ACH file - structure and contents

An ACH file:
  • Is an accessible ASCII-format file.
  • Displays multiple electronic transactions.
Each transaction in an ACH file has either a credit or a debit value. Typically, a payroll ACH file has credit transactions to employees' checking or savings accounts and balancing debit transactions to your client's payroll accounts.
attention
The National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) standardizes the structure and contents of ACH files. Thomson Reuters doesn’t have any control over it.
If you need detailed information on the structure or contents of ACH files, go to the ACH File Overview on the NACHA's website.

ACH file - Company/Batch header record

There is 1 Company/Batch Header Record for each batch file in an ACH file. A Company/Batch Header Record includes the following information (position numbers are listed in parentheses).
Company/Batch header record
Field Name
Contents (and position numbers)
Record Type Code
The numeral
5
. (01-01) 1 numeric.record type code
Service Class Code
Either the numerals
200
,
220
, or
225
. (02-04) 3 numeric.
  • Use 200 if it is marked as a balanced file as entered in the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen, because both debits and credits are in the file.
  • Use 220 if there are only credits in the file.
  • Use 225 if there are only debits in the file.
service class code
Company Name
The choice selected for
Company Name
, as entered in the Advanced setup, accessed from the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen. (05-20) 16 numeric.company name
Company Discretionary Data
Blank or the information entered in
Company discretionary data
, as entered in the Advanced setup, accessed from the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen. (21-40) 20 alphanumeric.company discretionary data
Company Identification
The choice selected for
Company identification
, as entered in the Advanced setup, accessed from the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen. (41-50) 10 alphanumeric.company identification
Standard Entry Class Code
  • PPD
    for payroll or non-commercial vendor transactions.
  • CCD
    for all other transactions.
Non-commercial vendors have social security numbers (xxx-xx-xxxx) and commercial vendors have EINs (xx-xxxxxxx). Therefore, if you enter an SSN for the vendor (or if the SSN/EIN field is left blank), the file displays
PPD
. If you enter an EIN for the vendor, the file will display
CCD
.
(51-53) 3 alphanumeric.
entry class code
Company Entry Description
  • PAYROLL
    , for a payroll deposit
  • PRENOTE
    , for a prenote file
  • TAX PAYMNT
    , for a tax deposit
  • VENDOR PMT
    , for a commercial vendor deposit
  • 1099 PMT
    , for a non-commercial vendor deposit
  • CHILDSUPPT
    , for a child support payment deposit.
(54-63) 10 alphanumeric.
entry description
Company Descriptive Date
Blank or the information you entered in
Company Descriptive Date
, as entered in the Advanced setup, accessed from the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen). (64-69) 6 alphanumeric.company descriptive date
Effective Entry Date
The information you entered in
Effective Date
, as entered in the Process Direct Deposit grid. (70-75) 6 numeric YYMMDD.effective entry date
Settlement Date
Blank. Completed by the bank that receives the ACH file. (76-78) 3 numeric.settlement date
Originator Status Code
The numeral
1
. (79-79) 1 numeric.originator status code
Originating DFI Identification
The 1st 8 digits of the 9-digit bank routing number associated with the bank selected in
Originator Bank
, as entered in the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen. (80-87) 8 numeric.originating DFI
Batch Number
The unique number assigned to each Company/Batch Header Record in the ACH file. Batch numbers are assigned in sequential order, beginning with the numeral
1
. (88-94) 7 numeric.batch number

ACH file - Company/Batch control record

Each Company/Batch Header Record included in an ACH file is paired with a Company/Batch Control Record (8 Record) with the following information (position numbers are listed in parentheses).
Company/Batch control record
Field name
Contents (and position numbers)
Record Type Code
The numeral
8
. (01-01) 1 numeric.record type code
Service Class Code
Either the numerals
200
,
220
, or
225
. Should be the same as the one used in the Company/Batch Control Header Record that is paired with this Company/Batch Control Record. (02-04) 3 numeric.service class code
Entry/Addenda Count
The number of entry detail and addenda records included in the Company/Batch Record. (05-10) 6 numeric.Entry / Addenda count
Entry Hash
The sum of
Receiving DFI Idenfitication
in the entry detail and addenda records in the Company/Batch Record. If the number of digits in the total is larger than the field size enables, the number is automatically truncated. (11-20) 10 numeric.entry hash
Total Debit Entry Dollar Amount
The sum of all
Amount
fields in the debit records included in the Company/Batch Record. (21-32) 12 numeric.total debit entry
Total Credit Entry Dollar Amount
The sum of all
Amount
fields in the credit records included in the Company/Batch Record. (33-44) 12 numeric.total credit entry
Company Identification
The choice selected for
Company identification
, as entered in the Advanced setup, accessed from the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen. (45-54) 10 alphanumeric.Company identification
Message Authentication Code
Blank. No longer used. (55-73) 19 numeric.Message authentication code
Reserved
This field is always left blank. (74-79) 6 numeric.Reserved
Originating DFI Identification
The 1st 8 digits of the 9-digit bank routing number associated with the bank selected for the
Originator bank
, as entered in the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen. (80-87) 8 numeric.Originating DFI identification
Batch Number
The unique number assigned to each Company/Batch Control Record in the ACH file. Batch numbers are assigned in sequential order, beginning with the numeral
1
. (88-94) 7 numeric.batch number

ACH file - entry detail record

Each deposit included in the Company / Batch Header Record of an ACH file includes 1 Entry Detail Record with the following information (position numbers are listed in parentheses).
Entry detail record
Field name
Contents (and position numbers)
Record Type Code
The numeral
6
. (01-01) 1 numeric.record type code
Transaction Code
Determined by the nature of the transaction and the contents of the
Checking
and
Savings
fields. (02-03) 2 numeric. The possible entries are:
  • 22
    , Checking Credit Live
  • 23
    , Checking Credit Prenote
  • 24
    , Checking Credit Child Support prenote
  • 27
    , Checking Debit Live
  • 28
    , Checking Debit Prenote
  • 29
    , Checking Debit Child Support prenote
  • 32
    , Savings Credit Live
  • 33
    , Savings Credit Prenote
  • 34
    , Savings Credit Child Support prenote
  • 37
    , Savings Debit Live
  • 38
    , Savings Debit Prenote
  • 39
    , Savings Debit Child Support prenote
  • 52
    , Loan Credit Live
  • 53
    , Loan Credit Prenote
transaction code
Receiving DFI Identification
The 1st 8 digits of the 9-digit bank routing number associated with the bank selected in the Direct Deposit tab of the Employees or Vendors screens. (04-11) 8 numeric.receiving DFI idenfification
Check Digit
The last digit of the 9-digit bank routing number associated with the bank selected in the Direct Deposit tab of the Employees or Vendors screen. (12-12) 1 numeric.check digit
DFI Account Number
The number entered in the
Check #
field as entered in the Direct Deposit tab of the Employees or Vendors screen. (13-29) 17 alphanumeric.DFI account number
Amount
The amount calculated for this transaction for this account distribution. (30-39) 10 numeric. amount
Individual Identification Number
The choice selected for
Individual identification
, as entered in the Advanced setup, accessed from the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen. (40-54) 15 alphanumeric.individual identification number
Individual Name (PPD) / Receiving or Company Name (CCD)
The employee or vendor/agent name associated with the transaction. (55-76) 22 alphanumeric.PPD or CCD
Discretionary Data
Completed by the bank that receives the ACH file. (77-78) 2 alphanumeric.discretionary data
Addenda Record Indicator
The numeral 0 if there is no addenda record or the numeral 1 if this is a child support payment or tax payment that requires an addenda record. (79-79) 1 numeric.addenda record indicator
Trace Number
Based on the bank routing number associated with the bank selected for
Originator bank
, as entered in the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen. This is a 15-digit number in which:
  • Positions 1-8 are the 1st 8 digits of the originator's routing number
  • Positions 9-15 are numbers assigned in ascending order to each transaction within the Company / Batch Header Record
(80-94) 15 numeric.trace number

ACH file - File header Record

The File Header Record is included once at the beginning of each ACH file and includes the following information (position numbers listed in parentheses).
Company/Batch control record
Field name
Contents (and position numbers)
Record Type Code
The numeral
1
. (01-01) 1 numeric.record type code
Priority Code
The numerals
01
. (02-03) 2 numeric.priority code
Immediate Destination
A blank space, followed by the 9-digit routing number associated with the
Immediate Destination
field as entered in the
Direct Deposit
tab (or the
Client Direct Deposit
tab) of the
Setup
,
Bank Accounts
screen. (04-13) 10 alphanumeric.immediate destination
Immediate Origin
A blank space, followed by the option selected as the
Immediate origin
in the
Direct Deposit
tab (or the
Client Direct Deposit
tab) of the
Setup
,
Bank Accounts
screen. (14-23) 10 alphanumeric. immediate origin
File Creation Date
The system date when the ACH file was created. (24-29) 6 numeric YYMMDD. file creation date
File Creation Time
The system time when the ACH file was created. (30-33) 4 numeric HHMM.file creation time
File ID Modifier
This field should start at 0 and increment by 1 (up to 9) and then go to letters starting at A through Z for each subsequent file created for a single system date. (34-34) 1 numeric 0-9 or uppercase alpha A-Z.file ID modifier
Record Size
The numerals
094
. (35-37) 3 numeric.record size
Blocking Factor
The numerals
10
. (38-39) 2 numeric.blocking factor
Format Code
The numeral
1
. (40-40) 1 numeric.format code
Immediate Destination Name
The bank name associated with the bank selected in the
Immediate destination bank
field as entered in the
Direct Deposit
tab (or the
Client Direct Deposit
tab) of the Bank Accounts screen. (41-63) 23 alphanumeric.immediate destination name
Immediate Origin Name
The choice selected for the
Immediate Origin Name
as entered in the
Direct Deposit
tab (or the
Client Direct Deposit
tab) of the Bank Accounts screen. (64-86) 23 alphanumeric.immediate origin name
Reference Code
Blank or the information entered in the
Reference code
field as entered in the Advanced Setup window, accessed from the
Direct Deposit
tab (or the
Client Direct Deposit
tab) of the Bank Accounts screen. (87-94) 8 alphanumeric.reference code

ACH file - file control record

The final record in an ACH file includes the following information (position numbers are listed in parentheses).
File control record
Field Name
Contents (and position numbers)
Record Type Code
The numeral
9
. (01-01) 1 numeric.record type code
Batch Count
The total number of Company / Batch Header Records in the ACH file. (02-07) 6 numeric.batch count
Block Count
The total number of records in the ACH file, rounded up to the nearest 10 then divided by 10. (08-13) 6 numeric.block count
Entry / Addenda Count
The total number of entry detail and tax addenda records in the ACH file. (14-21) 8 numeric.entry count
Entry Hash
The sum of all
Entry Hash
fields in the ACH file.
  • If the total contains more digits than the field size enables, the number is automatically truncated.
(22-31) 10 numeric.entry hash
Total Debit Entry Dollar Amount in file
The sum of all
Total Debit Entry Dollar Amount
fields in the ACH file.
  • This will be zero if the
    Balanced file
    checkboxes in the Direct Deposit tab (or the Client Direct Deposit tab, if applicable) of the Bank Accounts screen are not marked.
(32-43) 12 numeric.total debit entry
Total Credit Entry Dollar Amount in file
The sum of all
Total Credit Entry Dollar
fields in the ACH file. (44-55) 12 numeric.total credit entry
Reserved
This field is always left blank. (56-94) 39 numeric.