Data Interchange plc. Issued: 8 November Copyright Data Interchange Plc Peterborough, England, October 2005.

Transcription

1 Data Interchange plc Issued: 8 November 2005 Copyright Data Interchange Plc Peterborough, England, October All rights reserved. No part of this document may be disclosed to third parties or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Data Interchange Plc.

2

3 Table of Contents BACS.IP Bureau... 5 Introduction...5 Key Features...5 BACS Approved Software...5 Suitable For Bureaux And Individual Companies...5 Security Features...5 Connectivity To BACS...5 Integration...5 Validation Features...6 Audit And Reporting Functionality...6 Architecture...6 On-line Help...6 Feature Details...6 BACS approved software...6 Enterprise Applicability...6 BACS Reports...7 Client/Server Architecture...7 Multi-User...9 Security...9 Validation...9 Integration...9 Audit and Reporting...10 On-line Help...10 Product Architecture...10 System Requirements...11 Hardware...11 Software...11

4 4 BACS.IP Bureau

5 BACS.IP Bureau Introduction BACS.IP Bureau is the BACS-approved enterprise solution that provides the link between a user s accounting or payroll package and BACS. Payment files produced by a user s accounting/payroll package are translated into the required Standard 18 format, signed and encrypted using a smart card and then submitted to BACS. BACS.IP Bureau can also be re-badged and customised for software companies who may have sold BACS solutions in the past and wish to provide a BACSTEL-IP solution to their customers, without themselves incurring the financial costs of accreditation. BACS.IP Bureau is the product for BACS bureaux who need to replace their existing BACS bureau solution, or for companies setting up a BACS bureau service. A bureau is a company providing a BACS submission service for other organisations who do not wish to submit directly to BACS. Key Features BACS Approved Software Supports all BACSTEL-IP core functions Regular updates from the Industry sort code directory Provides access to all BACS report types Suitable For BACS Bureaux Supports multiple BACS User Numbers Simple and intuitive interface for creation of single and multiple payment file submissions Security Features Flexible environment that supports user rights and user groups Software functionality restrictions based on user privileges Password-protected access Stores data in encrypted format Full support for smartcard and PKI technology Connectivity To BACS Integration Dial-up ISDN Internet Integrates with all accounting packages BACS.IP Bureau 5

6 Validation Features Account number modulus checking Sort code validation against Industry sort code directory Data validation as per the BACSTEL-IP Technical specification Individual record value and monthly account limit checks Dates validated against BACS calendar Audit And Reporting Functionality Architecture On-line Help Full audit trails Searchable record of submissions transmitted to BACS and reports received from BACS BACS reports may be previewed and/or printed Reports available in XML and XHTML format True multi-user client/server architecture Full context-sensitive help Feature Details BACS approved software BACS.IP supports all the core functions required by BACSTEL-IP. Import a payment file Create a submission from the payment file (if necessary) Send the submission to BACS successfully using PKI security Download reports generated by BACS in response to your submission As a BACS.IP user, you will be able to obtain regular updates of the Industry Sort Code directory from the Data Interchange web site. This is required to ensure that the account information referenced in your payment files are for valid bank accounts. Enterprise Applicability BACS.IP Bureau utilises an MSDE database, the desktop version of Microsoft SQL Server. The high performance of this database ensures BACS.IP Bureau is very efficient at handling high volumes of data. In addition the BACS.IP Bureau database is fully scalable to the full enterprise level SQL Server. With either configuration MSDE and SQL Server allow for the database to be located remotely from the BACS.IP Bureau server, ensuring that in the event the server machine goes down, the data on your system is not affected. 6 BACS.IP Bureau

7 BACS Reports After submitting your payment files to BACS you will be able to receive, via BACS.IP, a variety of reports generated by BACS in response to your submissions. BACS.IP supports all available report types, including: ARUCS (Automated return of unapplied credits service) ARUDD (Automated return of unpaid Direct Debits) AUDDIS (Automated Direct Debit Instruction Service) AWACS (Advice of Wrong Account for Automated Credits Service) ADDACS (Automated Direct Debit Amendments and Cancellations Service) Input Withdrawal Arrival Both ARUCS and ARUDD report types are concerned with payment instructions that cannot be applied by the destination bank/building society. The payment instructions will be returned to the originating account. These reports list the payment instructions that could not be applied and have therefore been returned. AUDDIS, AWACS and ADDACS are part of the BACS Messaging Service. These reports provide Service Users with information about the payment instructions they send to BACS, allowing them to amend their records where necessary. Input reports are sent out for each processing day referred to in the payment instructions, after the day section of the payment file has been successfully validated. For a submission containing one payment file for a single processing day, one input report would be produced. For a submission containing multiple payment files, each having a single processing day, an input report would be created for each processing day. In addition, a separate input report is sent out for any Direct Debit instructions in a payment file. If you submit a payment file in error, you can contact your bank on or before input day to ask for the payment file to be withdrawn. This will result in the creation of a withdrawal report. A rejection arrival report is generated when BACS initial validation rejects a future-dated payment file. Client/Server Architecture BACS.IP is a client/server solution. This permits multiple users to access the central server from different locations. Although communication to BACS is via the server, communication is instigated from the client machines. However, both the server and client applications can be installed onto a single machine if required. BACS.IP Bureau 7

8 BACS.IP consists of two applications the Administrator and the Submissions application. As the name suggests, the Administrator is for use by system administrators and allows the software to be tailored to each user s specific requirements. Service Users, System Users, Communications and all other aspects of the system can be setup and configured within the Administrator application. The Submissions application is used by the day-to-day users of BACS.IP and contains details of Payment Files, Live Submissions, Archived Submissions and Reports. Depending on the access privileges configured in the Administrator, a user will be able to import, view, modify and sign payment files, and transmit submissions to BACS. 8 BACS.IP Bureau

9 Multi-User Security Validation Integration In addition to the client server architecture, BACS.IP also supports multiple system users. This allows multiple users to be profiled within the system, with each different user having different access privileges. Privileges can be configured for each individual user, using the eight pre-configured user groups. The users of the system can be assigned to these pre-configured groups and they will automatically inherit the associated security profile. There is no limit to the number of clients that can be installed, nor to the number of users per client. Equally, any number of users may be logged on to BACSTEL-IP simultaneously. The transmission of sensitive and critical business data requires a high level of security. BACS.IP features PKI and smartcard technology, which enables communicating parties to validate the integrity of received files and also reliably identify the other party involved. The payment files sent to BACS are encrypted using HTTPS encryption, which provides protection against the content of the payment files being viewed during transmission. Smartcards provide the storage for the digital signatures which are used to sign messages prior to transmission and to authenticate the user when connecting to BACS. The validation process takes place before submission to BACS. This removes the chance of incorrect submissions (in terms of account numbers and sort codes) occurring. The validation is based on the Industry Sort Code Directory (ISCD), for which BACS issues quarterly updates. The latest issue is available on the DI website at once you have logged into the secure section. BACS.IP also checks that the processing dates within payment files are valid (i.e. they are not Bank Holidays or weekends), by checking them against the BACS calendar. If any date is found to be a BACS non-processing date, the next valid date will be offered as an alternative. Again, the latest BACS calendar will be made available from the secure section of the DI website when it is issued by BACS. In addition to these error checking preventatives, BACS.IP also features account limit checking and configurable limits for individual debit and credit items. These features are configured on an individual bank account basis, enabling different limits to be configured for each bank account on the system. BACS.IP comes pre-configured to integrate with a range of accounting and payroll packages, including Selven, Profund and CCM LPAY, and any package that produces Standard 18 format files. For BACS.IP Bureau 9

10 any package that is not pre-configured, a simple mapping tool is available to ensure that the information produced from the back office system can be converted into the correct format for submission to BACS. Even if your accounting package is not on a PC platform, you can still use BACS.IP. Simply use FTP to transfer your files across to the Windows network from where they can be picked up by BACS.IP. Audit and Reporting On-line Help BACS.IP features a high level of integration between submissions and reports. A searchable record of submissions transmitted and reports received is also available. BACS reports are received in both XML and XHTML file formats to ensure compatibility and a consistent display between different systems. BACS.IP offers comprehensive system logging for the tracking of individual user activities. The retention time and detail level of the system logs is configurable by the Administrator, enabling the amount of information recorded to be tailored to individual needs. Audit trails can be viewed for all archived submissions, to see which user did what and when each action was carried out. Every page and every dialog in BACS.IP has a Help button, providing full context-sensitive on-line help. Generated using ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 6.5, the Help also provides full Index and Search facilities, navigation buttons and print function. Product Architecture BACS.IP is a client/server solution, allowing multiple users to access the central server from different locations. Although communication to BACS is via the server, communication is instigated from the client machines. However, both the server and client applications can be installed onto a single machine if required. BACS.IP consists of two applications the Administrator and the Submissions application. The diagram below shows where the BACS.IP software fits into existing systems. It will act as an interface between back office systems capable of producing payment files, such as Sage, and the BACSTEL-IP service. 10 BACS.IP Bureau

11 The software provides validation of imported data, creation and sending of BACS submissions, and the downloading and viewing of reports created by BACS, with all communications being performed using secure channels of communication with the latest PKI security. System Requirements Hardware Pentium II 400 Mhz 128 Mb RAM 100 Mb disk space for installation but more depending on volume of file traffic Smart card(s) Smart card reader(s) available from the bank or from Data Interchange plc Software For electronic communication with BACS, one of the following is required: a dial-in connection using a modem an existing internet connection a permanent leased line To install and run BACS.IP, the following are required: Internet Explorer 6 or above (with 128-bit encryption) (to be already installed) Signing software available from Data Interchange Plc or the user s sponsoring bank And one of the following: Windows XP and associated Service Packs Windows 2000 Windows 2000 Server Windows 2003 Server Other pre-requisites, such as the.net framework, are included on the installation disk and will be installed automatically if necessary. BACS.IP Bureau 11