Setting Up Direct Supplier Payment

Objective

The Direct Supplier Payment option facilitates the work of customers who wish to pay their suppliers by bank transfer.

When a disbursement is entered in maestro*, the system differentiates the suppliers that should be paid using a cheque from those that should be paid by bank transfer. During a direct payment, maestro* creates a file that is read and processed by your financial institution.

A payment confirmation is then sent ti the supplier through the Contact Management option.

If emailing is impossible, maestro* allows you to send payment confirmations directly by fax using Microsoft Fax or Fax by Email.

You can use a solution that does not require the Contact Management module, but this requires you to use other communication products, such as FaxMaker (used for sending faxes), if you must send payment confirmations by fax directly. The payment confirmation form by fax will be created in Text mode (viewer 1) without attributes (bold, italics, etc.).

Before You Begin

List of bank institutions that are supported in the current maestro* formats for direct supplier payment:

Supported Banks
Bank of Montreal Bank of Montreal (old format) CIBC Bank CPA005 (1464) CPA005 (1464) Multi-Accounts CPA005 (1464) with Trace No. Canadian Western Bank Desjardins Bank HSBC (ascii old) HSBC (ascii) Laurentian Bank National Bank National Bank (old format) Royal Bank Scotia Bank TD Bank (80 Octets)

If your financial institution is not in the list of banks compatible with maestro* but it accepts the CPA005 (1464) format, you will be able to make direct payments to your suppliers.

Perform de Necessary Settings

Cheque Format Configuration

maestro* > Maintenance > General Maintenance > Processing > Cheque Format Configuration

Set up your cheque as usual.

For information on the different fields in this option, please refer to the latter's online help (F1).

Select the form in the Direct Payment Form field.

This allows to indicate the customized payment confirmation form to use.

This form is only used to print Direct Payment cheque stubs.

Chart of Accounts

maestro* > Accounting > Maintenance > Accounting > Chart of Accounts

It is recommended to create a new Bank type, "transit", general ledger account to group all Transfer type disbursements. By using a transit account, only the disbursement amounts will be transferred to the bank reconciliation of your general bank account.

Enter a Number for this new account.
Write a Description (English or French).
Indicate the Group Code.
In the Type field, select Bank.
Indicate whether the account status is Accessible or Unaccessible.
Save and Quit.

For information on the different fields in this option, please refer to the latter's online help (F1).

Bank Accounts

maestro* > Accounting > Maintenance > Accounting > Bank Accounts

After creating the transitory general ledger account, you must link it to the bank account.

The following fields are those that must be completed to be able to make direct supplier payments. For more information on the other fields in this option, please read its online help (F1).

Enter the GL Account number we created in the previous section.
Indicate the bank account number in the field to this effect, as well as the Transit No.
Enter the Account Use.
In the Account Type field, select Bank.
Enter the Supplier Cheque Deposit Format and Counter.
Furthermore, you must select the Institution and enter a Transmitter No.

Depending on your financial institution, it might be required to fill in the Processing Center field.

The information entered here has to be the same as those entered in the current account since the direct payment file will be created with those information.

Supplier Management

maestro* > Purchasing > Maintenance > Suppliers > Supplier Management

To indicate that the suppliers wishes to receive their payment through a bank transfer, you must provide the necessary information in the Direct Payment tab of the Supplier Management option.

If the Contact Management Module is Installed

Enter the necessary information in the Payment Mode, Account Number and Transit Number fields. The Transfer option has to be selected in the Payment Mode field.
The confirmation method will be established according to the contact created in the Contact Management option.

Without the Contact Management Module

You must fill in the different fields under the Direct Payment tab. The Transfer option has to be selected in the Payment Mode field.

The Confirmation Fax or Confirmation Email fields have to be filled in according to the selected confirmation mode. All of the other fields have to be completed.

General Settings

Accounting

maestro* > Configuration > General Settings

maestro* > Accounting > Maintenance > Accounting > Configuration

It is important to indicate the bank account for the direct supplier payment. To do so:

In the settings window, under the General Ledger option, select General.
Then, in the Purchases and Disbursements window, indicate the transitory account number in the Bank Account for Direct Payment Disb. field.

It is also possible to identify a bank account by currency for the direct payment to suppliers in the Currency Management option if the module is installed.

Purchasing