Learn how to create and manage ABA files in MRI Vault to automate trust account payments directly through your bank.
This article covers:
About ABA files
An ABA file is a bank-compatible file that contains payment instructions for transactions recorded in your trust account. Instead of manually transferring funds, you can generate an ABA file in MRI Vault and upload it to your bank for automatic processing.
ABA files allow you to:
- Include solicitor, owner, and creditor bank details in MRI Vault
- Generate a single file containing all approved transactions
- Upload the file to your bank for automated payment processing
This saves time and reduces errors compared to manual transfers.
Generate an ABA file
This section lists your sales trust bank accounts and provides options to preview or set a start date.
To generate and upload an ABA file:
- Go to: Financials > ABA Files (payments) after creating transactions in your trust account
- Chose one of the following:
- Preview Payments File - View all transactions since the last ABA file was created. You’ll see the last file date and the number of pending payments
-
Set Start Date - If this is your first ABA file, select the date of your first transaction and click Continue to include all transactions from that date onward
- Review the list of transactions. All valid transactions are ticked by default
- Untick any transactions you do not want to include
- Click Generate File to create the payments file
- Upload the file to your bank to process the payments automatically
Fix missing bank details
If a transaction is unticked, it usually means the payee’s bank details are missing.
- Click Fix next to the transaction to add details
- Or go to Property Card > Financials > Bank Details to update the contact’s bank information
- Click Save
The transaction will update and can be included in the ABA file.
View previous ABA files
To access past files:
- Go to: Financials > ABA Files (payments)
- Click the Previous Files tab
- (Optional) Select the date ranges to view > Click Refresh
- Select one of the following options:
- Print Friendly - Print a copy of the payments file
- Download - Redownload the file
- Remittance - Create a remittance for creditor or owner payments
-
Reverse - Reverse an ABA file to regenerate it