Film Accounting Glossary
Automated clearing house
What is automated clearing house?
Also called ACH, or direct deposit.
Automated clearing house (ACH) is the U.S. bank network used to move money electronically between accounts, and it is how most productions now pay crew and vendors instead of cutting paper checks.
ACH is cheaper and slower than a wire, typically settling in one to three business days. Because ACH details are easy to spoof, verifying a change of bank instructions by phone with a known contact is standard production controls practice.
Example
A 90-person crew is paid by ACH each Thursday, settling Tuesday. Mid-show a vendor emails new bank details; the accountant calls the vendor's known number to confirm before changing anything, because a redirected ACH payment is hard to recover.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Weekly payroll and vendor payment runs. The bank-detail verification step belongs in the written internal controls, not in someone's memory.
Common mistake
Changing a vendor's bank details from an emailed request. Payment redirection fraud targets exactly this moment, and ACH is difficult to recover once it has settled.
Related questions
- What is the difference between ACH and a wire transfer?
- ACH is cheaper and settles in one to three business days. A wire is same-day, costs more, and is effectively irreversible once sent.
- How do productions avoid payment redirection fraud?
- By verifying any new or changed bank details verbally, calling a known number for that vendor rather than one supplied in the email requesting the change.