M3 Payment File Export Guide

This guide will walk you through the process of exporting your payment data from M3 Accounting Core to Ottimate (formerly Plate IQ). Following these steps will allow you to sync payment data, marking invoices as "Paid" within M3 while sending the necessary details to Ottimate.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Phase 1: Enable the Ottimate Integration
• Phase 2: Bank Account Configuration
• Phase 3: Exporting the Payment File
• Phase 4: Final File Formatting (Required)

Phase 1: Enable the Ottimate Integration

Before you can export files, the feature must be activated on the back end by the M3 team.

1. Submit a Support Ticket: Contact the M3 Support Team and request to have the "Ottimate/Plate IQ payment option" turned on for your environment. (M3 estimates upto 7 business days timeline for setup)
2. Confirmation: Once M3 confirms this is active, you can proceed to the configuration steps below.

Phase 2: Bank Account Configuration

You must configure your specific bank account in M3 to generate the Ottimate CSV format instead of standard check runs.

1. Open Accounting Core: Navigate to 
   Maintenance
    > 
   Companies
   . 
2. Select Company: Choose the relevant company and click 
   Edit
   . 
3. Advanced Settings: Select
   Advanced Settings
   and navigate to the Bank Account tab.
4. Select Bank: Click on the specific bank account you wish to use for Ottimate payments.
5. Set Epay Format: * Find the Epay formatfield.
   • Select Plate IQ from the drop-down menu.
   • Note: If you do not see this option, Phase 1 has not been completed.
6. Save: Click 
   OK
    and then 
   Save
   . 

[!IMPORTANT] Check Runs: If you need to switch back to printing physical checks or using other Epay formats for this bank account, you must change this setting back manually before running those payments.

Phase 3: Exporting the Payment File

Once configured, your standard payment workflow will generate the export file.

1. Invoice Preparation: Ensure invoices in Accounts Payable (AP) are Posted, Approved, and set to the Method of Epay
2. Run Payment Wizard: Process your payments through the Payment Wizard module as usual, ensuring you select the bank account configured in Phase 2. (This option also marks the invoices as paid in M3 in AP module)
3. Locate the File: M3 will automatically export a
   .csv file to your local M3 Reports folder (typically located on your C: Drive).
   • Filename Format:
     (Description) (Bank) (Date) (Time).csv
   • Example:
     Operating_7122026_10;21;22_AM.csv

Phase 4: Final File Formatting (Required)

Ottimate requires a specific naming convention to accept the file. You must rename the file to remove special characters (specifically semicolons) before uploading.

1. Locate the file on your C: Drive.
2. Right-click the file and select Rename.
   • Do not open the file to rename it; rename it directly from the folder view.
3. Remove Semicolons: Change the timestamp format from 
   10;21;22
    to 
   102122
   . 
4. Upload: Once renamed, upload the file to your Ottimate dashboard or via your established import method.

Below is the Sample Disbursement File from M3: