E-cheques… …or how we learned to stop worrying about printing and distributing cheques and start...

e-cheques……or how we learned to stop worrying about printing and

distributing cheques and start loving direct deposit

Denise Cordrey & Leanne Rooney

dcordrey@ecuad.ca

lrooney@ecuad.ca

WHO?

• Small University in Vancouver, BC specializing in Art, Design + Media

• Offers 4 year Bachelor Degrees and 2 year Masters Degrees as well as a thriving Continuing Studies Department

• 1,700 credit students & 1,200 Continuing Studies students each semester

• 120 staff & admin

• 150 credit faculty & sessionals

• 65 Continuing Studies faculty

WHAT?• Electronic transfer of funds from one bank

account to another

• Processed through your Finance/AP module

• Does not interface with the HR/Payroll module

WHY?• Sustainability• Convenience• Clears faster – no more trips to the bank• No more lost or stale dated cheques• No more sorting and distributing paper

cheques• No more mailing costs/cheque paper costs• No more printer jams

HOW?

• we started with e-cheques for students

• we felt we would get good buy in from that group because of the convenience and immediacy

• soft roll-out, participation was optional

• considering compulsory full participation for Fall 09 term refunds

• we are now rolling out e-cheques for employee expenses

• full roll-out in September 09

• many staff have ‘heard through the grapevine’ and have already chosen to sign up

• haven’t tackled Vendors Payments yet, but in the future…

Getting Colleague Ready

Start in your TEST account and work with your Bank to make sure it all runs smoothly before

moving anything to PRODUCTION

First thing - Bank set up

• Your ‘in-house’ bank administrator will set up the person transmitting the file

• Talk to your bank – they will help to define what you need

• You will need a different Canadian client number for e cheques that is not the same as your payroll routing code

• Talk to the bank’s IT group regarding setting up a testing schedule

BKCM (detail on EFT Information Field) → ECPD

Set ‘Process e-cheques’ to ‘Yes’.

Either use the US EFT format or the EFT subroutine. Datatel delivered sub routine is set up to Royal Bank standards.

‘Include Carriage Return’ – set to ‘No’.

Canadian client number for AP e-cheques that is not the same as your payroll routing code.

Then, turn the e-cheque process on:APDE - AP Parameters definition – at the bottom third of the screen

‘E-mail types’ - More than one e-mail type can be entered.

We created a return email that can be checked by more than one user in the Finance Department.

Detail to APEP

APEP – AP e-cheque Parameters

Set ‘Allow e-cheque payments’ to ‘Yes’

Enter the maximum amount your institution will allow for each e-cheque.

Select the default advice method for notifying payees that their cheque has been processed.

Compose your notification paragraphs.

Terms and Conditions entered here will appear on the website when students/staff register their bank accounts to receive e-cheques.

e-mail advice set-up:

Payee, date and bank account number will populate in the email

Sample of advice e-mail:The bank account number will automatically populate in the e-mail

Enter Bank Account Numbers

You have options:

• Send out instructions to show participants how they can enter their own information using WebAdvisor

• Make forms available for participants to register to receive e-cheques then enter the data manually

• Get signed permission forms from employees that would allow you to copy information from the payroll account (you can’t assume they would use the same account)

Using WebAdvisorAdd the link to your menus:

Add the Bank information:

How to find the correct Bank Account Number:

…or Manually

BAIE – Bank Account Info Entry

• At the address resolution screen on the selected PERSON file, Colleague wants you to select an address to attach the bank information to.

• IMPORTANT: F9/Update will take you to a default bank information form and will work for any address on that file

• OR - Set up the Bank information for a specific address listed (for Vendors)

BAIE

Canadian banks (or at least ours) do not need the Routing Number or Pre-Note.

Select the Account Type and ‘email’ or ‘paper’ advice.

If bank info changes, add new info on the next line. This automatically makes the old info ‘Historical Bank Information’.

Everything is in place

• You have dealt with your bank to arrange User security, an AP routing code, a testing schedule

• Colleague is set up

• Payees Bank Accounts are in BAIE

• You are ready make payments without printing and distributing cheques!

e-cheque/paper cheque workflow

CKSE - Cheque Payment Selection

The same as you would normally run paper cheques except:

Allow e-cheque payment

Select cheque Production type

Combined paper and e-cheque report

ECHP – e-cheque Production

Export file name populates with current date embedded

Posting Method options include:

•Report only

•Update from report

•Immediate update

e-cheque report

e-cheque/paper cheque workflow

Bank Reports

Financial Exports Record DeletionFERD

Lessons Learned

• If you have your Users entering their own Bank Account Numbers, be prepared for some level of inaccuracy

• Think about ways to make it easy for people to participate– Give them easy access to foolproof instructions – Publish times when someone is available in your office to assist them?– Help Line?

• There are Bank fees for this service– Find out what your bank charges– The better the buy in from your Users, the more cost effective it becomes

Any Questions ?