Finance settings
Settings › Finance is everything the rest of Finance reads, in one place: who the authority is on its 1099s and direct deposit files, the bank accounts it pays from, the card program's feed, and the details at the top of every direct deposit file. The tab shows only when Finance is on.
Payments, Cards & cash and 1099s show what is set here and link to this tab rather than setting it up themselves.
Reviewers can see the tab but not change it. The sections below are in the order the tab shows them.
Status
A strip at the top reads Finance is on, then "The ledger is the record from" and the cutover month, then "Turned on and managed by CivicPort". Turning Finance on or off, and the cutover month, are CivicPort's to change, not the authority's.
Organization
Who the authority is on its 1099s and direct deposit files.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Legal name | Exactly as the IRS has it. Starts as the authority's name. Required |
| EIN | The authority's nine-digit employer identification number |
| Phone | A phone number for the payer, printed on the 1099s |
| Mailing address | Street, city, state and ZIP, as it goes on the 1099s |
Press Save after changing them.
While anything the 1099s need is missing, a note at the top says so, for example "Needed before the 1099s can be filed: The authority's EIN; A phone number for the payer." The 1099 files and recipient copies cannot be made until it is gone. See 1099s.
The EIN
The EIN is shown masked, as its last four digits: ••-•••1234. Not set means there is none.
- Show shows it in full. Every time it is shown is written to the audit log. Reviewers cannot show it.
- Change (Add when there is none) opens the box to type a new one, nine digits such as 06-1234567. Keep the EIN closes the box without changing it. Saving without opening the box keeps the EIN on file.
The mailing address
When the authority has an address, Mail goes to the authority's address is ticked to start with and the address is filled in from it: the authority's own address, or its CivicPort community's. While it is ticked the box cannot be edited; change the address on The authority tab, or untick it to type another.
Bank accounts
The accounts the authority pays from. Add the operating account for bills and the voucher account for HAP. Linking an account with Plaid verifies its numbers and brings its transactions in for the bank reconciliation.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Account | Its name and the last four digits of the account number, then the bank and Checking or Savings. Inactive on an account turned off |
| Pays | Bills, HAP or Other |
| Bank feed | Not linked; Linked, with the day it last synced; or Sign in again, "Reconnect it below", when the bank login through Plaid has expired. A row that needs signing in again is shaded |
| Pays by | Direct deposit & check when the account has the direct deposit details a file needs, or Check only. "Its own ACH details" when it does not use the authority's |
| Next check | The number the next check from this account will take |
Edit on a row opens the account. Add by hand adds one without Plaid.
Adding or editing an account
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name | Required, such as Operating |
| What it pays | Operating (vendor bills), Housing Choice Voucher (HAP) (HAP and utility reimbursements), or Other |
| Bank | The bank's name |
| Routing number | Nine digits, checked against the routing number's check digit |
| Account number | 4 to 17 digits. Required for a new account. On an existing one only the last four show; leave it blank to keep the number on file |
| Account type | Checking or Savings |
| Next check number | Starts at 1001 |
| Use different ACH details for this account | Off to start with. See per-account ACH details |
| Active | On an existing account. An inactive account cannot be chosen for a payment run |
- HAP is paid only from an account marked Housing Choice Voucher (HAP). Bills are paid from any other account. See Payments.
- The account number is encrypted. Only its last four digits ever reach a screen; the whole number is opened only to write a payment file.
- The same routing and account number cannot be set up twice. Saving a second active copy is refused with the name it is already set up as.
Linking with Plaid
Under the table, Linked through Plaid lists the authority's bank connections. Link a bank account with Plaid opens Plaid, where the office signs in to the bank and chooses the accounts. Nobody types the bank login into Housing.
- Each checking or savings account chosen gets its routing and account numbers from the bank through Plaid.
- An account already on file with the same numbers is attached to the connection. Otherwise a new bank account is added, named after the bank and the account, paying Bills, with its next check at 1001. Edit it to change what it pays, for example to mark the voucher account for HAP.
- An account that is already connected through Plaid cannot be linked again. Use Sync now on its connection instead.
- Transactions come in every morning. The message after linking says how many came in so far.
Each connection shows the bank, Connected or Sign in again, its accounts by their last four, and when it last synced.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sync now | Brings in anything new straight away |
| Reconnect | Shown when the bank login has expired. Opens Plaid to sign in again, then syncs |
| Disconnect | Asks first. Its transactions stop coming in. What has already come in stays, and so do any bank accounts it added. It can be linked again at any time |
Disconnecting also ends Plaid's charge for that connection.
Card feed
The purchasing card program. Linked through Plaid in the same way, with Link the card account with Plaid. Each month's charges then come in for the card statement on Cards & cash, matched to cards by their last four. See Cards and cash.
Direct deposit (ACH)
What goes at the top of every direct deposit file, from the bank's ACH setup letter. Every bank account uses these unless it has its own.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Company name | Up to 16 characters. Shows on the payee's bank statement |
| Company ID | 10 characters. Starts as 1 and the EIN, which most banks use |
| Immediate origin | The 9 or 10 digits the bank gave you |
| Origin name | Up to 23 characters |
| Bank name as the file names it | Up to 23 characters |
- With an EIN on file, Company ID shows as 1••••1234 and cannot be typed in. The bank gave a different ID opens it to type the 10 characters the bank assigned; Use the EIN goes back. With no EIN it reads "Add the EIN under Organization".
- An account can pay by direct deposit only when it has both a company name and a company ID, its own or these. Until then it pays by Check only.
- The line under the fields counts the accounts, for example "2 accounts use these · 1 has its own".
Press Save after changing them.
Per-account ACH details
A bank that set one account up differently needs that account to carry its own details. In the account's dialog, turn on Use different ACH details for this account and fill in the same five fields: Company name (16 characters), Company ID, Immediate origin, Origin name and Bank name as the file names it.
Each field the account fills in replaces the authority's; a field it leaves blank uses the authority's. A company ID needs a company name with it. Turning the switch off clears the account's own details.