How did you fix your NACHA formatting problem?
We’re really hoping to get NACHA working smoothly. While we are able to successfully upload our NACHA files to the bank, there is a formatting issue that’s causing a troublesome delay in the funds being transfered to the recipients. The bank's ACH department is having to manually push the payments through. I understand the NACHA file format is hardcoded and cannot be modified, but I’m wondering if anyone else has encountered a similar issue, and more importantly, how you resolved it.
Even better, if you bank with Synovus and have successfully implemented NACHA, I’d be incredibly grateful to hear what worked for you!
Thanks so much in advance for any insight you can share.
Best Answer
-
Hi Niki,
Thanks for starting this thread. That is a great question! You’re right that the NACHA file format in CommunitySuite is standardized and not directly customizable within the system. However, once the file is downloaded (either as a .txt or .csv), many users find that slight manual adjustments after export can help meet their bank’s formatting requirements.
Clients often work directly with their bank to review the sample NACHA file provided in our support article. This helps identify what, if anything, needs to be tweaked once exported. Since every bank interprets NACHA specs a little differently, this is usually the most efficient path to resolution.If you're banking with Synovus and they are currently pushing the payments manually, it likely means there’s still a small formatting element in the file that needs to be adjusted. It may be worth asking their ACH department for specifics on what’s causing the delay, they can usually identify which row or field is the culprit.
As a next step, you can:
- Share the sample NACHA file with your bank for their review
- Try exporting in .csv format to see if that helps with easier edits
- Use the exported file as-is and apply any needed changes manually based on bank feedback
Hope this helps, and I’d love to hear if any other Synovus users have tips to share!
Best,
Mark Bejcek
Client Success Consultant1
Answers
-
Hi Niki,
Thanks for starting this thread. That is a great question! You’re right that the NACHA file format in CommunitySuite is standardized and not directly customizable within the system. However, once the file is downloaded (either as a .txt or .csv), many users find that slight manual adjustments after export can help meet their bank’s formatting requirements.
Clients often work directly with their bank to review the sample NACHA file provided in our support article. This helps identify what, if anything, needs to be tweaked once exported. Since every bank interprets NACHA specs a little differently, this is usually the most efficient path to resolution.If you're banking with Synovus and they are currently pushing the payments manually, it likely means there’s still a small formatting element in the file that needs to be adjusted. It may be worth asking their ACH department for specifics on what’s causing the delay, they can usually identify which row or field is the culprit.
As a next step, you can:
- Share the sample NACHA file with your bank for their review
- Try exporting in .csv format to see if that helps with easier edits
- Use the exported file as-is and apply any needed changes manually based on bank feedback
Hope this helps, and I’d love to hear if any other Synovus users have tips to share!
Best,
Mark Bejcek
Client Success Consultant1 -
Hi @MarkBejcek,
We are experiencing an impass with the downloaded CSV file converting to scientific E+ format of a 12digit routing number - we've tried everything we can think of - converted everything to text. a ' in fron of the number - but when we save the CSV file and then open it again it reverts to 1.234567E+11 (for example) again. I've googled the issue and tried everything, but the text format isn't "holding" and our ACH payment was returned. I've sent the file to our bank for review - but of course - with the holiday - have not yet heard back. Do you - or anyone else reading this have any suggestions for us?
1 -
Hi @JackieLaw
This is a very common (and very frustrating) CSV/Excel issue, so you’re not alone.
Unfortunately, CSV files don’t actually retain formatting. Even if you format the column as text or add a leading apostrophe in Excel, once the file is saved as a CSV and re-opened, Excel will re-interpret long numeric values and convert them back to scientific notation.
My main recommendation is not to open the CSV directly in Excel. Instead, open Excel first, then go to Data → From Text/CSV and import the file that way. During the import process, explicitly set the routing number column’s data type to Text. You can do this by choosing Transform data after choosing the file in the initial import step, and then right-click the column header and use the "Change Type" drop-down option to change the field to "Text". This prevents Excel from ever interpreting the value as a number and converting it to scientific notation.
The workflow I've outlined above has proven successful for a variety of projects where I've run into this issue, and I hope it helps you as well.Best,
Mark1 -
Hi Mark,
Thank you so much. I really appreciate your follow up on this - and your timing is impeccable! We finally got to the root of the problem, and it turns out it was misunderstanding and miscommunication with what exactly our bank needed - NACHA - but text not CSV. So basically, we just need to NOT check that box in CSuite. We sent them a sample file just yesterday and they approved it. Whew! We will be trying again very soon. Thank you again, and Happy Holidays! Jackie
2
