Payments Overview

Welcome to your training on the new Commercial Advantage platform.

Ally Private Wealth Commercial Advantage is a digital treasury platform that gives you access to real time information, seamless payment functionality, and practical tools to meet daily cash flow requirements and make well-informed decisions. This training will show you many benefits of the platform including customizable screens to meet your specific needs, an integrated payment center, real time reporting and more!

This Webinar is focused on the Payments section of Commercial Advantage.

Once logged into the Commercial Advantage you’ll find widgets available to add to the Homepage such as the Notifications widget. These widgets found can be customized to fit your individual needs. To resize or remove a widget, click on the gear in the upper right hand corner of the widget and select the appropriate option.

The Notifications widget is helpful to identifying those items that need attention from a payments perspective for your company. From the Notifications widget, you'll be able to jump to the area where the action can be taken without having to go through the menu selections at the left or top of the page.

Within Commercial Advantage, there are additional options for customization. You can adjust the width of any column by hovering the mouse between two columns. When the double-headed arrow appears, click and hold the left mouse button and move the mouse right to expand, or left to shrink the column.

Information in your view can be sorted by any of the available fields. By clicking the left hand side of a column header, the data within the entire widget will be sorted according to the selected column. If the column header is clicked a second time, the data will be sorted in reverse order. An arrow will appear in the column header indicating which order its currently sorted, whether from highest to lowest or lowest to highest.

You can change the order of the columns by simply dragging from one position to another while clicking and holding the left mouse button.

You can also select which fields you wish to have displayed by clicking on the gear icon to the right of the column headers. This presents a series of fields that can be displayed for this widget. Select or deselect the fields you wish to see by checking or unchecking the box next to the field, and then choosing Update at the bottom of the screen.

Once you have finished your customization, you can save your view by choosing the dropdown to the upper right and select Save View where you'll be presented an option to Name and Save, even setting this as the default view for the widget.

Looking at the Homepage let’s begin our training related to Payments and Transfers. Once you’ve logged into Commercial Advantage, you’ll see the Homepage with many menus along the left or top of the page.

The Payments and Transfers Menu allows you to access the pages assigned for your Payment Management, Transfer Management, Stop Payments and Check Inquiries. The Payment and Transfers Management pages allow you to initiate or add new items, perform quick entry items using templates, import transaction files, as well as approve, unapprove, reject or delete existing items.

We’ll start with Transfers Management as they are the simplest form of transaction, and your payments will follow the same steps, only with the additional fields needed for those transactions.

To begin, choose the Transfers Management Page from the Payments and Transfers Menu. Here you’ll find two widgets pre-loaded on the page – Transfers and Transfer Templates. Just as with other places in Commercial Advantage, you have the ability to customize the view, including increasing or decreasing the number of items displayed. If what you’re seeing in your view is not displayed you can also filter for items based on the field of your choosing as noted here in the Filter dropdown.

We’re going to start with creating or adding a new transfer by choosing the link in the upper left of the widget. This is a consistent location for the addition of new items throughout the platform as you’ll see as we continue. Adding a transfer this way is known as a free form transaction as we’re completing the form from scratch in an on-demand situation. Once you select the Add Transfer link, a pop-up box displays where you’re given the option of choosing a Transfer Type, or initiating a transfer from an established template created and approved. We’re going to start with the top selection and from the dropdown we'll choose a single transfer type. The other options, Multiple, creates more than one transfer at a time; One-to-Many, transfers funds from one account to multiple accounts at the same time; and Many-to-One, which allows for consolidation of funds from multiple accounts to a single account. Now that you’ve selected the transfer type, select Continue.

You can see that in order to create or add the transfer there are several boxes that are marked required with the red asterisk. Simply make your selections and add the additional information desired based on your company’s processes. One thing you’ll notice is that once the accounts are selected, the available balance of those accounts will display below the box. This gives you a quick view of real time balances to aid in decision making. Once you have made your selections, you see totals displayed in the top right of the screen and in the blue ribbon across the bottom. The ribbon is the area where you’ll see the options to Submit or Cancel, depending on your need at the time. You’ll also see this transfer can be saved as a template for future use, thereby saving you some time for future transfers just like this one. You can give the template a Code and a longer description and you even have the ability to restrict the template for use by only certain staff that have been granted permission. For now, we will just submit the transfer.

Once the transfer has been submitted the status will be Entered, indicating the transfer needs approval prior to being complete. To Approve, there are a few options. Choose the radial button of the item and select Approve from the bottom of the widget. Or you can choose the dropdown arrow in the actions column and then choose Approve. You could also choose to view the transaction and Approve from the blue ribbon at the bottom of the page. If the user that created the payment as auto-approval permissions, once submitted, the transfer status will be Approved, and once the bank has completed things on their end, the status will change to Bank Confirmed.

Let’s quickly take a look at what the other type of transfers look like in the submission process. Start again with the Add Transfers link, choose from the dropdown for the Multiple transfers, and continue. You’ll see that the screen is similar to before, only you have additional boxes that apply to all of the transactions. You’ll make your selections as you did for the Single transfer, although you also have the option to Add additional transactions. You can choose the number of transactions you would like to add and simply select Add to present the additional transactions. The number of transactions as well as the dollar amount will total near the Submission button for you to quickly review prior to submission. Any transaction lines can be deleted by selecting the "X" to the right of the transaction. When submitted, the transactions will show as separate entries and the needed actions will be required for approval based on permissions of the creator.

The other two types of transfers are One-to-Many and Many-to-One and they function similarly to the Multiple. The exception is that instead of sending to or from separate accounts, you’ll either disperse from one to a number of accounts or collect from a number of accounts into one.

Back at the Transfers Management page, at the bottom you’ll find the Transfers Templates widget. Here the templates are found and added, to speed the creation and submission of transfers from predetermined accounts. To add a template, as with the adding of a transfer, start with the link in the same widget location, select the Transfer Type, and choose Continue. The required fields are presented with a red asterisk.

The Template Code is a unique identifier for the template. There is a 35 character limit and no spaces are allowed for the Code. The Template Description is just longer verbiage to describe the template. And next is the number of approval signatures needed for transactions from this template which are based on the permissions identified by the company with Ally Private Wealth and those assigned for this transaction type. Here in the top section you see the ability to restrict this template for certain users.

Notice the Maximum Amount field is not required, although it can be added to further ensure accountability. Next, move to select the accounts. With this template, the amount can be edited prior to the transaction submission. The final step is to save the template, and just like the transactions themselves, depending on the permissions of the creator, approval may be needed prior to usage availability of the template.

Now, let’s take a look at a recurring transaction from the templates. From the actions column of the template widget, choose the dropdown arrow and select Modify. Select the Make Recurring radial button to reveal the recurrence options. The options are up to you, and make note of the red asterisk as to what to do if the transfer date falls on a non-business day. Another set of points to note with recurring transactions: All transactions submitted from this recurring schedule will show as being created by the user that created the schedule, and all transactions will require approval, just as if done from the free form creation.

As we look again at the actions column in the templates widget, you have the option to Delete this template, Copy it as another, Modify, Unapprove and Submit a transaction when you choose Copy as a Payment. You can see the template open and all that is needed is to adjust the date and amount, add any additional information and submit. Notice, just as with the free form transaction, the real-time available balances are displayed in the account fields. When you are satisfied with your criteria, choose Submit and take the approval actions based on permissions.

You can also create a transaction using the templates from the transfers widget by selecting the Add Transfer link, selecting the Transfer Template, and Continue.

To round out transfers management, let’s go back to the Home page and look at the Simple Entry widget that is pre-loaded for you there. This widget allows for the quick transfer to be submitted without all of the other fields and formality of going to the Transfers Management page. Any transfers from here will still need to be approved, however depending on permissions, that could be automatic or the responsibility of another user.

As we navigate back to the Payments and Transfers menu, we’ll move to the Payment Management page to look at the other types of payments. Here in the Payment Center, you’ll find two widgets that are similar to the Transfers Management page, the Payments List View and the Template List View. Just as with the transfers, you have similar links in similar locations with the exception of the quick entry and file imports items. Let’s start with the free form payment much like with the transfers.

You can add a new payment by clicking the link, Add a New Payment, and choose the Payment Type from the dropdown menu. We’ll begin with an ACH Payment – Corporate/Vendor Payment. After a payment is selected, you’ll see the required fields, noted by the red asterisk, for the payment to be entered and properly processed. This process is known as a Free Form Payment, as we’re adding the information on demand. If you have a need for this payment to be used again or multiple times, you have the option to save this as a template and create future payments of this type to this vendor by simply choosing to make from the template, thereby saving you valuable time later.

Notice the radial button for Healthcare and when chosen, additional fields will be presented. At the Beneficiary (or Payee) Information you have the option of adding them from the Contact/Beneficiary list you have previously established in the Contact Center by choosing the magnifying glass icon and the stored data will populate the fields. Or as in this case, you can add them as a one-time payee and manually enter all of their payment information. At the Bank Code field you search by routing number or by bank name. You also have the option of creating a Prenote or Hold the payment for some reason.

Addenda information is also available to capture any additional information such as, Invoice and/or reference numbers, or internal comments. There’s also an option to add additional beneficiaries to the payment where you’re able to create one payment for multiple payees, say for instance you’re doing monthly payments and would like them to be contained in the same payment approval process. At the bottom of the page you’ll see the running total for this payment as well as the number of beneficiaries included.

Once satisfied with the payment, there’s the option to Save this payment as a template, and when selected you’ll have the chance to name the template for easier recall. Whether you’re saving as a template or simply completing the payment, you’ll then either Submit the payment for approval or you can Save it for later if some of the details are missing—or you can cancel the payment and start over at a later time.

Your payment has now been submitted and will be listed in the Payment List View widget in an Entered status, awaiting approval unless the permissions of the user are set for auto approval. The approver will receive a notification in their Notifications widget and will navigate to the Payments page where they will be able to View, Approve, Print, Modify or Reject the payment based on their role and permissions they are entitled. If, as the approver, the choice is made to Modify the payment, the approver becomes the originator, and therefore another in the organization would be required for approval of this payment. Rejecting the payment would be recommended to send it back to the originator for modification and resubmission for approval.

Now let’s take a look at the process for adding a Free Form Domestic Wire payment. Navigating to the Payments page choose Add a New Payment. From the Select a Payment Type, we choose Wire – Domestic and then Continue. Remember the required fields are marked with a red asterisk. Although the Address line is not required here, there are some payment types that are required, so getting into the habit of always including an address is a great best practice. Just as with the ACH Payment type, searching the bank by routing number or bank name is possible in the Bank Code Field.

Under the Additional Information any Intermediary Bank Details can be added, as can Payment, Bank-to Bank, and Originator Details. Be mindful of these fields as they may not be required here, however they may be for other payment types. At the bottom of the page you’ll find the same information and options as with all payment types of a running total of the payments and beneficiaries, Saving the payment as a template to Submit, Save for Later, or Cancel the payment.

Now let’s look at the International Wire payment option. Start by choosing Add a New Payment from the Payments page and then selecting the Payment Type of Wire – International. The required fields once again are presented with a red asterisk. As mentioned earlier, notice here the Address Line is required so the habit of including will ensure fewer mistakes or delayed or rejected payments.

For the International Wire, the Account Type defaults to Other. However IBAN is also an option in the field. The Bank Code Type will default to the SWIFT format and at the Bank Code you’ll be able to search in a similar fashion as with the ACH payment and begin typing the Bank Name or the ID number and the list of banking institutions will be presented.

Again you have the Additional Information section where you can add your Intermediary Bank information as well as the Payment Details, Bank-to-Bank Details and the Originator Party.

Before moving on, pay special attention to the following fields as they are required for the International Wire Payments within Commercial Advantage. The Address Line, Country, and Payment Details are needed for the payment to process correctly. Again, the Address Line, Country, and Payment Details are required for International Wire Payments to be processed.

Remember prior to submitting the payment you can Save the Payment as a Template. Once submitted, the approvers will be notified of the payment awaiting their approval.

Back in the Payment Center, just like with transfers, we have the template list view that houses all of our templates for payment to save us a bit of time and improve accuracy. You create templates the same as with transfers and once submitted and approved, they are ready for use. You can create payments from the template by choosing to do so from the dropdown in the Actions column for the template, or add a payment from the Payment List View and select from the list of approved templates. You can also create a Quick Entry payment with the use of a template, similar to the Simple Entry for transfers, by choosing the Quick Entry link, select the template and completing the value Date and Amount. If more payments are desired from this screen choose Add Quick Entry and another transaction line will appear. Once submitted the payments will require the necessary approvals.

Finally in regard to payments, there’s the option to import your files or templates by simply selecting the File Import link and choosing from the available maps. Select whether the file is for a Payment or Template and choose whether or not to mask the confidential information. Enter the rest of the information that is required and if needed, you can load the file in a test mode. Finally choose the file and select File Import from the bottom of the page in the blue ribbon. The file will be imported and to see details of the import you will navigate to the import page found in the Administration and Settings Menu. As with all other payments and transfers, once entered the necessary approvals are needed for the payment to process. If you—If your find that your needed file map for importing is not available, on the same import page the import map widget is found where you can add you own custom map to accept your file.

Back in the Payments and Transfers Menu, let’s now take a look at the Stop Payments page. Here you’ll see the links for adding stop payment and cancelling stop payment requests as well as the ability to import stop payments for larger requests. Choosing Add New Stop Payment Request presents the required and other fields for adding that request. At the Check Number field there’s the option to choose a range, if so desired. If you’re in need of additional stops that necessarily in a range, you can choose to add for the additional boxes needed. When you’re satisfied with your entry, select Save in the blue ribbon at the bottom of the page and the status of your stop payments will be updated based on the permissions of the requestor.

If the stop payment needs to be cancelled, you can add the request using the link or you can locate the check number in the list and choose the dropdown arrow in the Actions column of the check and select to cancel the stop. Here you will be routed to the cancel stop request screen where you can update the request and save for approval based on permissions.

As we continue to discuss checks, let’s navigate to the Check Inquiry page in the Payments and Transfers Menu. Here you’ll have the ability to select and find your paid or stopped checks. When chosen, you’ll be presented with additional fields to narrow your inquiry, leading with the account number as the only required field. Although at least one other field must be chosen as noted, just above the account number field. Once the search is run, any actions available for the items found will be an active link in the Actions column. And that action will take you to the appropriate page for completion.

Finally, as relates to payments, we have the Fraud and Risk Management Menu, where you’ll have the link to that page. Here’s the location of you Payment Fraud Control widget or as you may know it, Positive Pay as well as your check issue management. Under the tab for today’s decisions, you’ll find the ability to see by Accounts, Positive Pay Items, Reverse Positive Pay Items or ACH Positive Pay, as determined by your entitlements with Ally Private Wealth. In the list, you will be able to view the items and make the appropriate decisions based on your permissions to do so.

The Decision History tab provides a listing of the decisions made providing the opportunity to print and or export for reporting. The ACH Item Decision History tab provide the same visibility, only to the ACH transactions.

In the Check Issues Management widget, you’ll find the link to add check issues and voids as well as importing larger quantity items. In adding the check issue or void, select the link and enter the required fields that are again marked with the red asterisk. There are optional fields available by choosing the toggle in the upper right of the page. Once you have completed adding your issues and/or voids, select Submit and the status will be updated based on permissions as with other items in Commercial Advantage.

Within the Commercial Advantage Platform there’s a great resource for additional assistance found here, at the Help Menu. This will bring you to the help page for your step-by-step guides related to General Information like User Administration as well as many other topics.

Outside of Commercial Advantage you have access to the Ally Private Wealth Commercial Advantage site, where you’ll find the quick reference guides, user guides, videos and other webinars that’ll provide self-service assistance.

Thanks for watching this video where we provided a payments and transfers overview within Commercial Advantage.