If your import business involves making payments to Customs and Border Protection, then now is the time to register with the CBP Automated Clearinghouse (ACH). This service is uniquely qualified to help US importers have clarity and order even during tumultuous moments in the international marketplace, and once you are registered, the benefits are many and nearly instantaneous. 

But what is the purpose of a clearing house? How can it help your business during times of uncertainty, and how can PCB help you register for and use this service? In this week’s blog, we are going to give a broad brush overview of the advantages of the automated clearing house and help you answer all those questions, starting at the top. 

What is an ACH? 

The CBP Automated Clearinghouse is, at its most basic level, an electronic network that facilitates the direct payment of duties and taxes to CBP. These payments are made entirely digitally and offer a much more effective way to make your payments. It allows for the scheduling of payments and allows you to be more strategic with your financial interactions with CBP. 

If you import into Canada, a similar analogy is the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management portal. While the ACH ONLY facilitates the payment of your duties and taxes, its role as a digital medium to facilitate those payments is apt. 

Why Should I Register for an ACH? 

There are many reasons why a US importer might investigate an ACH, and it is the kind of service that reveals the full breadth of its benefits transaction by transaction over months. In general, however, there are key areas where registering for an ACH yields benefits: 

Financial Control 

One of the most significant benefits of working through an ACH is greater financial control over your imports. ACH allows you to manage multiple types of ACH payments to CBP in a centralized and direct way. You can schedule your financial transactions, manage your payments relative to specific shipments, and see in an obvious and concise way where your money is going and how. 

If you have ever felt like paying CBP duties and taxes is an overly complicated process, and you wish there was a more streamlined way to go about it, ACH is the answer. 

Reduced Costs

On its face, registration with an ACH is essentially a means to pay your duties and taxes to the CBP, but if you look closer, it is also a fantastic way to save on administrative, processing, and clearance costs. 

The ability to pay CBP directly allows you to significantly reduce or entirely avoid disbursement fees, which, during times when duties and taxes are on the rise, can make a significant difference to your bottom line. 

How Can PCB Help? 

If there is a downside to ACH, it is undoubtedly that registration is not the simplest process. There are many hurdles to overcome and many pitfalls waiting for those who are not careful in their application. Customs and Border Protection is nothing if not thorough, and the application process for their clearinghouse is no exception. Fortunately, the team at PCB can help. 

Our expert team is here to offer one-on-one guidance through this process, including helping you get what you need for your ACH registration and showing you how to manage your payments on a Periodic Monthly Statement (PMS) cycle. After an hour with our expert, you’ll be registered and ready to start using ACH for your payments. 

Speaking of, we are here to help once you get started as well. We can also provide you with a report every week that details all the entries that are due for payment, along with what is owed and the dates they are scheduled for payment. This is a fantastic piece of the puzzle that will make your experience with ACH even better. 

Finally, we have been helping people with ACH for a while, and we know where the problem areas arise. This is why we offer an additional one-hour support session to help you through your first payment cycle. This session involves us walking you through your first payment and reviewing your first transmission. After this session, you’ll be a seasoned expert ready to use ACH to its fullest potential. 

CBP’s Automated Clearinghouse is a service that no importer who regularly makes payments to CBP should be without. It streamlines the process, gives you greater control and transparency with your payments, and even saves you money in the long run. 

For a full breakdown of how ACH works, what is involved in the process, and the rates for the services we provide in getting you set up with this program, please visit our ACH service page and download our free guide. For assistance with any other issues or challenges in the world of international trade, you are encouraged to have a look at our full suite of Trade Advisory Services.