criteria for this PAD batch.  The account had a balance of $312.93 but its Maximum Automatic Payment Amount was set at $123.00 in the Account Wallet. As a result, $123.00 was charged and applied to the account. 

Pathway:  Accounting > AR Payment Batch

From the AR Payment Batch Detail window:

1. Confirm the batch details. 
2. Select Export Pre-authorized Debit. 
3. Save or send the generated export file according to your organization’s bank-processing procedures. 

The file that is generated is a .txt file and will follow this naming convention: preauthorized_debit_{arbatchId}_{export_sequence}_{YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS}.txtwhere:

• arbatchID is the Batch number.
• export_sequence is a system generated number assigned to PAD Batch when it is created.
• YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS is the timestamp when the file was generated.

The export can be generated multiple times if the original file is lost or needs to be resent.

PAD payments are initially assumed to be successful when the batch is posted. If a financial institution rejects or returns a payment:

• Identify the rejected customer payment.
• Manually reverse the payment in the application.
• Follow your organization’s standard customer communication and collection procedures.

The system does not automatically reverse rejected PAD payments through the merchant payment API.