The quick answer
With the Electronic Bank Payments SuiteApp, bill payments saved with For Electronic Bank Payment checked wait for a file. Go to Payments > Bank File Generation > Generate Bill Payment File, choose the Company Bank Account, check the Summary count and total, enter an EFT File Reference Note, and click Generate File. NetSuite opens a Payment File Administration record. Click Refresh until File Processed? reads Processed, then download the ACH file from File Reference and upload it to your bank. NetSuite doesn't send it for you.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.
Before you start
You need the Electronic Bank Payments SuiteApp installed and a company bank record under Payments > Setup > Bank Details with its GL bank account, an EFT template (here ACH - CCD/PPD) and the template details your bank requires, such as your company ID and account numbers. This guide covers U.S. ACH. Other formats use different bank fields. The role running the file needs the SuiteApp's permissions and access to the company bank, vendors, bill payments and saved searches. The example uses an Administrator.
This walkthrough starts from bill payments that already exist. There are two ways to produce a vendor payment file. Payments > Payment Processing > Bill Payment Processing selects open bills and creates the bill payments and the file in one run. Generate Bill Payment File, shown here, takes existing bill payments and writes them to a file without paying the bills again.
In the example, three bill payments from 1010 Operating Checking were saved earlier in the week with For Electronic Bank Payment checked: two to Cedar Ridge Packaging for 3,480.00 and 1,275.40, and one to Harlow Freight Lines for 2,615.00. Together that's 7,370.40.
01. Check the vendor's EFT setup
Go to Lists > Relationships > Vendors and open Cedar Ridge Packaging. On the Bank Payment Details subtab, EFT Bill Payment is checked and Vendor Bank Fees isn't. Vendor Bank Fees belongs to formats that calculate bank fees, such as the Japanese Zengin format, and stays unchecked for U.S. ACH. The Bank Details list has one row: Name Primary, Type Primary, Payment File Format ACH - CCD/PPD. That format should match the company bank's EFT template.
Click Primary to open the bank detail. Bank Account Number 3308815274, Bank Number 091408237 (the routing number) and Bank Account Type Checking are the vendor's account. In this account, Processor Code 0914, Bank Code 0823 and Country Check 7 are filled from the bank number rather than typed. The fields you see depend on the payment file format. Nothing needs changing here.
02. Preview the payments waiting for a file
Go to Payments > Bank File Generation > Generate Bill Payment File.
The EP EFT - Bill Payment File Generation page opens with Select EFT Transaction Type set to Bill Payments and Select Transaction Saved Search set to Bill Payment Transactions for EP. That search decides which payments go into the file. By default it returns bill payments with For Electronic Bank Payment checked that aren't voided and aren't already linked to a payment file. Search names can mislead, so check the criteria of any search you pick. Click Preview under the search to see what it returns right now.
Bill Payment Transactions for EP: Results shows Total: 3. The three payments have internal IDs 6118, 6119 and 6127 and amounts 3,480.00, 1,275.40 and 2,615.00.
03. Choose the bank and generate the file
Go back to Generate Bill Payment File. In Company Bank Account, choose Operating Checking. Bank Account Currency US Dollar, GL Bank Account Operating Checking, Subsidiary, Subsidiary Base Currency US Dollar and Payment File Format ACH - CCD/PPD fill in. The format matches the vendor's bank detail.
Summary shows No. of Transactions 3 and Total Amount for Payment 7,370.40, which is 3,480.00 + 1,275.40 + 2,615.00. The bank fee totals only apply to formats that calculate fees. Treat the Summary as what the search returns. A payment can still fail during processing if its account, subsidiary, currency, format or bank details don't fit.
Leave Date To Be Processed at 09/29/2026. In EFT File Reference Note, type Sept 29 vendor EFT. Both fields are required, and the note shows on the file record so you can recognize the run later. Click Generate File.
04. Follow the payment file record
NetSuite opens Payment File Administration 00000034: Payment Type EFT, Bank Account Operating Checking, Account Accounts Payable, File Processed? Queued and Reference Note Sept 29 vendor EFT. Status Summary shows Transactions for processing: 3.
Click Refresh. File Processed? reads Processing Payments. Click Refresh again and it reads Processed. Other stages, such as marking payments or creating the file, can appear in between. Status Summary shows Marked Transactions: 3 and Paid Transactions: 3, Total Amount Paid is 7,370.40, and File Reference shows 00000034.txt with download and Edit links. Reverse Payments, Email Payment Notification and Recreate File are now on the action bar. Which actions you get depends on the run's status and your permissions. A run can also finish with errors or unprocessed transactions, and Status Summary is where that shows up.
The Payments subtab lists the three bill payments in the file: 1873 for Cedar Ridge Packaging, 3,480.00; 1874 for Cedar Ridge Packaging, 1,275.40; and 1880 for Harlow Freight Lines, 2,615.00.
05. Check a bill payment and the search
On the Payments subtab, click 1873. Bill payment 1873 to Cedar Ridge Packaging has Account 1010 Operating Checking, Amount 3,480.00 and For Electronic Bank Payment checked.
Open the EFT subtab. Entity Bank Details repeats the vendor's account and bank numbers, Preferred Entity Bank is Primary, and PFA Record now shows 00000034, the file this payment went into.
Check the result (example values)
- Before generating, the preview returned 3 payments and the Summary showed 7,370.40.
- Payment File Administration 00000034 reads Processed, with Total Amount Paid 7,370.40.
- File Reference has 00000034.txt, and the Payments subtab lists 1873, 1874 and 1880.
- Bill payment 1873 shows PFA Record 00000034 on its EFT subtab.
- Previewing the search again returns Total: 0.
To confirm nothing is left waiting, go to Generate Bill Payment File and click Preview again. Total: 0. All three payments are linked to file 00000034, and the default search leaves out payments that already have a file, so the next run won't pick them up again. If you use your own search, make sure it has the same exclusion.
NetSuite recorded the bill payments when they were saved, but the money hasn't moved yet. Download 00000034.txt from File Reference and upload it through your bank's channel, unless your account has a bank integration that transmits it. The file is also stored in the company bank's File Cabinet folder. If you need to fix bank details and rebuild the file before it goes to the bank, Recreate File does that. Once the bank has the file, sort out corrections with the bank instead of quietly sending a second version.
Common questions
What's the difference between Bill Payment Processing and Generate Bill Payment File?
Bill Payment Processing starts from open vendor bills and creates the bill payments and the file in one run. Generate Bill Payment File starts from bill payments that already exist and only writes them to a file. Use the second one when payables has already entered the payments, like the three in this example.
Why doesn't a bill payment show up when I generate the file?
The file includes whatever the selected saved search returns. Check that the payment has For Electronic Bank Payment checked, isn't voided, comes from the company bank's GL account, and isn't already linked to a payment file. Also check that the vendor has EFT Bill Payment checked and a bank detail in the same format as the company bank.
What does the Bill Payment Transactions for EP search include?
By default, bill payments with For Electronic Bank Payment checked that aren't voided and aren't already in a payment file. Click Preview on the page to see exactly what it returns before you generate. If you switch to your own search, review its criteria rather than trusting its name.
Where do I find the ACH file after I click Generate File?
On the Payment File Administration record that opens. Once File Processed? reads Processed, File Reference shows the file, 00000034.txt in the example, with a download link. The file is also stored in the company bank's File Cabinet folder.
How do I know which file a bill payment was sent in?
Open the bill payment and look at its EFT subtab. PFA Record shows the Payment File Administration record it was written to. The Payments subtab on that record lists every payment in the file.
Does NetSuite send the ACH file to the bank?
Not in the standard workflow. Download the file from File Reference and upload it through your bank's portal or other approved channel, unless your account has a bank integration that does the transmission.
Which vendor bank details does an ACH CCD payment need?
EFT Bill Payment checked on the vendor's Bank Payment Details subtab, and a Primary bank detail in the ACH - CCD/PPD format. That detail holds the Bank Account Number, the Bank Number (the routing number) and the Bank Account Type.