ACH files from approved bills
NACHA File Software for Accounts Payable: ACH File Creation, Check Printing and Positive Pay
Try it now, capture a real invoice
Your file is used only for this demo and deleted automatically within hours.
NACHA file software for accounts payable turns the bills you have approved into an ACH file your own bank accepts for upload, so vendors get paid without a bill pay network charging per payment. AutoPayables builds a CCD+ file with one credit per vendor and the invoice numbers in the addenda, prints checks on your bank's check stock and produces the matching Positive Pay file, all from the same payment run. It costs $49 a month for 200 invoices or $149 for unlimited, with no per-payment fee from us.
94
Characters in every NACHA record we write and validate
CCD+
Corporate credit entries with remittance addenda
$0.59
What BILL publishes per ACH payment. Our per-payment fee is none
90 days
How far ahead you can date a run's effective entry date
Accounting sync
Everything between an approved bill and a paid vendor
The payment file is the last step of an AP process that already caught the errors.
NACHA file built from approved bills
Only bills that were captured, coded and approved can enter a payment run, so the ACH file never contains an invoice nobody signed off.
Validated before your bank sees it
Every routing number passes the ABA check digit, account numbers are format checked and the ACH Company ID is verified before the download button works.
Remittance your vendors can read
One credit per vendor per run, with the payment number and the invoice numbers in the addenda record, so their AR team can apply the cash.
Checks on your own stock
Print ready PDFs with amount in words and two invoice stubs, numbered from the check series on your account, for MICR pre-printed stock.
Positive Pay from the same run
A CSV of issued checks with a void indicator, so your bank pays only the checks you actually wrote and rejects anything voided.
Payment run history and 1099s
Every run is kept with its files, and a year end 1099-NEC summary with CSV export covers the vendors you flagged as 1099 vendors.
From invoice to bank upload in four steps
Set up your bank details once. After that every run is a few clicks.
Capture and approve bills
Forward invoices or upload PDFs. AI reads the header and line items, suggests GL codes and routes anything over your approval threshold.
Pick what to pay
Open Payments, select approved bills, choose ACH or check and set the payment date, today up to 90 days ahead.
Download the file
Get the NACHA file for ACH, or the check PDF and Positive Pay CSV for checks. The run is locked so the file cannot drift.
Upload to your bank
Upload in your bank's ACH or Positive Pay screen. Each bill is marked paid and the run stays in your history.
Keying payments in the bank portal versus a file from AutoPayables
The painful status quo on the left, what a payment run does on the right.
Typing payments into online banking
- Vendor bank details retyped for every payment
- No link between the payment and the invoice
- Anyone with bank access can pay an unapproved bill
- Checks written by hand, Positive Pay typed separately
- Bill pay networks charge per ACH and per check
NACHA file from AutoPayables
- Stored once per vendor, validated, frozen into each run
- Invoice numbers travel in the addenda record
- Only approved bills can enter a payment run
- Check PDF and Positive Pay file from the same run
- Flat monthly price, your bank moves the money
Who pays vendors this way
Teams that already bank well and do not want a second payment provider.
Controllers leaving a per-payment bill pay tool
Paying a few hundred vendors a month, where ACH and check fees now cost more than the software.
Companies whose bank already offers ACH origination
The treasury module is paid for. What is missing is a clean, approved payment list that becomes a file.
Teams that still mail checks
Contractors, landlords and small suppliers who want paper, with Positive Pay protecting every check.
Firms with 1099 contractors
Pay them in the same runs and pull the year end 1099-NEC summary instead of rebuilding it from bank statements.
What NACHA file software for accounts payable actually does
A NACHA file is the plain text batch your bank's ACH system reads. Every line is exactly 94 characters, the file opens with a file header, each batch carries a company ID and an effective date, each payment is an entry detail record with the vendor's routing and account number, and the file closes with control totals the bank checks before it accepts anything. If one routing number fails its check digit, or the totals do not add up, the bank rejects the upload and your vendors wait.
Standalone NACHA generators solve the file. They do not solve where the payment list comes from. Someone still has to key the invoice, code it, get it approved and decide it is due. AutoPayables builds the file from the end of that chain: the only bills that can go into a payment run are bills that were captured, coded and approved inside the product. The ACH file is the last step of your AP process instead of a separate spreadsheet somebody fills in on Thursday afternoon.
What goes into the ACH file we generate
| Part of the file | What AutoPayables writes | Why it matters to your bank and your vendors |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Entry Class | CCD with addenda (CCD+), credits only | CCD is the corporate credit format banks expect for business to business vendor payments |
| Entries | One credit per vendor per run, even when it pays several invoices | Your vendor sees one deposit and your bank statement shows one line per vendor |
| Addenda record | The payment number and the invoice numbers being paid | The vendor's AR team can apply the cash without emailing you for a remittance |
| Effective entry date | The payment date you pick, today up to 90 days ahead | You can build Friday's run on Tuesday and upload it once |
| Company ID | Your 10 character ACH Company ID, usually 1 followed by your EIN | This is how your bank identifies you as the originator |
| Validation before download | ABA check digit on every routing number, account number format, USD only | Bad bank details are caught in AutoPayables, not in a bank rejection two days later |
| File ID Modifier | Increments when you create more than one file on the same day | Banks treat two files with the same header on one day as duplicates |
| Repeat downloads | Rebuilt from data frozen in the run, so the second download is identical to the first | A payment in a downloaded file cannot be voided in the app, so a file can never quietly drift from what the bank received |
Checks and Positive Pay from the same payment run
Plenty of US vendors still want paper. When a run is set to check, AutoPayables produces a print ready PDF laid out as a check on top with two stubs, one check per page, on standard Letter check stock. The date, payee, numeric amount, amount in words, memo and a stub listing every invoice paid are filled in. Check numbers come from the check series you set on the account.
We print onto the pre-printed check stock your bank or check supplier provides, because the MICR line at the bottom (routing number, account number, check number) needs magnetic toner. That is the same arrangement most accounting packages use, and it means you keep ordering stock from the supplier your bank already trusts.
Every check run also produces a Positive Pay file: a CSV listing account number, check number, issue date, amount, payee and a void indicator. Upload it to your bank and the bank pays only checks that match the list. A check voided in AutoPayables goes into the file with a V, so the bank rejects it if it ever turns up. The honest limit: our file uses a common header based CSV layout that many US bank importers accept. If your bank insists on its own fixed width layout, a dedicated tool such as Treasury Software, which publishes a library of over 350 verified bank layouts, will fit better.
NACHA file tools compared: who builds the file and who moves the money
The tools buyers compare here fall into two groups. File tools write the ACH file and your bank sends the money, so there is no per-payment fee from the software. Bill pay networks move the money themselves and charge per payment. Here is what each publishes on its own site.
| Tool | Builds a NACHA file for your bank | Invoice capture and approvals | Checks and Positive Pay | Published pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AutoPayables | Yes, CCD+ with invoice numbers in the addenda | Yes. AI capture, GL coding, approval threshold, PO matching, duplicate checks | Check PDF on bank stock plus a Positive Pay CSV | $49 a month for 200 invoices, $149 unlimited. No per-payment fee |
| ACH Pro | Yes, from QuickBooks, Excel, CSV or manual entry | No invoice capture or approvals described | Not its focus | Free Starter plan (1 user, 3 files a month), paid plans unpriced on the page, "a flat monthly rate" |
| Checkrun | Yes, NACHA files for your own bank | Multi-step approvals, bills synced from QuickBooks Online. No OCR described | Yes, Positive Pay in 200+ bank formats | Not shown on its ACH page |
| Treasury Software | ACH file tools | No | Positive Pay with 350+ verified bank layouts | Not stated here |
| NetSuite Electronic Bank Payments | Yes, inside NetSuite | Native NetSuite approvals | Through NetSuite | Part of a NetSuite contract |
| BILL | No. BILL moves the money | Yes | BILL mails the check | $49, $65, $89 per user a month; ACH $0.59 per payment, $1.99 per mailed check |
| Melio | No. Melio moves the money | Basic | Melio mails the check | Core $25, Boost $55, Unlimited $80 a month, with per-payment fees beyond included payments |
Where the others win, plainly: if you already have clean, approved bills in QuickBooks and only need the file, ACH Pro is cheaper for a handful of files a month. If Positive Pay format coverage is your main problem, Checkrun and Treasury Software have far wider bank libraries. If you want someone else to enroll vendors and mail checks, BILL and Melio do that and we do not. AutoPayables is the fit when the slow part is everything before the payment: getting invoices in, coded and approved, and then paying them without a per-payment toll.
What it costs to pay vendors through your own bank
With a file based setup you pay two things: the software and whatever your bank charges for ACH origination. Banks price origination differently, typically as a monthly treasury module plus a small per-item charge, and many relationship accounts bundle it. Ask your treasury officer for the exact figure. What you avoid is the per-payment charge a bill pay network adds on top. At BILL's published $0.59 per ACH payment and $1.99 per mailed check, a team paying 300 vendors a month by ACH is at roughly $177 a month in payment fees alone before any subscription, which is more than our unlimited plan. See the full per-vendor fee table on our AP automation with no transaction fees page.
Before your first upload: the bank side
Your bank has to let you originate ACH. For most business checking accounts that means an ACH origination agreement, a daily exposure limit and file upload access in online banking. Some banks also want a test file first. Once that is set up, the flow is simple: enter your company legal name, routing and account number (stored encrypted and checked against the ABA check digit) and ACH Company ID in Settings, Payment account, and every future run produces a file your bank will take.
Frequently asked questions
NACHA file software builds the 94 character ACH batch file that US banks accept for upload, with the header, batch, entry, addenda and control records in the right order. AutoPayables builds that file straight from approved bills in a payment run, so there is no spreadsheet step between approval and payment.
Yes. If your software creates a NACHA file and you upload it through your own bank, the software adds no per-payment fee. AutoPayables charges a flat $49 or $149 a month. Your bank may still charge for ACH origination, usually a monthly module plus a small per-item fee, so confirm that with your treasury contact.
Business to business vendor payments normally use CCD, the Corporate Credit or Debit entry class, and CCD+ when an addenda record carries remittance detail. AutoPayables writes CCD credits with one addenda record per vendor listing the invoice numbers paid, so vendors can apply cash without asking for a remittance.
No. Your bank sends it. AutoPayables prepares the ACH file, the printable checks and the Positive Pay file, and records each payment against its bills. Because the money never passes through us, there is no payment rail for us to put a fee on, and your banking relationship stays exactly where it is.
Yes. A check run produces a PDF laid out for standard Letter check stock with two invoice stubs, plus a Positive Pay CSV with account, check number, date, amount, payee and a void indicator. Print on the MICR pre-printed stock from your bank or check supplier, then upload the Positive Pay file to your bank.
Batch payment runs, including the NACHA file, check PDFs and the Positive Pay file, are part of the Growth plan at $49 a month for 200 invoices and the Scale plan at $149 a month for unlimited invoices. Your first 20 invoices run as a one-time trial before you choose a plan.
It produces a year end 1099-NEC summary per vendor marked as a 1099 vendor, with a CSV export you hand to your filer or tax software. It applies the $600 threshold through tax year 2025 and $2,000 from tax year 2026. It does not e-file the forms with the IRS itself.
Turn this week's approved bills into a bank ready ACH file
Start with your first 20 invoices as a one-time trial. ACH files, checks and Positive Pay are included from the Growth plan at $49 a month.