A batch payment lets you pay many people in one go instead of creating each transfer separately. You add all the recipients and amounts, review the whole batch once, and submit it for approval as a single item. Each payment is then sent individually, so one bad row doesn't hold up the rest.

AUD to AUD only. Every row in the file has to be AUD, paying into an Australian bank account. FX batches aren't available yet.

Up to 5,000 rows, and the file has to be under 10 MB.

Admin, Finance (transfer) and Finance (submit) users can build a batch and submit it. Approval follows the transfer approval policy your company has set up.

Only users with payroll permission. When a batch is marked as a payroll transaction, everyone else sees the batch but not the individual transfer details. So the payroll option changes who can see what. It does more than label the payment.

Can I upload the ABA file my payroll software exports?

Yes. If you run payroll through Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks or Reckon, upload the .aba file straight from your software. There's no need to re-key anything into a spreadsheet. Use the same upload option as a CSV; we work out the format from the file itself. Because an ABA file has a fixed layout, you'll skip the column-matching step.

Anything to watch with ABA files?

Upload one batch per file. If your software adds a balancing line against your own account, we'll recognise it and leave it out of the payments. We don't process withholding tax, so if your file includes a withholding amount you'll need to handle that separately.

Why does my account number lose its leading zero?

Spreadsheet apps often strip a leading zero from a number. Australian account numbers frequently start with one, so check these before you upload. BSBs are safer because the hyphenated format keeps them as text, but account numbers are not protected that way. Either type an apostrophe in front of the number, like '012345, or format the whole column as plain text.

Is there a limit on the account holder name?

32 characters. It's a limit of the Direct Entry file format. We apply it to every row, because silently truncating a name risks the payment reaching the wrong person.

Why won't my batch name save?

Batch names allow letters, numbers, spaces and ( ) _ . , + - ? /, up to 90 characters. Apostrophes and ampersands aren't accepted, so a name like "Tom's Catering" or "R&D payroll" will be rejected. Reword it: "Toms Catering", or "R and D payroll".

Can I schedule a batch for a future date?

Not in Australia. Batches are submitted for approval and sent once approved.

What happens if some rows have problems?

You'll see a Review Transfers screen showing your uploaded rows, with each problem highlighted on the exact cell it affects. A single row can have more than one thing wrong.

How do I fix them?

The header says "3 errors" but more than three cells are highlighted. Why?

The count is the number of rows with a problem, not the number of highlighted cells. A single row with three things wrong counts as one error.

What gets checked?

The BSB against our directory of Australian BSBs, the account number format, the amount, the reference length, the recipient type, and the budget name if you've used one. The BSB works with or without the hyphen, so 062-000 and 062000 are read the same way.

My file is large and it's still processing. Do I have to wait?

No. Large files are checked in the background and the batch is saved as a draft, so you can leave the page and come back to it. Most files finish in one to two minutes.

Can I have two rows paying the same account?

Yes. Duplicate rows are allowed, and they're not flagged, so check the file before you submit to be sure it was deliberate.

How do I track it?

Open the batch and you'll see each payment's own status. The payments run independently, so if some succeed and some don't, you get exactly that. The successful ones aren't held back.

What statuses will I see?

Queued, Processing, Completed, Returned and On hold. A returned payment shows the reason it came back.

What happens if a payment is returned?

That payment's amount is credited back to your account on its own, with the reason shown, and the rest of the batch carries on. Common reasons are a wrong BSB or a closed account.

Where do I find the batch afterwards?

Under Payroll if it was created in the payroll flow, or marked as a payroll transaction, or categorised as Salary. Everything else is under Transactions. A batch created as payroll stays under Payroll even if you change its category later.

Who approves the batch?

Whoever your transfer approval policy names, the same as for a single transfer. If an approval is needed, the batch waits in Pending until it is approved.

Does it matter when they approve?

On Direct Entry it can. Approval is what sets the value date, not submission, so a batch submitted early in the day and approved late that evening is treated as approved then. Plan for the next business day either way. On Instant it makes no difference.

Can I submit a batch if my balance doesn't cover it?

Yes. The batch still goes for approval, so you can queue it before funding the account. Balance is checked when the batch is approved and again when each payment runs. Any payment that can't be funded fails on its own while the rest continue.

What if the batch would go over a budget?

At review you'll see a warning naming the budget, what's needed and what's left, but it won't stop you submitting. At approval it's stricter: if the budget is exceeded, or has been switched off since submission, Approve is disabled until it's sorted.

What are my payment options?

One method applies to the whole batch, and you choose it on the first screen. Both a batch payment and a payroll batch start on Direct Entry (next business day), and you can switch to Instant on the first screen.

What if a recipient's bank can't receive instant payments?

We check each recipient before sending. Anyone whose bank can't take an instant payment is paid by Direct Entry instead, and you'll see that on the review screen before you submit.

Is there a cut-off for Direct Entry?

There is no single deadline to watch. Direct Entry batches are exchanged between banks several times through the business day, so a batch does not sit until tomorrow just because it missed one exchange. Plan for the next business day. We do not publish the individual window times, because when the money actually lands is up to the recipient bank.

One thing to know: timing runs from when the batch is approved, not when you submit it. A batch submitted late in the day and approved the next morning is treated as approved then.

So will the money arrive the same day?

Between banks, yes. Direct Entry batches are exchanged between banks several times a day, and those exchanges settle the same business day. But when the money shows up in your recipient's account is up to their bank, and in Australia that's commonly the next business day. So we say "next business day" instead of promising something outside our control.

What does it cost?

Nothing. There's no fee for AUD-to-AUD batch payments.

How long can the reference be?

18 characters on Direct Entry, 280 on Instant. If you switch a batch from Instant to Direct Entry after uploading, references longer than 18 characters will be flagged so you can shorten them.

Does Aspire check that the account name matches the account number?

Not for batch payments yet. Confirmation of Payee, the name check you may have seen on single transfers, isn't available for batches at launch. Please check the account details in your file before you submit. There's a notice on the first screen reminding you of this.