Resetting a File Creation Number
To reset a File Creation Number, go to the Canadian Setup (red maple leaf icon), enter the next 4-digit number to be used, and then click the blue link to 'Reset File Creation Number' as shown below.
Note: Some banks require a sequential number, and some banks will accept a number that is merely higher than the previous number, so please check with your bank for the FCN requirements if you will have two or more independent (Desktop) users creating EFT files.
File Creation Numbers - Desktop (Single) Users:
When working in a shared environment (SQL Express or SQL Server), users are connected to a centralized database and each user can see the same historical information, so there is one File Creation Number.
However, when two or more users of ACH Universal are working independently of one another (i.e., using a Desktop license) there is no central tracking of the FCN and each instance will be creating different FCN numbers.
It is recommended that a 'Master List' of FCNs be created and stored in a folder that all users can access. Each user would refer to the list for the next FCN to be used before creating an EFT file.
That subsequent File Creation Number must be entered and reset in your instance of ACH Universal before creating the EFT file.
File Creation Numbers on the EFT File
Canadian banks generally accept the 'CPA 005 1464-byte' EFT file format, and it is the format that ACH Universal creates by default.
When creating an EFT file with ACH Universal, a File Creation Number will be established in the Canadian Setup (red maple leaf icon), and then that FCN will automatically increment with each file created. This prevents duplicate files that might be submitted by an Originator.
On each line of the 1464-byte EFT file, in positions 21 - 24, the 4-digit File Creation Number will appear:
Canadian file format: