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How do I pay employees with an ABA file?

An ABA file is a standard Australian bank payment file: you upload it to your bank's internet banking portal and the bank pays every employee in the pay run in one batch.

Before your first ABA file

Your business bank account. Go to Settings → Business and find the Bank Details card ("Bank account used for payroll ABA file generation and payments"). Click Add Bank Details and fill in at least the required fields — Account Name, BSB, Account Number and Bank Name. For batch payments most banks also need an APCA Number (also called a direct entry user ID); the form shows the common values for the major banks, or ask your bank for yours. Financial Institution Code, Lodgement Reference, Transaction Code and Include self balancing transaction are optional settings some banks require — your bank can tell you if they apply.

Each employee's bank account. On the employee's Bank tab, the Payment Method must be Bank, and their BSB and Account Number must be filled in. Employees paid by cash or cheque, or missing bank details, are simply left out of the file.

Downloading and uploading the file

Step 1. Finalise the pay run — ABA files aren't available for Draft pay runs.

Step 2. On the pay run, open the actions menu and click Download ABA File. A .aba file is saved to your computer. (The option is unavailable if no employee in the pay run is paid by bank.)

Step 3. Log in to your bank's internet banking portal and upload the file — usually under a "payment file upload", "batch payments" or "direct entry" section. Approve the batch in the portal and the bank pays each employee their net pay.

myaccountant creates the file; the upload and approval happen in your bank's portal.

If the download fails

The error message tells you what's missing. The common causes:

  • "Company bank details are not configured" — add them under Settings → Business → Bank Details.
  • "Company bank details (BSB, Account Number) are required" — the saved details are incomplete; edit the Bank Details card.
  • "No employees with valid bank details and positive net pay found" — nobody in this pay run is payable by bank: check each employee's Bank tab (Payment Method Bank, BSB and account number filled in) and that their net pay isn't zero.
  • "Cannot generate ABA for a draft pay run" — finalise the pay run first.

If the bank's portal rejects the file, the usual culprit is a missing or incorrect APCA Number — confirm the right value with your bank, update the Bank Details card and download the file again.

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