Uploading ABA File To Wespac Live – upstream

How to setup a Direct Entry (ABA) file

Your Direct Entry file will be produced by your financial software and will contain:

1. A header row, which contains information about the payment such as the Financial Institution, who the payment is coming from, the file description and payment date.

2. Detail rows for each payment you want to make. This will contain who you want to pay, their account information and the amount you want to pay them; as well as the trace account, which is the account that the money will be paid from (note – you can only choose one trace account per file imported.)

3. A trailer row, which should contain payment totals and the number of payments you are processing.

TIP

Make sure that the following Fields are entered into your software package before you create your file. Some accounting software packages extend file description names with special characters that are un-editable. You can amend your file description when you import your file through Westpac Live.

For the Header

1. The name of the financial institution must be WBC

2. Your name eg ABC Corporation, max 26 characters (or, if using a paid Direct Entry facility, the User Preferred Specification as per letter received from Westpac).

3. The Direct Entry User ID must be 000000 (or your Direct Entry User ID as per letter from Westpac)

4. A description of entries of the file being imported. eg. Payroll Oct, max 12 characters.

For the Details

1. The Payee account BSB must be a valid BSB in the following format 032-199. All BSBs must be hyphenated

2. The Payee account number must be no longer than 9 digits and may be hyphenated where the hyphen does not restrict the entering of the total account number. Leading zeros, where they exist, must also be entered e.g. 00-123456. If the account number does not have leading zeroes, do not put them in

3. The Payer account BSB and account number must be a valid account & be in the same formats as above. The person importing the payment file will also need access to this account. There can only be one payer account per file imported

4. The name of the person or company making the payment

For the Trailer

Your financial software package will automatically create the Trailer record.

Does your business need to process more than 500 payments or Direct Debits?

If your business needs to import files that have more than 500 payments or you would like to process Direct Debit Requests, then you will need to register for a Direct Entry facility for Westpac Live. To do this speak to your Relationship Manager or visit a branch.

How to import a Direct Entry (ABA) file

Choose File imports from the Payments menu to import your Direct Entry file.

TIP

Ensure that you have permission to Import files. If not, please speak with your Administrator who can give you access via User administration > Edit user access > Other features

Choose the Direct Entry/Pay Anyone (ABA) option from drop down menu.

Upon selecting the file you want to upload, you can enter a new name in the description field which will replace the previous filename from your accounting software.

TIP

The new file name or description you have entered will appear on confirmation and receipt pages of your import.

Change the file description is only available for DE Credit File Imports and not applicable if you already have a DE Specific ID.

Status of your imported Direct Entry (ABA) files

Westpac Live will keep you updated with the progress of your imported Direct Entry (ABA) file, including if the file is unable to be imported due to an error.

Processing

If the status is ‘Processing’, your file has been received and is currently being verified. You can refresh the status by clicking on the icon next it.

TIP

Depending on the size of the file you are importing, you may not see this status.

Imported

If the status is ‘Imported’, your file has successfully been imported. From the Imported files list you will need to click on View details to confirm and submit the payment. Once you have submitted the payment it will need to go through any payment approvals before the funds are finally released.

TIP

Successfully imported files also create a Saved Payment that can be accessed from the Payments menu for processing.

Import failed

If the status is ‘Import failed’ the file has been verified but none of the payments have successfully been imported. From the Imported files list you can click on View details to check why the payments have not been successful. You can then fix the errors in your financial software, create a new Direct Entry file and re-import.

Having problems importing?

You will need to ask your Administrator to check the following:

• The account has the correct access level (Value) to be able to make payments (or the Direct Entry Service is set to ‘Full access’ if using a paid Direct Entry facility). They will need to visit User administration > Click on the account link above where you set access to account

• You have access to the account you want to pay from. They will need to visit User administration > Edit User access > Accounts in Westpac Live

• You have permission to make Pay Anyone or BPAY payments. They will need to visit User administration > Edit user access > Accounts > Features in Westpac Live

Download our Online banking & user administration guide and refer to the Account Access section for more information.

Is your DE file set up correctly?

• Check the BSB doesn’t have a hyphen

• Make sure the Header row has the correct bank identifier ‘WBC’ and a File description

• The Direct Entry User ID is 000000 (or your Direct Entry User ID as per letter from Westpac)

• The account to pay from must be a valid Westpac account

• Ensure your file only includes any of the following characters:

a - z	Lower case letters	(	Open bracket
A - Z	Upper case letters	)	Close bracket
0 - 9	Numerical characters	+	Plus symbol
#	Number sign	-	Dash
&	Ampersand	‘	Apostrophe
@	At sign	*	Asterisk
!	Exclamation mark	/	Forward slash
,	Comma
.	Full stop

i.e. Your file should not contain any back slashes (\)