Payment by ACH

Information & Instructions for Vendors Interested in Payment by ACH

Purpose:

At Wake County, we realize prompt payment is essential to our vendors. To ensure prompt availability of funds, we are offering a program known as ACH where you will receive payment through direct deposit to your bank account. Payment by ACH will provide several benefits to you. Utilizing this electronic payment program will eliminate the possibility of lost checks and check fraud. It will also eliminate mail time allowing you to receive your payment earlier. Funds will be available to you immediately upon receipt in your bank account.

How Does Payment by ACH Work?

Vendors in our system are paid either by check or ACH. When a vendor selects ACH as their payment method, he will be selecting electronic payments for all payments from Wake County for which his vendor number is used, which will include payments from multiple departments. Once a vendor is set up for ACH payments, all future payments will be processed by this method until Wake County receives written notification revoking authorization of electronic funds transfer.

ACH payments are processed along with check payments during batch payment runs twice each week, currently on Tuesday and Thursday. The batch payment file is transmitted to our processing center the same afternoon and the ACH file is then sent to the bank with effective dates for Wednesday and Friday. Funds are normally available to you within two business days of the effective date of the deposit.

On Tuesday or Thursday, you will receive notification of the deposit by fax or e-mail indicating when to expect the availability of funds. This notification will have all the information normally contained on the check stub so you can facilitate accounts receivable updating as well.

You will not receive separate notification that you have been enrolled in the ACH program. You will receive either e-mail or fax notification of first payment.

Instructions for ACH Authorization Form

1. Vendor Information

Vendor Name: Please use legal name of organization, company or individual. This should agree with current information we have in our financial system.

Vendor Address: Please put your current mailing address that payment information is sent to.

Contact: Please list name of person we should contact about payment information.

Phone: Please list phone number of contact person.

Tax Identification number: You should list your businesses Federal Tax Identification number. If you list this you should not list a social security number.

SS#: If you do not have a Federal Tax Identification Number please list the social security number you want this payment information linked to.

2. Depository Information

Depository Name: Name of the Financial Institution your payments will be sent to.

Phone: Phone number of your Financial Institution.

Account Type: Please indicate whether funds will be deposited into a savings or checking account.

Because the numbers on the bottom of your check are not always the numbers banks want you to use for ACH payments (due to mergers and other issues) it is best to verify your Account Number and Depository Routing Number with your Financial Institution.

Account Number: Please clearly write your account number. Typing is best for purposes of legibility.

Depository Routing Number: Please clearly write your depository Routing Number. Typing is best for purposes of legibility.

3. Notification of Payment

Wake County will not send paper notification that payments have been sent to your bank. Notification will be sent by fax or e-mail. You may choose one method of notification. If both methods are chosen, Wake County will default to the e-mail address given.

Fax: Please type fax number including area code you would like notifications of payment sent to.

E-mail: Please provide e-mail address you would like notifications of payment sent to.

4. Vendor Authorization

Vendor Name: Please print and sign legibly the name of the person authorized to sign this form.

Business Title: Please indicate title of person who signed this form.

5. Documentation of Bank Account

One of the following must be attached to the Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization form in order to ensure accuracy:

For direct deposit to checking account, please attach voided check.

For direct deposit to savings account, please attach voided deposit slip.

COMPLETED FORM WITH VOIDED CHECK/SAVINGS DEPOSIT SLIP SHOULD BE MAILED TO:

WAKE COUNTY FINANCE DEPARTMENT

ATTN: ACH

PO BOX 550

RALEIGH NC 27602

Current ACH regulation requires us to have a signed form from the vendor; therefore, e-mail and verbal communications will not be accepted.

Questions may be directed to Karen Thiessen at 856-6142

Click here for the ACH form.