Setting Up Direct Supplier Payment

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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 to the supplier through the Contact Management option.

With this document, you will be able to:

• Configure the basic data required to use direct payment to suppliers;
• Prepare and issue a bank file;
• Send a payment confirmation by email or fax using Contact Management.

 

Specifications concerning the generation of the NACHA (U.S.) file can be found at the end of this document, in the Appendix.

 

Summary

• Before You Begin
• Perform the Necessary Settings
  1. Cheque Format Configuration
  2. Chart of Accounts
  3. Bank Accounts
  4. Counter Management (multidimensional mode)
  5. Supplier Management
  6. General Settings
     • Accounting
     • Purchasing
  7. Supplier Contact Management
  8. Mailing Configuration
  9. Define Document Categories
  10. Security Management
• Implementation
  1. Perform a Disbursement
  2. Print Cheques
  3. Print the Direct Payment List
  4. Prepare Direct Payment File
  5. Direct Payment Revision
  6. Transfer the Transitory Bank Account to the Real Bank Account (optional)
  7. Completely Cancel a Supplier Direct Payment
• Appendix
  • Specifications for Direct Supplier Payment in the United States (NACHA)

 

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 the Necessary Settings

This section provides an overview of the different configurations required to enable direct payments to suppliers.

 

A. Cheque Format Configuration

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

 

This option allows you to define the custom payment confirmation format to use by specifying the form name in the Direct Payment Form field. The default form for maestro* is CPIDEPOTV2STD.

1. Set up your cheque as usual.
2. Select the form in the Direct Payment Form field.

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

 

B. Chart of Accounts

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

 

It is recommended to create a new Direct Payment Bank general ledger account to collect all disbursements of the Transfer type. By using a transitory account, only the amount of the disbursements will be transferred into the bank reconciliation of your main bank account.

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

 

C. Bank Accounts

maestro* > Accounting > Maintenance > Accounting > Bank Accounts

 

After creating the transitory general ledger account, it must be linked to the bank account.

The following fields are those that must be completed to be able to make direct supplier payments.

1. Enter the GL Account number created in the previous section.
2. Indicate the Bank Account Number that will be used to pay the supplier.
3. Also indicate the Transit No. The transit number consists of the financial institution’s number followed by the branch number. Depending on the financial institution, the branch number and the financial institution’s number may be reversed.
4. Enter the Account Use, for example, Direct Payment.
5. In the Account Type field, select Internal, since this is a transitory account.
6. Enter the cheque format in the Supplier Cheque Deposit Format field. You must link it to the cheque format you created in step A.
7. Do not check the Reconcile Disbursement box.
8. Indicate the Bank Name.

9. Select the Institution from the drop-down menu.
10. Select the appropriate value in the Mailing Mode field:

Value	Description
Regular	Normal sending method.
RBC – CPA-005 Web Transfer	Web transfer to RBC Royal Bank using standard format CPA-005. This method adds the code starting with $$AAPDCPA1464[PROD[NL$$ to the beginning of the direct deposit file to identify the qualifier during the web transfer. NOTE: This sending method applies only to the RBC Royal Bank and is only valid for institution CPA-005.

11. Indicate the number provided by your institution in the Transmitter No. field.

Warning! If you are operating in multidimensional mode, click the icon to the right of the Transmitter No. field to enter the issuer number for each company. Do not enter the company number directly into the Transmitter No. field.

12. The Creation No. field contains an incremented number transmitted when a file is created for bank reconciliation with Toronto-Dominion Bank. See the section on General Settings.

If the Creation No. is used when sending "supplier direct deposit" and payroll files, you must, when sending payroll, click the Configurations icon and check the Use Direct Payment Creation Number box to align the file numbers.

13. When the selected institution is CPA005 (1464) or CPA005 (1464) with trace, it may be required to fill in the Processing Center field. The information must match your current account details, as the direct payment file will be created using this information.
14. The 1464 Multi-date Format field determines how the financial institution will process the disbursements included in a direct payment file. Selecting Yes means the direct payment file will be processed according to the disbursement dates. Selecting No means the direct payment file will be processed only once by the bank, based on the preparation file date rather than the individual disbursement dates.

 

D. Counter Management (multidimensional mode)

maestro* > Accounting > Maintenance > Accounting > Counter Management > Counter Management

The Counter Management option allows you to use a single general ledger account with a different numeric sequence for each company at the transaction level.

If you are working in multidimensional mode, create a counter for each prefix for the direct payment account.

 

E. Supplier Management

maestro* > Purchasing > Maintenance > Suppliers > Supplier Management

 

To perform an automatic transfer between the transitory account and the actual bank account when creating the bank file, a supplier account (for example, named Transitory) must be configured. First, ensure that there are no payment terms and no tax codes assigned.

To indicate that the suppliers wishes to receive their payment through a bank transfer, the fields in the Direct Payment tab of the Supplier Management option must be completed.

 

If the Contact Management Module is Installed

1. 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.
2. The confirmation method will be established according to the contact created in the Contact Management option.

It is also necessary to complete the Maestro Form Links tab in Contact Management to identify the contact who will receive the confirmation notice for this type of transaction.

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. Depending on the confirmation method chosen, complete the necessary fields. All of the other fields have to be completed.

 

F. General Settings

Accounting

maestro* > Accounting > Maintenance > Accounting > Configuration

 

It is important to indicate the transitory bank account for the direct supplier payment.

1. In the configuration window, display the General tab.
2. 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

maestro* > Purchasing > Maintenance > Purchasing > Configuration

 

This option allows you to specify where the direct payment files will be saved, the mandatory creation number for file transmission, and the custom payment confirmation form.

1. In the configuration window, display the Payments tab.
2. In the Payments section, enter the required information in the different fields:

Fields	Description
Creation No.	Last number issued for the last direct payment. NOTES: The number is incremented when a direct payment file is created. The number can also be incremented when a bank deposit file is created if the Use Direct Payment Creation Number field is checked in the bank deposit preparation screen. In multidimensional mode, this button configures a creation number by company prefix.
Supplier for the transfer of direct payments	Supplier code used to create the individual disbursement on transferring the direct payment file. NOTE: This individual disbursement is used to automatically transfer the amount of direct payments issued from the internal bank account to the current bank account. If the supplier is omitted, the disbursement is not created.
File location	Location in which direct payment files are saved. In multidimensional mode, click in the location field, do not enter anything in the field, then specify the correct directories on the lines corresponding to each company. You must copy and paste the location. WARNING! If no location is entered, maestro* saves the direct payment files in the user’s Documents directory by default. This directory can be accessed with Windows Explorer, and can be found, for example, in the Libraries or My Documents section.
Confirmation Form	The Confirmation Form field is used to select a form that will automatically be sent to the supplier, when preparing the direct payment file. It can differ from the direct deposit form printed in the Print Cheques option.

 

G. Supplier Contact Management

maestro* > Purchasing > Maintenance > Suppliers > Supplier Management

 

Warning! Access to the Contact Management option must be done from Supplier Management for the Contacts and Maestro Form Links tabs to be displayed.

The Contact Management option allows the confirmation method, email, and contact identification for receiving the confirmation notice to be set.

1. In Supplier Management, display a supplier record.
2. Click the Contact Management icon .

Contacts tab

3. On the Contacts tab, select Email in the Communication Method field.
4. Create the contact user to whom the confirmation notice will be sent.

If you want to send a message to a specific person or department within the company, you must create individual contacts in the company's main profile, under the Contacts tab. You can select the contact code from the drop-down menu. The information will appear in the Contact Name and Email fields. If no contact code is selected, the name and email fields will be left blank when the message is sent.

Maestro Forms Links tab

5. On the Maestro Form Links tab, in the drop-down menu for the Form Type column, select the Supplier Direct Payment form.
6. Select the contact who should receive the confirmation.
7. In the Communication Method column, select 1- Email.
8. Save the changes.

 

H. Mailing Configuration

maestro* > Maintenance > General Maintenance > Processing > Mailing Configuration

The Mailing Configuration option is used to configure a subject and a message for each form, report or other listed in the grid that will be used for mass mailings. This option is also used to set up the backup for forms and reports in Document Management.

The user must select the Send to all recipients icon . It is recommended not to use the Send icon , as it does not take into account the settings entered in Contact Management or Mailing Configuration.

It is possible to configure a message in both English and French. The message sent will be in the correspondence language defined for the recipient in Contact Management.

1. Locate the Supplier Direct Payment form in the list.
2. In the French – Mailing Subjects column, click the icon to enter the subject of the message to be sent.
3. In the French – Mailing Messages column, double-click the field to enter the message to be sent. The message text can be formatted using the available tools (font, size, style, alignment, numbering, etc.).
4. Repeat the last two steps for English.

Variables provided by maestro* can be used to customize the subjects and messages sent to recipients.

5. If necessary, enter the information in the other columns:

Colonnes	Description
Recipient	Not applicable for direct payment.
Save in Document Management	Tells maestro* whether or not the form should be saved in Document Management. Available values: No Maestro* does not save a copy. When sending Saves a copy on sending only. When generating form Saves a copy when the form is generated.
Document Category	Specifies the category under which the document will be classified in Document Management. NOTES: The category will only be used if the form is saved in Document Management. The document categories available respect the access restriction of the Documents section in Security Management.
Use signature in e-mail	Indicates whether a signature should be added to the e-mail sent when printing forms, if the user uses the Send to all recipients option. NOTE: To use a signature, refer to help on Setting up an e-mail signature. Available values: No By default, no signature will be added to the e-mail message. NOTE: In the Send to all recipients option, the user can add a signature to the Message tab at any time. Use the user preferences Allows the user to choose whether or not a signature is added to the e-mail message based on the user's Preferences.
Use Encryption	Check the box to indicate that this type of mailing requires encryption. NOTE: The email will be protected by a password. To visualize its content, the recipient will need to enter the Document Password defined for them in the Other Information tab of the Contact Management option.
Email Account for Sending	If an email address is present in this field, the system will use it to send the emails. If left blank, the email will be considered a standard email, and therefore the current user's email address will be used to send it. NOTE: When sending mass mailings: The email account used will be the one configured in the General Settings. The "as" or "on behalf of" email address will be the one defined in the Email Account for Sending field of the Mailing Configuration option.
Mailing Mode	Specifies the mailing mode used for mass mailings. The available values are: Microsoft Outlook The value specified in the General Settings (Communication tab, Configuration - Mass Mailings and Emails from maestro*MOBILE section, Mailing Mode field) No value (when the field is empty, it is equivalent to not configured) NOTE: The Microsoft Outlook value is not available with maestro*CLOUD.

 

I. Define Document Categories

maestro* > Maintenance > General Maintenance > Document Management > Define Document Categories

 

The Define Document Categories option allows the creation of categories used in Document Management.

1. Create a document Category for supplier direct payments.
2. Enter a French Description and an English Description for the document category.
3. Check the Include Mass Mailings box.
4. Click Save.

It is possible to apply user-defined security settings to document categories in the Security Management option.

 

J. Security Management

maestro* > Maintenance > General Maintenance > Processing > Security Management

 

In the Access Restrictions tab, it is now necessary to specify what level of access to grant for viewing payment confirmations.

1. Open the Access Restrictions tab in the Security Management option.
2. On the left, in the maestro* module tree, expand the Documents section.
3. Select the Access to Documents sub-element.
4. For the document category related to direct payment, select an Access Type:

Access Type	Description
Full Access	No matter the option from which the document is accessed.
According to the original security option	User will have access to all documents’ categories, in accordance to his security profile. NOTE: By default, this value will be selected when a user is created.
No Access	User will never see documents of this category
According to the document’s category	User wil have access to documents upon their categories.

5. Save the changes.

 

Implementation

A. Perform a Disbursement

maestro* > Purchasing > Purchasing > Payment > Selected Disbursements

 

Applies to the following payment types: selected disbursements, batch disbursements, project disbursements. The following examples use the Selected Disbursements option.

When selecting a supplier, the system validates the supplier's payment method.

If bank transfer is enabled for the supplier, the bank account is automatically updated to the transitory bank account used for direct payments to suppliers specified in General Settings.

1. Select the Date on which the payment will be made to the supplier.
2. Save the disbursement and make the transfer.
3. You can save all disbursements, regardless of the transfer method (check or bank transfer).

 

B. Print Cheques

maestro* > Purchasing > Purchasing > Payments > Print Cheques

 

Before preparing the direct payment file, you must first print the check stubs for transfer-type checks.

1. Select the transitory bank account and the Direct Payment Date field.

Please note the Payment Date at the bottom of the screen. Unlike payroll, the date shown at this stage of the process is not taken into account. The date that is taken into account is the one entered at the time of disbursement.

2. Accept direct payment printouts.

The Maestro Report Viewer allows the printing of the payment confirmation. Depending on management procedures, this document may serve as an internal reference for invoice retention or approval.

The check form for direct payment is based on the form specified in Bank Accounts under the Supplier Cheque Deposit Format field.

 

C. Print the Direct Payment List

maestro* > Purchasing > Purchasing > Payment > Direct Payment List

 

The Direct Payment List allows verification of the information used to generate the direct payment file and validation of the total amount to be withdrawn from the bank account BEFORE preparation of the direct payment file.

The direct payment list can be reprinted as long as the step involving the preparation of the direct payment file has not yet been completed (next step). If you notice an error, you must use the Cancel a Disbursement option to cancel the payment to the supplier and start over.

 

D. Préparer le fichier des paiements directsPrepare Direct Payment File

maestro* > Purchasing > Purchasing > Payment > Prepare Direct Payment File

 

The Prepare Direct Payment File option allows preparation of the file to be processed by the financial institution.

This option also creates a payment confirmation, which is sent to the supplier according to the confirmation method defined in Supplier Management under the Direct Payment tab or through Contact Management.

It is possible to regenerate the direct payment file using the Direct Payment Revision option.

1. Select the transitory Bank Account.
2. Enter the Payment Date, then accept (either the disbursement date or the payment date).

If a reversing entry must be made from the “temporary” bank account to the “real” bank account, it is possible to record this entry on the payment date rather than on the disbursement date by selecting the Payment Date value. This can be particularly useful if preparing the direct payment file includes disbursements that were generated in a financial period that has since been closed. The date entered in the Payment Date field will be recorded in the accounting entry for the transfer from the direct payment bank account to your bank account. If you are using mode 1464 multi-date format, you will have accounting entries on as many dates as there are distinct dates in your disbursements (for example, disbursements on February 9, February 12, and February 20 will result in bank transfers dated respectively February 9, 12, and 20).

 

It is important to send your file on the same day it is created and before the cutoff time provided by your bank.

3. Using the selection window, choose the direct payments to include in the file.

4. Before accepting the direct payment file:
   1. If you are not using Contact Management, click the Edit the payment confirmation by e-mail icon.

   The Edit the payment confirmation by e-mail icon allows you to enter text that will be used when sending the payment confirmation email if you are not using the Contact Management module.

   2. If you are using Contact Management, click Accept to create the file.

   To set up a message to be included in the email sent with the payment confirmation, you must enter your text template in the Mailing Configuration option.

   At this stage, the file is created and payment confirmations are sent automatically.

   An individual disbursement will be created to facilitate bank reconciliation. The disbursement will be credited to the bank account and debited from the bank account for direct payments.

   

   This disbursement will be created automatically if a supplier code has been specified in the Configuration option of the Purchasing module under the Direct Payments section. If no supplier is identified, you will need to follow the procedure described in step F. Transfer the Transitory Bank Account to the Real Bank Account.

   The payment created is automatically marked as printed, and the check number is the date the file was created. The check is generated under the supplier specified in General Settings.

5. The viewer appears on the screen. When your supplier is associated with a contact, during file preparation the Maestro Report Viewer is displayed with a label (in yellow at the top) indicating the contact and the transmission method. If Contact Management is not used, the Maestro Report Viewer is displayed without the yellow note.

6. Click the Print icon to print a payment confirmation.
7. CClick the Send to all recipients icon before closing the viewer, because that is when the system sends the payment confirmations, and it is not possible to repeat this process once the file has been created.

 

E. Direct Payment Revision

maestro* > Purchasing > Purchasing > Payment > Direct Payment Revision

The Direct Payment Revision allows the status of certain disbursements that have already been included in a direct payment file to be changed, so that they can be included in a new direct payment file.

For example, if a direct payment file contains 10 transfers and has not been sent to the financial institution, the file creation process can be restarted. To do so, simply select the 10 payments in the disbursement review screen.

The entry generated by the disbursement in step D will be automatically reversed, and it will be possible to recreate the file using the Prepare Direct Payment File option.

If your direct payment file was sent to the financial institution, but an error occurred with one of the transfers and the rest of the file was accepted, simply select the erroneous transaction and resubmit the file, including that transaction.

To review the disbursements included in direct payments and enable them to be included again in a direct payment file:

1. Choose the bank account designated for direct payments.
2. Enter a payment date range: this date acts as a filter for displaying transactions. The system displays only those payments whose payment date falls within the specified range.

No validation can be performed on the selected disbursements. To avoid transferring funds in error to a supplier who has already been paid, it is important to ensure that only disbursements requiring a review are chosen, that is, payments that have not been processed by the bank (for example, disbursements for which the direct payment file has never been sent to the supplier’s financial institution).

 

At this stage, a confirmation message appears to confirm the change in status of the selected disbursements so that they can be included again in a direct payment file. This confirmation does not modify the direct payment file. It only updates the status of the selected disbursements so that they become available again for direct payment. It also does not generate a new direct payment file. To include the disbursements in a direct payment file again, you must regenerate the direct payment file.

3. Click Yes in the confirmation message that appears.

Since the individual disbursement has now been reversed, corrections can be made (for example, the supplier’s bank account), and the process can be repeated by accessing the Prepare Direct Payment File option.

 

F. Transfer the Transitory Bank Account to the Real Bank Account (optional)

This step is required in the following cases:

• You are using a transitory bank account;
  
• You have not specified a supplier code for direct payments in the various settings of the Purchasing module, under the Direct Payment section.

1. Access the Enter a Direct Disbursement option.
2. Create an individual payment, specifying the transitory account in the breakdown.

As a result, the actual bank account will reflect a disbursement equal to the total amount shown in your Direct Payment List report.

 

G. Completely Cancel a Supplier Direct Payment

maestro* > Accounting > Financial Management > Bank Reconciliation > Bank Reconciliation

 

1. Unreconcile the payment in the supplier direct payment account by selecting the disbursement date in the Reconciliation Date field.

2. Cancel the disbursements: First, select the correct transaction and enter the cancellation date.
3. Click Cancel this disbursement by reversing it.

 

Appendix

Specifications for Direct Supplier Payment in the United States (NACHA)

Contrary to what one would think, there are no additional configurations to set up to be able to generate a complete and correct NACHA file. However, it is important to make a precision concerning the configurations in the Bank Accounts option.

Multiple institutions are available for Canada, but only one is supported for the United States in maestro*. It is very important to select it to be able to proceed with the direct supplier payment.

maestro* > Accouting > Maintenance > Accounting > Bank Accounts

 

1. In the Bank Account window, select the NACHA - National Aut. Clearing House Ass. option in the Institution field.
2. Make sure to correctly fill in all the other fields in this option, following the information provided earlier.

 

See ALso

• Cheque Format Configuration
• Chart of Accounts
• Bank Accounts
• Configuration- Purchasing
• Supplier Management
• Selected Disbursement
• Print Cheques
• Direct Payment List
• Prepare Direct Payment File
• Direct Payment Revision
• Direct Disbursement
• Purchase Order Invoicing
• Configuration- Accounting

 

Last modification: April 02, 2026