If a vendor accepts electronic payments, the invoices can be paid either electronically or by paper checks. The Payment Selection by Date and Individual Payment Selection programs default all of the vendor’s invoices to be paid by a default payment type. You can modify an invoice to be paid by check, EFT or wire in Individual Payment Selection.
Use the Payment Selection List program to optionally print payments to be made electronically separate from payments to be made by check.
The EFT Submission (APR320) is used to process electronic payments. Invoices flagged for electronic payment are consolidated by vendor and submitted for approval. Vouchers are optionally printed for the electronic payments. The Check Print Control F/M contains a setting for printing electronic payment vouchers.
Electronic payments must be approved before they can be submitted to the bank for processing. This is analogous to someone signing the paper checks. Use the EFT Approval (APE340) program to approve or reject a vendor’s payment that is submitted for electronic payment.
Rejecting a payment clears any indications that the invoices were submitted for payment and removes the invoices from the payment file. The invoices can be re-selected through Payment Selection by Date or Individual Payment Selection programs.
Once payments are approved, you can select to create a batch payment file for transmission to the bank with the approved payments in the EFT Approval (APE340) program. Finally, before the payments are displayed on the Payment Register, you must confirm that the electronic payment batch was accepted by the bank using the Payment Batch Status (APE350) program. After approval, the Payment Register report shows what payments were made and the invoices that were paid. Additionally, the remittance advice can be printed or be emailed to the vendors letting them know that the payments have been sent.
If a payment batch file is rejected by the bank and processed through the Payment Batch Status (APE350), the payments will be returned to the EFT Approval screen where the payment batch could be recreated in a different format or rejected so they can be selected for a paper check.
If the bank accepts the file and then later rejects one of the payment transactions, access the Void Check Entry program and void the electronic check and update each invoice originally paid.
Running the AP End-of-Period Update determines if there are any payment batches that have been transmitted to the bank but not yet accepted by the bank. If this is the case, the system displays a message and the update will not run. If there are submitted or approved payments that have not yet been created into a batch, those payments remain, and the end of period update will proceed.
When paying vendors by credit card, you can use the Wire transfer payment type, which records a transaction number—no file is generated. These transactions must be cleared through Bank Reconciliation (SME520) for the specified bank. Print the transaction using Bank Transaction Listing (SMR520).