ABA file downloads

Australian Banking Association (ABA) file format, sometimes called Direct Entry or Cemtext, is commonly used by Australian Banks to process batch transactions. An ABA file (*.aba) uses the ASCII character encoding to store data which can be uploaded into the Internet Banking systems.

The Advanced and Ultimate editions of seSQue Payroll can generate these files for you from your lodged pay runs. This functionality can be enabled from the Business settings section. Edit your business record and look for the Generate payment files toggle in the General tab page:

Before enabling this feature make sure your payroll bank account is defined in the Banking tab. If not present, add it and Save before turning the toggle ON.

Turn the toggle ON, fill in the details as advised by your financial institution and Save when done:

Some Australian banks provide generic APCA (Australian Payments Clearing Association) ID numbers you can use when submitting ABA files:

  • ANZ - 000000

  • CBA - 301500

  • NAB - 000000

  • Westpac - 037819

You should always confirm with your bank, as they may provide a specific APCA ID (sometimes called a Direct Entry User ID) unique to your business.

Then move on to your Payees and ensure you have their bank account details recorded:

And finally, go to Pay runs and look for the Download ABA file button on your lodged pay runs:

A generated ABA file will look similar to this:

Note that this sample file does not contain a self-balancing transaction.

The transaction description that appears on your own bank statement will follow this format: PAYROLL<PayDate><PayCycle>

For example, for a monthly pay run with a pay date of 4 January, the description will be PAYROLL0401M.

Your employees will see the following transaction description on their bank statements: SALARY <PayeeNumber>

For example, for an employee with the number EMP00001, the description will be SALARY EMP00001.

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