ACH File Format

ProPay ACH File Format

The specifications below show how the ACH file is formatted when exported by ProPay. ProPay generates this file when you export direct deposits or tax impound transactions from Client Functions > Electronic Processing.

ALL RECORDS ARE ASCII FORMAT "NACHA" COMPATIBLE - FIXED FIELD LENGTH

Each record is exactly 94 characters. Records are blocked in groups of 10 (blocking factor). If the total number of records is not a multiple of 10, the file is padded with "9" filler records.

ProPay uses the CCD (Cash Concentration or Disbursement) standard entry class code for ACH transactions.

"1"-Record Type - File Header

One File Header record begins every ACH file. It identifies the source and destination of the file.

FIELD	NAME	CONTENTS	LENGTH	POSITION	ProPay User Input/Screen
1	Record Type Code	"1"	1	01-01
2	Priority Code	"01"	2	02-03
3	Immediate Destination	bTTTTAAAAC	10	04-13	Direct Deposits or Tax Impounds Setup, Settlement Acct Routing No. If a Regional ACH Processor Routing No is entered, that value is used instead.
4	Immediate Origin	bTTTTAAAAC	10	14-23	Direct Deposits or Tax Impounds Setup, Originator ID
5	File Creation Date	YYMMDD	6	24-29	Generated automatically from system date
6	File Creation Time	HHMM	4	30-33	Generated automatically from system time
7	File ID Modifier	"A"	1	34-34	Distinguishes among multiple files created on the same date. "A" for the first file, "B" for the second, and so on through "Z".
8	Record Size	"094"	3	35-37
9	Blocking Factor	"10"	2	38-39
10	Format Code	"1"	1	40-40
11	Immediate Dest. Name	Alphanumeric	23	41-63	Direct Deposits or Tax Impounds Setup, ACH Bank or Processor name
12	Immediate Origin Name	Alphanumeric	23	64-86	Payroll Processor's name (ProPay licensee name)
13	Reference Code	Blank	8	87-94	Reserved for use by the Immediate Origin

"5"-Record Type - Batch Header

One Batch Header record begins each batch of transactions within the file. When Create Single Company Batches is enabled in Direct Deposits Setup, ProPay creates a separate batch for each employer.

FIELD	NAME	CONTENTS	LENGTH	POSITION	ProPay User Input/Screen
1	Record Type Code	"5"	1	01-01
2	Service Class Code	"200", "220", or "225"	3	02-04	"200" = mixed debits and credits; "220" = credits only; "225" = debits only
3	Company Name	Alphanumeric	16	05-20	Employer name from Employer Setup. If Draft Employer's Funds is checked, uses the payroll processor's name.
4	Company Discretionary Data	Alphanumeric	20	21-40	Optional. May contain employer-specific data.
5	Company Identification	Alphanumeric	10	41-50	Employer's Federal Tax ID. If Draft Employer's Funds is checked, uses the payroll processor's Federal ID.
6	Standard Entry Class Code	"CCD" or "PPD"	3	51-53	"CCD" for tax payments and employer drafts; "PPD" for employee direct deposits
7	Company Entry Description	Alphanumeric	10	54-63	Direct Deposits Setup, Credit Description (e.g., "PAYROLL", "TAX PAY")
8	Company Descriptive Date	Alphanumeric	6	64-69	Optional date for display purposes
9	Effective Entry Date	YYMMDD	6	70-75	Settlement date calculated by ProPay based on pay date and draft days
10	Settlement Date	Blank	3	76-78	Reserved for ACH processor use
11	Originator Status Code	"1"	1	79-79
12	Originating DFI Identification	Numeric	8	80-87	First 8 digits of the ACH processor routing number from Direct Deposits Setup
13	Batch Number	Numeric	7	88-94	Sequential batch number within the file, starting at 1

Note for Ceridian users: Positions 29-34 must contain the company number (left-justified, space filled) and positions 35-37 must contain the 3-digit Payment Solutions ID. See ACH Processor Setup for processor-specific requirements.

"6"-Record Type - Entry Detail

One Entry Detail record exists for each individual transaction (each employee deposit, each employer debit, each tax payment).

FIELD	NAME	CONTENTS	LENGTH	POSITION	ProPay User Input/Screen
1	Record Type Code	"6"	1	01-01
2	Transaction Code	Numeric	2	02-03	See Transaction Codes table below
3	Receiving DFI Identification	Numeric	8	04-11	First 8 digits of the employee's bank routing number from Employees > Direct Deposits
4	Check Digit	Numeric	1	12-12	9th digit of the routing number (check digit)
5	DFI Account Number	Alphanumeric	17	13-29	Employee's bank account number from Employees > Direct Deposits
6	Amount	$$$$$$$$cc	10	30-39	Transaction amount in cents (no decimal point)
7	Individual Identification Number	Alphanumeric	15	40-54	Employee ID or SSN. For Ceridian, credit records use employee ID; debit records use company number.
8	Individual Name	Alphanumeric	22	55-76	Employee name (for credits) or employer name (for debits)
9	Discretionary Data	Alphanumeric	2	77-78	Optional
10	Addenda Record Indicator	"0" or "1"	1	79-79	"1" if a Type 7 Addenda record follows this entry
11	Trace Number	Numeric	15	80-94	Originating DFI routing (8 digits) + sequential entry number (7 digits)

Transaction Codes

Code	Description	Account Type
22	Credit to checking account (deposit)	Checking
23	Pre-note credit to checking account	Checking
27	Debit from checking account (withdrawal)	Checking
32	Credit to savings account (deposit)	Savings
33	Pre-note credit to savings account	Savings
37	Debit from savings account (withdrawal)	Savings

ProPay determines the account type from the employee's bank account settings (C = Checking, S = Savings) in Employees > Direct Deposits.

ProPay supports up to 4 direct deposit accounts per employee. Each account generates a separate "6" record. Deposit amounts are calculated based on the percentage or fixed amount configured for each account.

"7"-Record Type - Addenda

Addenda records provide supplemental information for specific transactions. ProPay generates addenda records for EFTPS tax payments and electronic child support garnishment payments.

FIELD	NAME	CONTENTS	LENGTH	POSITION	ProPay User Input/Screen
1	Record Type Code	"7"	1	01-01
2	Addenda Type Code	"05"	2	02-03
3	Payment Related Information	Alphanumeric	80	04-83	Content varies by payment type (see below)
4	Addenda Sequence Number	Numeric	4	84-87	Sequential number starting at 1 for each "6" record
5	Entry Detail Sequence Number	Numeric	7	88-94	Matches the last 7 digits of the corresponding "6" record trace number

EFTPS Tax Payment Addenda

For federal tax payments (941, 940, 944, 943), the Payment Related Information field contains:

Taxpayer Identification Number (Federal Tax ID)
Tax type code (from ProPay's `GETTAXCODE` function)
Tax period (year and quarter)
Tax amount breakdown (Social Security, Medicare, Federal Withholding for 941 payments)
Verification code

Child Support Garnishment Addenda

For electronic child support payments, ProPay populates addenda fields from the garnishment payee record in Employees > Payee Deductions:

Data Element	Description
Application ID	Identifies the child support enforcement system
Case ID	Court case identifier
FIPS Code	Federal Information Processing Standard geographic code
Non-Custodial Parent Name	Name of the employee/obligor
Payer SSN	Social Security Number of the employee
Medical Support Indicator	Whether medical support is included

"8"-Record Type - Batch Control

One Batch Control record ends each batch. It contains totals that the ACH processor uses to verify the batch was received correctly.

FIELD	NAME	CONTENTS	LENGTH	POSITION	Notes
1	Record Type Code	"8"	1	01-01
2	Service Class Code	"200", "220", or "225"	3	02-04	Must match the corresponding "5" record
3	Entry/Addenda Count	Numeric	6	05-10	Total number of "6" and "7" records in this batch
4	Entry Hash	Numeric	10	11-20	Sum of all routing numbers (positions 04-11) in "6" records, truncated to 10 digits
5	Total Debit Amount	$$$$$$$$$$cc	12	21-32	Sum of all debit "6" record amounts in this batch
6	Total Credit Amount	$$$$$$$$$$cc	12	33-44	Sum of all credit "6" record amounts in this batch
7	Company Identification	Alphanumeric	10	45-54	Must match the corresponding "5" record
8	Message Authentication Code	Blank	19	55-73	Reserved
9	Reserved	Blank	6	74-79
10	Originating DFI Identification	Numeric	8	80-87	Must match the corresponding "5" record
11	Batch Number	Numeric	7	88-94	Must match the corresponding "5" record

Note: For balanced ACH files, the total debits and total credits within each batch must be equal. When Allow Unbalanced Transactions is enabled, batches may have unequal debit and credit totals. See Unbalanced ACH Transactions for details.

"9"-Record Type - File Control

One File Control record ends every ACH file. It contains totals for the entire file.

FIELD	NAME	CONTENTS	LENGTH	POSITION	Notes
1	Record Type Code	"9"	1	01-01
2	Batch Count	Numeric	6	02-07	Total number of "5"/"8" record pairs in the file
3	Block Count	Numeric	6	08-13	Total number of physical blocks (groups of 10 records), including filler records
4	Entry/Addenda Count	Numeric	8	14-21	Total "6" and "7" records in the file
5	Entry Hash	Numeric	10	22-31	Sum of all Batch Control entry hashes, truncated to 10 digits
6	Total Debit Amount	$$$$$$$$$$cc	12	32-43	Sum of all Batch Control debit totals
7	Total Credit Amount	$$$$$$$$$$cc	12	44-55	Sum of all Batch Control credit totals
8	Reserved	Blank	39	56-94

"9"-Filler Records

If the total number of records in the file is not a multiple of 10 (the blocking factor), the file is padded with lines of 94 nines ("9999...9") until the record count reaches the next multiple of 10. These filler records ensure the file meets the NACHA blocking requirement.

File Structure Summary

A complete ProPay ACH file follows this structure:

_CODE_BLOCK_0_

When Create Single Company Batches is enabled, each employer's transactions are grouped in a separate "5"/"8" batch pair. When disabled, all transactions are combined in a single batch.

File Naming Convention

ProPay names the exported file using an 8-digit format with a .TXT extension:

First 4 digits: Your unique sender ID number
Last 4 digits: Month and day (MMDD format)

Example: `55010424.TXT` (sender ID 5501, exported on April 24th)

The file is saved to your ProPay installation directory (`C:\PAYSOFT\PROPAY26`).