Beta: Making ACH transfers directly from Guesty Accounting

Send ACH bank transfers to owners and vendors directly from Guesty. You can do this with just a few clicks—no NACHA files or bank portals required. 

Direct ACH payouts incur a per transaction fee, even when processed in a group. We invoice fees monthly to your Guesty account. Review and accept pricing and term details during the setup process.

ACH transfers take between 2-5 business days for funds to reach the recipient after you initiate the transfer. 

Preparing for ACH transfers

Complete account and profile details

Confirm that your cash accounts include the correct routing and account numbers. Your company information must also include a valid email address.

Ensure that owner profiles and vendor profiles include this information. If not, errors occur when you attempt an ACH transfer:

• ACH/NACHA as the payout method
• Business or personal address
• Bank details (Routing number and account number)
• Account holder type (Individual or business)

Gather required documentation

If you're a US business entity, prepare these documents:

• EIN letter showing legal business name
• Certificate of Formation or Incorporation
• Attestation of Beneficial Ownership
• Government-issued photo ID for the authorized representative
• Registered business address

If you're a sole proprietor, prepare:

• Proof of business start date (For example, first sale invoice or marketplace confirmation)
• Social security number (SSN) and valid ID

Understand system limitations

• Scheduling: Guesty supports same-day payout initiation only. Advanced scheduling and automated rules are not supported.

• Verification: Manually verify each bank account with micro-deposits before use.

• Cancellations: You can't cancel or reverse direct ACH transfer payouts once initiated.

• Batch limits: Guesty processes up to 1,000 payouts at a time. Split larger groups into separate batches.

Set up direct ACH transfers

Setting up involves two main phases: verifying your business and connecting your bank accounts.

Accept terms and submit business verification

Step by step:

1. Sign in to your Guesty account.
2. In the top navigation bar, click the mode selector and select Accounting mode.
3. At the top, click Setup.
4. In the left-side menu, click Direct ACH transfers.
5. Review and accept the Terms and policies and Connected account user terms.
6. To the right of "Verify Business", click Verify.
7. In the pop-up, follow prompts to submit your business details for verification.

Business verification typically takes up to three business days. If the status changes to "action required," check your email for instructions. Submit missing documentation and resubmit the form as needed.

Connect bank account and verify micro-deposits

Add multiple bank accounts by following these steps for each one.

Step by step:

1. To the right of "Connect bank account", click Connect Now.
2. In the side panel, select the relevant bank account.
3. Confirm the bank account details are correct, then click Submit.
4. Allow up to five business days for two micro-deposits (under $1.00) from "Airwallex" to appear in your connected bank account.
5. Once both micro-deposits are received, to the right of "Connect bank account", click Finish Verification.

6. Under "Amount 1" and "Amount 2", enter the exact micro-deposit amounts.

   Important:

   Wait until both deposits appear and enter the exact amounts. Even a small rounding error causes the verification to fail. You have three attempts to enter these correctly before the bank account is permanently invalidated for ACH transfers.

7. Click Verify.

Make a direct ACH transfer

Allow 2-5 business days for funds to reach the recipient after you initiate the transfer.

Step by step:

1. Sign in to your Guesty account.
2. In the top navigation bar, click the mode selector and select Accounting mode.
3. At the top, click General ledger, then select Balances.
4. At the top-left, use dropdown menu to select the relevant filter, such as "Owners balance as of today".
5. Select one or more relevant items using the checkboxes, then at the top-right click Pay.
6. In the pop-up, complete these fields:
   1. Under "Payout method" select ACH transfer.
   2. Under "Cash account", select the verified bank account. Only verified bank accounts appear for the ACH transfer payout method.
   3. Fill in the remaining details.
7. At the bottom-left, click Payout.
8. In the pop-up, review the details and click Confirm and pay.

If an error occurs, update the bank information in the relevant owner profile or vendor profile and try again.

View your payout status

Step by step:

1. Sign in to your Guesty account.
2. In the top navigation bar, click the mode selector and select Accounting mode.
3. At the top, click Disbursements.
4. Filter for "Payout method" ACH transfer.

The status appears as "processing" when initiated. After the recipient’s bank confirms the funds, it changes to "received." Guesty sends a confirmation email for every successful receipt.

If the payout status is "failed," view the error reason in the tooltip or the email notification. Common errors:

• Beneficiary name mismatch
• Insufficient balance
• Invalid recipient account details
• Recipient bank blocks the transaction (often due to ACH Originator ID not being whitelisted)

Handle a failed transaction 

If a payout fails, it doesn't stop the entire batch. Only the specific failed transaction is affected. The bank eventually returns these funds. Follow these steps to reconcile your records:

Record the failed transaction

Because you can't cancel the original payout in Guesty, you must create a journal entry. This moves the money back into your cash account and the respective owner account so your records match your bank statement.

Attempt the payout again

After recording the journal entry to reset the balance, repeat the Make a direct ACH transfer steps above.