Learn how to export trust payments from Smokeball in ABA format, allowing you to save time and reduce manual errors when recording them in your internet banking portal.
Enabling ABA Payments on your trust account
Before you can generate an ABA file on a trust account, you must first turn on ABA exports in Firm Settings.
In the Smokeball Web App, select the Settings (gear) icon on the bottom-left corner of the screen, then select Firm Settings.
- Select Accounts from the left menu, then click on the name of the Trust Account to edit it.
Click on the toggle next to Enable ABA Payment Files.
- To meet ABA validation requirements, the BSB must be exactly 6 digits and the Account Number must not exceed 9 digits. This is a standard requirement for the ABA system.
Enter the APCA ID of your trust account's bank, if they have one.
- An APCA ID is a unique 6 digit identifier from your bank. Check with your bank if they have one, otherwise you can leave this field blank.
- Select Save.
Generating an ABA file from your trust account
Once you have enabled ABA Payment Files on your trust account, the option to generate an ABA file will become available.
- Select Accounts from the left panel on the main Smokeball Web App screen.
Select the ABA Payments tab, then select the trust account from the list.
Select Generate ABA Payment File.
Choose a date range to generate your ABA file for, and tick the payments to include.
- Enter a Lodgement Reference for each transaction under the Lodgement Reference column.
- The Lodgement Reference is what the payee will see in their bank statement, taken from the first 18 characters of the notes in the trust payment.
You can bulk edit the Lodgement Reference for all transactions by ticking Override Lodgement Reference on all payments and entering the text in the field below it.
Override the system-generated ABA File Name and ABA Description if needed.
(Optional) Tick Include self-balancing row in ABA File if your bank requires it. This adds a line to the end of the ABA export which contains the total sum of all transactions. An extra field will appear for you to enter an optional row label text of this self-balancing row.
Select Generate ABA Payment File.
- The ABA file will be downloaded to your PC's downloads folder.
- The trust payments will be marked as Exported. This means they cannot be exported again, unless they are voided.
- A record of the generated batch will be added to the historical list of ABA files generated for this trust account.
Viewing and re-downloading generated ABA files
You can view a list of generated ABA files at any time by navigating to Accounts > ABA Payments and clicking on your trust account.
Click on an ABA file to view the date created, number of payments, total amount and the staff member who generated it. You can also download the ABA file or void it from this screen.
Voiding a previously generated ABA file
To undo an ABA file export, click on the ABA file and select Void File, then enter a reason to void it. This marks the batch as VOID and the trust payments can be added to another ABA file export.
Voiding an ABA file does not change the underlying payments or ledgers.
Once you void an ABA file, a historical record of this will be logged in the list of ABA files for the trust account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can enable ABA Payments?
Either the Firm Owner or a staff member with Accounts Full Access permissions can enable ABA Payments for a trust account, based on the following Firm Settings configurations:
If your Firm Settings > Accounts > Allow only Firm Owners to edit Trust Account details setting is toggled ON, only the Firm Owner can enable ABA Payments.
If your Firm Settings > Accounts > Allow only Firm Owners to edit Trust Account details setting is toggled OFF, any staff member with Accounts Full Access permissions can enable ABA Payments.
Can a payment be exported twice?
No. Exported payments become ineligible until the batch is voided.
What should I do if I exported the wrong file?
Void it with a reason. The payments become eligible again and the history is kept.
Does voiding affect my trust ledger?
No. Void only reverses export eligibility.
Can I re-download a past file?
Yes, from the generated ABA file history at any time.
Can I generate an ABA for Controlled Money or Office accounts?
Not at the moment - ABA files are limited to trust accounts only.