NetSuite Electronic Bank Payments

The NetSuite Electronic Bank Payments (EBP) SuiteApp generates payment files that you can upload to your bank to process and receive EFT and ACH payments. Let’s take a look at exactly what EBP is, how you can set up your records for EBP, and how to use it to process payments.

NetSuite EBP SuiteApp Overview

What exactly does EBP do? NetSuite Electronic Bank Payments allows you to make payment files, with the most common use cases being files for vendor payments and customer refunds. You can also use EBP to debit payments from your customers. Electronic Bank Payments works by generating payment files related to specific transactions that you can download from NetSuite and upload directly to your bank.

You’ll primarily use the Payments tab in your center navigation bar to set up and use EBP in your account. If you do not see the Payments tab, then you might need to switch roles. Most NetSuite accounts already have the basic version of EBP, but if that is not the case (or if you are interested in the more advanced paid version of Electronic Bank Payments), then you will need to contact your administrator. The advanced version allows for creating custom Payment File Templates. This is used if your bank doesn’t support the basic NetSuite templates or if extra information is desired like an addenda line in ACH NACHA.

We’ll be looking at how to set up your account with the basic version since that is adequate for many companies needing to process electronic payments.

How to Set Up NetSuite Electronic Bank Payments

What do you need to do to set up EBP? Let’s take a look. The most common use case for Electronic Bank Payments is for vendor payments, so that’s what we’ll focus on.

Set Up Bank Records

First, you’ll need to set up bank detail records. These records detail things like a bank’s name and routing number, as well as the specific account number. In order for you to use EBP, you need to set up bank details both for your company’s bank(s) as well as for each of your vendors’ and customers’ banks.

Let’s start with setting up your company’s bank details. To do that, navigate to Payments > Setup > Bank Details > New.

Bank Details Header Level

Let’s break down what you’re seeing on the Company Bank Details page.

Name: You’ll name this record based on what works best with your processes. You might want to name each Bank Details record using the name of the bank you are connecting on the record. Or you may want to match the name to the GL bank account you will select.
GL Bank Account: Select the GL account you want to pay funds from.
Legal Name: Set this to the name of your company.
Print Company Name: This is the company name that will show up on statements; it can either be the same as your Legal Name field or a separate company name, if desired.
File Cabinet Location: Here, you’ll choose where in the file cabinet you want to store the payment files that will be generated.
EFT Template: You’ll need to select an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) template from the dropdown in this field. This is what you will use to generate payment files for your vendors. With the basic version of this SuiteApp, you will have access to the most common payment file formats. The file format you select here is crucial, because this dictates the type of file NetSuite will generate when these kinds of payments are made. You need to make sure the format you choose is one your bank supports. Typically, the format ACH – CCD/PPD will be sufficient, as most banks in the US support that format.
DD Template: The DD (Direct Debit) Template specifies what file formats will be generated when you are pulling funds from your customer accounts. Direct debit is most commonly used for subscriptions.
Positive Pay Template: The Positive Pay Template is used to send positive pay authorization of checks to the bank.

Bank Details Subtabs

Once you have selected the file formats you will be using for EFT, Direct Debit, and Positive Pay, you will need to include full bank details for each one using each corresponding subtab.

You will need to get this information from your bank. Key details include things like the account number, routing number, and the ID your bank uses for your company. The grayed-out fields represent information that will auto-populate based on the other data you enter here.

Set Up Vendor Records

Next, you’ll need to make sure your vendor records are set up. If you were going to use EBP for customer payments (direct debits or positive pay) then you would set up your customer records in a similar way.

When you open a vendor record, you’ll notice the addition of the Email Address For Payment Notification field on the header level. If you want certain individuals to be notified when payments are created for this vendor, add their emails in this field. To include multiple emails, separate each additional email address with a semicolon.

Under the Bank Payment Details subtab, you will add bank details for your vendor’s bank. To do that, select the New Bank Details button. This will open a Bank Details record.

On the Bank Details page, you will enter all the necessary bank and account information, which your vendor will provide. You will also enter your vendor’s name in the Name field. Either this name field or the Print on Check As name field (located on the vendor record) will be used by the basic payment file templates for the vendor’s name in payment files. Not all alphabets are supported by the payment types. For example, in the USA, the ACH payment type doesn’t allow characters with accents or other non-English letters. There is also a subset of symbols that are supported. You will need to check which payment standard you are using and what the supported characters are.

Once you save the Bank Details page, return to the vendor record and be sure the EFT Bill Payment checkbox on the Bank Payment Details subtab has been checked. If you do not check this field, EFT will not work for this vendor. After setting everything up, save the vendor record.

How to Process Electronic Bank Payments

After setting up your own bank details and your vendor’s bank details, how would you actually process an electronic bank payment? Let’s take a look.

Create a Bill

First, let’s create a sample bill for this vendor. To create a bill, navigate to Transactions > Payables > Enter Vendor Bills. On the Vendor Bill record, select a vendor that has bank records set up. On the header level of the bill record, you will need to check the checkbox For Electronic Bank Payment. If this field is not visible, you will have to enable it on your form. Under the Expenses and Items subtab, add in the items or expenses for this bill. Then, save the record.

If you have approval routing set up for your vendor bills, at this point you would need to approve the bill. Otherwise, you’re ready to complete the payment in NetSuite and generate the payment file.

Process the Payment

To create a payment record in NetSuite the standard way, you would select the Make Payment button at the top of the Vendor Bill record. But in order to run the payment through EBP and generate a payment file for this bill, you will need to use the Payments tab. To do this, navigate to Payments > Payment Processing > Bill Payment Processing.

On the EFT – Bill Payments page you’ll enter the bank account and A/P account in the Search Filters section in order to pull up the exact bill (or bills) you need to process. Under the Payment Information section, choose the Date to Be Processed and the Posting Period. Typically you would leave today’s date as the processing date, but some companies may want to push this out a day to account for delays in bank processing.

The EFT File Reference Note field is required, and this field allows you to leave an explanatory note to be associated with the generated EFT file. For example, you might call this group of payments something like “April 2024 Vendor Bill Payments.” If some of your vendors have multiple bills you will be processing, you will probably want to use the Aggregate by Payee checkbox to consolidate all those bills into one payment. Then, scroll down to the Select Transactions tab.

Here, you’ll see any bills that meet your filter criteria. Select all the bills you want to process for payments, and then hit the Submit button.

Generate the Payment File

After submitting a bill for payment processing, you’ll be taken to the Payment File Administration page. This page will show you the status of the payment files that are being generated. You will need to use the Refresh button to see if the payment files have been processed. Depending on how many payments you are processing, expect this to take several minutes.

Once everything has been processed, you can download the payment file from the Download link in the File Reference field. Under the Payments tab, you will also see links to all the bill payment records that have been created.

Deleting or Voiding Payments

If you need to delete a payment, you have a couple options. On the Payment File Administration record, you’ll see a Rollback button at the top. This button is available for 24 hours from the time of the payment record creation, and it allows you to completely delete any payment files and bill payment records that have been created. Alternatively, you could use the Reverse Payments button, which would allow you to void specific payment records from the list. You would still retain a record of those bill payments, and a journal entry would be created to void out the amount of the transaction.

Sending File to Bank

To send the file to your bank, you will need to download the file and upload it to your bank’s website through their specified portal. NetSuite doesn’t process ACH or EFT payments. You will need to submit the payment file that you created to your bank for it to be processed.

Conclusion

The NetSuite Electronic Bank Payments simplifies the entire process of generating payment files for your NetSuite bills. If you enjoyed this blog, be sure to subscribe to our mailing list below to receive each week’s latest NetSuite blog post directly in your inbox. And to start the conversation with us about how we can help you set up Electronic Bank Payments in NetSuite, schedule a call with us below!

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