Accounting Best Practices, Fifth Edition

3–42. Install Advanced ACH Debit Blocking

Banks have offered debit blocking for many years; this keeps unauthorized parties from extracting funds from a company’s bank account with an ACH debit transaction. Unfortunately, some ACH debits are legitimate, and are also rejected by the debit block.

More advanced debit blocking options are now available that allow for fine-tuning of the use of debit blocking. They are as follows:

1.	Block all debit transactions
2.	Enter broad screening criteria
3.	Enter specific instructions to accept only the following items: Accept one-time debits. Limit the number of times a recurring debit can post. Limit the time period over which an authorization is accepted. Specify a fixed, variable, or maximum debit dollar limit.

Also, if debits do not match the screening criteria, they can be sent to the company in an unauthorized transaction report. An authorized person can then review this report and contact the bank to authorize the acceptance or rejection of specific debits.

Banks offer many variations on these advanced debit blocking features, so contact your bank to determine what is available.

Cost:

Installation time: