User Defined File Format Tab of Banks Form
The file format information that you enter on this tab is used to create a text (.txt) file that contains payment information that is processed by a third-party software application.
This tab is available if you select User Defined in the Export to Text Format field on the Options tab of the Banks form.
- Accounts payable payments
- Employee expense payments
Contents
Field | Description |
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File Type | Select the file type for the file format. The options are:
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Text Qualifier | Select a text qualifier to use in addition to comma delimiters in a text file. Text qualifiers are placed at the beginning and end of a field to help distinguish the comma delimiters that are used to separate fields from the commas that are used within text fields. Comma delimiters are placed outside the text qualifier.
This is an example of a text file line with a single quotation mark as the text qualifier: 'A','Advanced Mechanical Technologies, Inc.', 'Electrical Engineering', '06/15/2009' Text qualifiers can be used for CSV and fixed length file types. |
Decimal Places | Select the decimal places to use in the export-to-text file. The options are:
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Sort by Payment Currency | If you use multiple currencies, select Yes to sort payments in the export-to-text file by the payment currency of the cash transaction. |
Subtotal by Payment Currency | After you select Yes in the Sort by Payment Currency field, select Yes in this field to include a totals record layout (Trailer 1 line type) after the last payment record and before the terminal record layout (Trailer 2 line type) in the export-to-text file. |
Line Type | Select a line type from the drop-down list. You must define each line in a text file. First, you select the type of line in the
Line Type field. Then, in the Employee grid and the Vendor grid, you define each piece of information to include in that line type. The Employee grid applies for employee expense payments, and the Vendor grid applies for accounts payable vendor payments.
One line is created for each header and trailer line. For detail and settlement or contra lines, the number of lines in the output file is equal to the total number of payments processed. For example, if you have 30 payments in a process run, there are 30 detail lines and 30 settlement or contra lines in the file. Some files may require only the payment detail, which means that you define only the fields for the detail line type. Other files may require header and trailer information in addition to the detail line. In this case, you must define the fields for each line type. |
Pad Blocks
Field | Description |
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Pad Last Block | Select Yes to fill (pad) blank spaces at the end of a text file. This does not fill blank spaces at the end of each field within the file. When you select this option, the fields in the Pad Block section are enabled. |
Pad Character | Enter the characters with which to fill (pad) the blank spaces at the end of the text file layout. This does not pad the blank spaces at the end of individual fields that make up the file. |
Pad Lines in Multiple of | If your bank requires that the text file contain multiples of a specific number of lines, enter that number in this field. Vantagepoint automatically adds more pad lines to match the number of lines required. |
Hard Returns | Select Yes if you want the file layout to include a carriage return (line feed) when the number of characters in a line is limited to a certain total number of characters. |
Date Format | Click to open the Format Date/Time dialog box and then enter the date and time settings to use in the file layout. You must use this dialog box if you process payments for different geographical locations that have different time zones and different date and time requirements. |
ClieOp | Select Yes if a bank uses the ClieOps format. Most often, this format is used for payments made to recipients in the Netherlands in Euros, or where multiple types of currency need to be supported for a single bank. |
Use File Creation Number | If your file format requires a file creation number, select Yes. You must select this option to enable the Last File Creation Number field and the Reset File Number Each field on this tab. |
Last File Creation Number | Enter the starting creation number for this bank. This number is incremented by one each time an export file is processed through a payment run for an Accounts Payable or Employee Expense payment for this bank. You can modify this number at any time. When you modify the number, if you enter a previously used number, it does not recreate the text file that originally used that number.
If you want to include the file creation number in the text file, you must define the location of this field. To do this, select File Creation Number in the Data Mapping field in the appropriate Employee or Vendor grid on this tab. This field is enabled when you select the Use File Creation Number check box. |
Reset Last File Number Each | Select Day, Month, Year, or None to determine the time period in which the file creation number for export-to-text files is reset to start again. A file creation number is assigned automatically to each export-to-text file. The number affects the value of the file identifier if you select File Identifier in the Data Mapping field in the Employee and Vendor grid. The file identifier is the file creation date plus the file creation number. |
Last File Creation Date | This field displays the date on which the last export-to-text file was created. |
Employee Grid
After you select a line type in the Line Type field, use the Employee grid rows to enter each piece of information for that line type that your bank requires for an employee expense payment.
Field | Description | ||||||||||||
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Field Number | Enter a number to identify this field. Both CSV and fixed length types use the field number to identify fields that are used in calculations. When you select Calculation in the Data Mapping column of this grid, you must enter a field number in the Field No column. | ||||||||||||
Hidden | Select this check box to hide the row. | ||||||||||||
Length | Enter the number of characters that your bank requires for this field. This field is enabled only if you select Fixed Length in the File Type field. | ||||||||||||
Start | Enter the number of the starting position of this field in the text file. This is based on the number of characters to the right of the first character in the file. Some file formats define an end position.
Vantagepoint will calculate the end position based on the starting position and the length.
This field is enabled only if you select Fixed Length in the File Type field. |
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Description | Enter a description to help identify the contents of this field. This description is not used in the text file itself. It is for informational purposes only. | ||||||||||||
Data Mapping | Select the type of information for the field that you enter in the row.
The options are:
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Mapping Value | Based on the type of information that you selected in the
Data Mapping field, enter the specific contents of the field in the
Mapping Value field.
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Calculation | You can use calculations for control total information, such as entry or addenda counts, entry hash totals, total debit entry dollar amount, total credit entry dollar amount, and batch number. Click the
Calculate in the field to open the Calculation Details dialog box. In the dialog box, enter the information for the calculation in this field.
This field is enabled only if you select Calculation in the Data Mapping field. |
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Pad Character | Enter the character to use to fill (pad) blank spaces that remain in this field when the field is left or right justified. For example, if a field contains the
Vendor Name and a vendor's name takes up only 12 of the 30 spaces that are allotted for the name, the remaining 18 spaces are filled with a character that you choose as the pad character.
When you leave this field blank, Vantagepoint pads with spaces. This field is enabled only when you select Fixed Length in the File Type field. |
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Justify | Select the justification for the contents of the field: Left or Right. This field is enabled only when you select Fixed Length in the File Type field. | ||||||||||||
+ Add Employee | Click this option to add a row to the grid. |
Vendor Grid
After you select a line type in the Line Type field, use the Vendor grid rows to enter each piece of information for that line type that your bank requires for a vendor payment.
Field | Description | ||||||||||||
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Field Number | Enter a number to identify this field. Both CSV and fixed length file types use the field number to identify fields that are used in calculations. When you select Calculation in the Data Mapping column of this grid, you must enter a field number in the Field No column. | ||||||||||||
Hidden | Select this check box to hide the row. | ||||||||||||
Length | Enter the number of characters that your bank requires for this field. This field is enabled only if you select Fixed Length in the File Type field. | ||||||||||||
Start | Enter the number of the starting position of this field in the text file. This is based on the number of characters to the right of the first character in the file. Some file formats define an end position.
Vantagepoint will calculate the end position based on the starting position and the length.
This field is enabled only if you select Fixed Length in the File Type field. |
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Description | Enter a description to help identify the contents of this field. This description is not used in the text file itself. It is for informational purposes only. | ||||||||||||
Data Mapping | Select the type of information that is contained in the field that is entered in the row.
The options are:
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Mapping Value | Based on the type of information that you selected in the
Data Mapping field, enter the specific contents of the text file field in the
Mapping Value field.
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Calculation | You can use calculations for control total information, such as entry or addenda counts, entry hash totals, total debit entry dollar amount, total credit entry dollar amount, and batch number. Click
Calculate in the field to open the Calculation Details dialog box and enter the information for the calculation in this field.
This field is enabled only if you select Calculation in the Data Mapping field. |
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Pad Character | Enter the character to use to fill (pad) blank spaces that remain in this field when the field is left or right justified. For example, if a field contains the
Vendor Name and a vendor's name takes up only 12 of the 30 spaces that are allotted for the name, the remaining 18 spaces are filled with a character that you choose as the pad character.
When you leave this field blank, Vantagepoint pads with spaces. This field is enabled only when you select Fixed Length in the File Type field. |
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Justify | Select the justification for the contents of the field: Left or Right. This field is enabled only when you select Fixed Length in the File Type field. | ||||||||||||
+ Add Vendor | Click this option to add a row to the grid. |