Overview
ACH Genie is a software application built to help financial institutions edit and validate ACH files to comply with NACHA File Format. ACH Genie’s advanced ACH editing and validation features help ensure that an ACH file complies with NACHA rules and standards to ensure transactions are accurately processed without rejections. Processing transactions in a timely manner ensures smooth execution of business and less frustrated customers.
ACH Genie provides powerful editing features to allow editing all ACH file records:
File Header
Batch Header
Transaction
Addenda
Batch Control
and File Control.
The validation logic for each record checks each field while the field is being modified to ensure compliance with the NACHA File Format rules. The constant feedback to the user about compliance or divergence from the NACHA File Format aids the user in keeping the ACH file compliant while making edits.
ACH Genie also performs validation on the entire ACH file and checks for dependencies and referenced values between different records. For example, the ABA number in the batch header needs to match the ABA number in the batch control. Validation also checks the value of the check digit field in all transaction records.
After the edits are performed, or at any time, the software provides a feature to rebalance the entire file. The rebalancing feature recalculates all the balances and regenerates hash values for all batch control records and the file control record.
ACH Genie also provides advanced features like raw line editing, generating reversal, generating correction, and ABA validation using an embedded ABA database.
ACH Genie has built-in integration with FedACH to download the latest ABA file on demand. That ensures that ABA numbers are current to eliminate expired or invalid ABA numbers. FedACH account is needed to update the ABA numbers using FedACH.
Raw line editing is an important feature that allows opening and editing a file with major errors. Please read more about this feature below.
Features
ACH Editing
Standard ACH Editing
ACH Genie provides Standard editing of NACHA records. Standard editing uses properly parsed data elements into their respective data types. This enforces that every field is the proper data type, size, and not empty – if required.
The Standard editing dialog boxes are launched from the tree control.
Raw Line ACH Editing
An ACH file might have major errors that would not allow a tool to successfully parse its data elements. ACH Genie provides Raw Line Editing to allow a user to open a file with major errors so the errors can be corrected. This feature helps users avoid opening files in text editors like Notepad to fix errors without assistance. Instead, a user can open a file using ACH Genie and use the Raw Line editing feature.
The Raw Line editing dialog boxes are launched by double-clicking on the respective record line in the Raw Lines table on the top right side of the application.
Validate a NACHA File
Entire File Validation
ACH Genie performs entire file validation that includes checking the length of each line and checking the record type for each line.
ACH Genie also checks for the proper ordering of elements: File Header, Batch Header, Transaction, Addenda, Batch Control, and File Control.
Field Validation
ACH Genie does field validation during load and every validation step. Field validation logic is also used and enforced when editing fields using Standard or Raw Line dialog boxes.
ABA validation
ACH Genie checks field-specific fields for full or partial ABA numbers. To speed up the validation of ABA numbers, an internal embedded database is included in the software application. Having an embedded ABA improves by eliminating network latency and alleviates security concerns regarding external network traffic.
Rebalance
Rebalance updates all the following values to make sure that they comply with the NACHA standards:
Credit total in batch control
Debit total in batch control
Hash value in Batch Control
Credit Total in File Control
Debit Total in File Control
Hash value in File Control
While ACH Genie allows the user to edit a NACHA file, there is a chance that the totals or hash values need to be updated. Rebalance function makes it easy for the user to update all the values.
Renumber Batches
ACH Genie has a renumber batches feature to correct the numbers of batches in case one or more are removed or added. Using this feature will update the numbers of batches to correctly count the batch number in the context of the file.
Generate Reversal
The reversal feature enables the user to generate a reversal file that reflects the opposite of the original transaction. Generating a reversal file is necessary in cases where a transaction needs to be reversed.
Generate Correction
ACH Genie allows the user to create a correction file by selecting the transactions that need to be corrected.
ABA Database Update Feature
ACH Genie can update the ABA routing numbers by making a call to the FedACH database. This updates the ABA numbers in the local database and ensures that ABA validation checks remain current. If some ABA numbers are outdated, this feature enables the user to update those numbers and resume ABA validation with up-to-date values.
Command-Line Validation
ACH Genie allows validation of NACHA files from the command line. This enables our customers to integrate NACHA validation in their business process automation pipeline.
For more information about this feature, please visit Command-line ACH Validation
This feature could be used to automate the validation of one or many NACHA files by scripting the process.
Bar Chart
ACH Genie can generate a bar chart of the current batch by clicking on the batch header and going to the bar chart tab in the bottom panel. Debit records are displayed as positive values and credit records as negative.
