How to create a Huntington positive pay file
Huntington protects business checking accounts with positive pay: you upload a check issue file listing every check you write, and the bank flags anything that doesn't match. QuickBooks and most accounting systems can't produce this file. Below is the format Huntington expects and how to generate it for free.
Open the generator with the Huntington format preselected
The Huntington file format
- Delimited (comma, semicolon, colon, or tab) or fixed-width; you define the mapping once at setup
- Sample field order: account number, amount, check number, issue date, payee, additional data, issue type
- Issue type:
IS= issued,CN= void/cancel (or mark voids with a negative amount) - Dates flexible: MMDDYY, MMDDYYYY, YYYYMMDD and more, as long as day and month are 2 digits
- Payee max 80 characters, quoted if it contains your delimiter
- At most one header row; no trailer or total records
Huntington maps your layout once when you enroll. This preset follows their published sample order, so match whatever you registered with the bank.
This layout follows the bank's published specification. Source: www.huntington.com.
Step by step
- Export your check register. From QuickBooks Online: Settings → Chart of accounts → your bank account → View register → filter to checks → Export to Excel. (Full QuickBooks walkthrough, including Desktop.)
- Convert it. Drop the export into the generator, confirm the detected columns, and enter your account number once. The generator applies the Huntington layout above. Everything runs in your browser; your check data is never uploaded.
- Check the preview. The built-in validator flags missing dates, unreadable amounts, duplicate check numbers, and fields that exceed Huntington's length limits before the bank ever sees the file.
- Upload to Huntington. Log in to your business/treasury portal and upload under the positive pay or check protection menu. Verify the item count and total match the preview.
Voided checks
Mark voids in your register (a status column containing “void” works) and the generator emits Huntington's void code automatically.
Always test your first file. Bank specs change and some are negotiated per customer. Send your first generated file through the bank's test facility or your treasury contact. If Huntington has given you a different spec sheet, recreate it exactly with the custom format builder. It takes about five minutes.
Related reading: the positive pay file format guide explains fixed-width versus delimited layouts and void codes, the glossary defines the terms, and the QuickBooks guide covers exporting your check register.