E-Bill User Guide

FINRA's financial system, E-Bill, enables entitled users to leverage a variety of features. For example, firm users can view financial details of the FINRA Flex-Funding account and Renewal statements, fund the FINRA Flex-Funding account, pay annual renewal assessments, and view and pay FINRA invoices. E-Bill enables firm users to authorize electronic payment directly from a designated bank account to the firm's FINRA Flex-Funding Account, FINRA Renewal statement or to pay invoices. Additionally, firm and regulatory users have the ability to review, export, and save detailed transactions and summary reports.

E-Bill Availability

E-Bill will be available Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Questions about E-Bill?

Call the FINRA Support Center at (301) 590-6500 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday.

On This Page

Access E-Bill

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Access E-Bill via Firm Gateway at: https://gateway.finra.org/

1. Login to Firm Gateway
2. Click E-Bill in the Quick Link Section

Navigation on E-Bill

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1. Navigate via the Top Navigation or the quick links.

Flex-Funding Account

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Flex-Funding Account – Account Details

The Account Details page, accessed by the Account Details button or the Account Details hyperlink on the Flex-Funding Account page, contains several new features - choose a date range, use filters, and view daily consolidated fee transactions with the ability to drill down to see all daily fee transactions.

1. Date Range - Choose a date range from pre-set intervals: Last 30 Days, Last 60 Days, Last 90 Days, Last Month, or a custom date that can extend beyond a 30 day period.

2. Activity and Fees Tabs - The Activity tab contains transaction detail information about CRD/IARD Fees, Deposits, Reallocations and other withdrawals. Within the Activity tab, Daily CRD/IARD Fees are consolidated into one row with the number of fees included in parentheses.

To view the details of each fee transaction for a particular day, click on the Fee Transaction hyperlink. A Fees Tab with the specific date will open next to the Fees tab. Fee details such as description and Individual Name will appear.

Filters -    Filters are available for the Activity, Fees and the Date Specific Fees tabs.

3. Click the APPLY ALL button to implement a filter sort based on the filters selected. A white rectangle will appear around column headings that are sorted using filter options. Use the CLEAR ALL button to clear the fields. Click CLOSE to close the filter options.

Note: Filters are working with the data displayed based on the date range selected.

Sorting - All columns can be sorted ascending or descending by clicking on the column name. A triangle will appear next to a column that has been sorted, either pointed upward or downward to indicate an ascending or descending filter, respectively. The default sort is descending.

4. Export - Account Detail information within the Activity, Fees and Specific Date Fees tabs can be exported to a .csv file. Navigate to either the Activity, Fee or select a specific Fee date tab. Click the Export button adjacent to the Show Filters icon. Please note that export is limited to 35,000 records.

5. Print - The contents of the Account Details page can be printed using the Print Page hyperlink

Account Status

1. Estimated Balance: This is an ESTIMATE ONLY and may be subject to additional transactions that are not reflected due to overnight processing. Estimated Balance is the net of Last Posted Balance and any Funds Deficient Transactions and Pending Transactions.
2. Last Posted Balance: This balance includes transactions posted to the account. Transactions are posted during overnight processing – please refer to www.finra.org/filing-reporting/e-bill for the processing schedule.
3. Funds Deficient Transactions: Registration/exam requests are held until there are sufficient funds in the Last Posted Balance to pay for all Funds Deficient Transactions.
4. Pending Transactions: Transactions submitted via E-Bill and CRD/IARD but not yet been posted to the account. Pending checks and wires are not included. Pending transactions are generally posted during the next overnight processing cycle and then reflected in the Posted Balance. Click the Account Details button to show additional account information, fee transactions and payments, access filters and create views with custom date ranges.
5. Alternatively, click the Account Details hyperlink.
6. The contents of the Overview page can be printed using the Print Page hyperlink.

Flex-Funding Account - Add Funds

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When funding FINRA accounts through E-Bill, the only valid payment option is ACH or an Affiliate Transfer. Credit Card payments are not accepted.

Procedures:

1. Navigate to the Add Funds section

HERE

2. You only need to enter a decimal point and cents if they are applicable.

3. Click the Payment Options button located at the bottom of the screen.

4. On the Payment Page you may select (based on availability)

1. New Bank Account. Clicking this option will display the Bank Account Information fields for Account Type, ABA Routing number, Bank Account Number, Account Name etc.
2. Previously Used Card or Bank account. This is the system default and will be selected each time this page is accessed. To delete a previously used card or bank account, click the Remove button.

5. You may Update E-mail to receive email at an alternate email address

6. Check the box next to the FINRA E-Bill Program Agreement and Terms of Use. Declining the Terms and Conditions will prevent you from making your payment.

7. Click Submit to submit the request and Cancel to cancel the transaction.

8. The request is processing - Do not close the browser until the transaction has been completed.

9. The system displays a message indicating the payment has been processed successfully. The system sends an email notification regarding the transaction. Notice the message below the transaction information, "Click here to return to the starting page."

10. Firms can use funds from successful transaction the next business day for payments made by 9 pm EST. The user can review Transaction Activity/View Invoice Payments for E-Bill payments at any time.

Flex-Funding Account - Affiliate Transfer

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Authorized users can request a funds transfer from the Flex-Funding account to a Flex-Funding account of an affiliated firm(s). Users with the E-Bill Flex-Funding Reallocation entitlement, if their firm has affiliated firms on Form BD or Form ADV, have the ability to transfer. Transfers may be requested only for accounts with a Sufficient status.

Note: All transfer requests submitted before 11 pm EST are processed via an overnight processing cycle. Requests submitted Monday through Friday will be processed each night. Requests submitted Saturday through Sunday will be processed Sunday night. Requests submitted on a FINRA holiday will be included in the next available overnight cycle.

Procedures:

1. Navigate to the Affiliate Transfer section
2. The Affiliate Transfer page is displayed. A list of Affiliated Firm Org ID and Firm Names are displayed.
3. Input the transfer amount for each firm.
4. Click the Request Transfer button.
5. A confirmation pop up is displayed. Click "OK."
6. The confirmation page is displayed if the transfer request is a success

Flex-Funding Account - Refunds

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E-Bill enables entitled users to request refunds from their Flex-Funding account. Refunds may be requested only from those accounts with a Sufficient status.

The FINRA finance department will evaluate your refund request and if approved, the refund check will be mailed to the appropriate mailing address.

Note: The refund check will be made payable to the firm and mailed to the address of record. Most refund requests should be processed within 10 business days of receipt except during the annual renewal period, which lasts from mid-November through mid-January, when refunds are not issued. The refund process will resume after the renewal period concludes in January.

Procedures:

1. Navigate to the Request Refunds section
2. The Refunds from Flex-Funding Account page is displayed.

   

   1. Enter the refund amount.
   2. Enter a description. Provide a detailed description for the refund request and any additional information that will help expedite the request. The maximum character limit is 500.
   3. Click the Request Refund button.
3. A confirmation pop up will display. Click "OK."
4. A confirmation page is displayed.
5. Previous refund requests within the last 30 days are listed below the Refund Requests section. If there were no requests in the last 30 days, the message "There are no items to show at this time" is displayed.

Charge Code Lookup

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1. Charge Code Lookups are available under the help tab.

2. The Charge Code Lookups are displayed. Show Filter feature can be used to narrow down the result.

Renewal Account

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Renewal Account - Account Details

1. Date Range - Choose a Renewal period.

2. Renewal Summary Grid

1. Your firm’s can only obtain the latest statement from the "View Statement” button.
2. Renewal Balance: This is an ESTIMATE ONLY and may be subject to additional transactions that are not reflected due to overnight processing. Estimated Balance is the net of Renewal Fees and any Deposits, Withdrawals, and Pending Transactions.
3. Preliminary/ Final Fees: Preliminary/ Final renewal fees for your firm.
4. Deposits/ Withdrawals: These are fund additions or deductions that have been processed.
5. Pending Deposits: Transactions submitted via E-Bill, which have not yet been processed. Pending checks and wires are not reflected. Pending deposits are generally processed during the next overnight processing cycle and then reflected in the Deposits.

3. Activity and Fees Tabs - The Activity tab contains transaction detail information about Fees, Deposits, Reallocations and other withdrawals. Within the Activity tab, Fees are consolidated into one row with the number of fees included in parentheses.

4. To view the details of each fee transaction for a particular day, click on the Fee Transaction hyperlink. A Fees Tab with the specific date will open next to the Fees tab. Fee details such as description and Individual Name will appear.

5. Filters   Filters are available for the Activity, Fees and the Date Specific Fees tabs. Click the APPLY ALL button to implement a filter sort based on the filters selected. A white rectangle will appear around column headings that are sorted using filter options. Use the CLEAR ALL button to clear the fields. Click CLOSE to close the filter options. Note: Filters are working with the data displayed based on the date range selected.

6. Sorting - All columns can be sorted ascending or descending by clicking on the column name. A triangle will appear next to a column that has been sorted, either pointed upward or downward to indicate an ascending or descending filter, respectively. The default sort is descending.

7. Export - Account Detail information within the Activity, Fees and Specific Date Fees tabs can be exported to a .csv file. Navigate to either the Activity, Fee or select a specific Fee date tab. Click the Export button adjacent to the Show Filters icon. Please note that export is limited to 35,000 records.

8. Print - The contents of the Account Details page can be printed using the Print Page hyperlink

Renewal - Pay Renewal Fees

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Renewal - Pay Renewal Fees

When paying renewal fees through E-Bill, the only valid payment option is ACH or Reallocation from FINRA Flex-Funding Account.

Procedures:

1. Navigate to the Pay Renewal Fees section

2. Enter the Payment Amount. Do not enter any dollar signs or commas when entering amounts. You only need to enter a decimal point and cents if they are applicable.

3. Click the Payment Options button located at the bottom of the screen.

4. On the Payment Page you may select (based on availability)

1. New Bank Account. Clicking this option will display the Bank Account Information fields for Account Type, ABA Routing number, Bank Account Number, Account Name etc.
2. Previously Used Card or Bank account. This is the system default and will be selected each time this page is accessed. To delete a previously used card or bank account, click the Remove button.
3. Transfer funds from FINRA Flex-Funding Account. Clicking this radio button will allow funds to be transferred from your FINRA Flex-Funding account to pay the Renewal fees. Reallocation entitlement is required to use this feature. Contact your SAA for entitlement to the reallocation privilege. These transfers are noted as REALLOCATION in the E-Bill Transaction Type column. Within CRD Accounting, this transfer is detailed as "EBILL REALLOCATION." Note: Individuals will receive an email confirming the transfer request, once the transfer has been processed, if the transfer fails to process and when the transfer request fails due to a technical issue.

5. Check the box next to the FINRA E-Bill Program Agreement and Terms of Use. Declining the Terms and Conditions will prevent you from making your payment.

Click Submit to submit the funds, Cancel to cancel the transaction.

The request is processing - Do not close the browser until the transaction has been completed. The system displays a message indicating the payment has been processed successfully. The system sends an email notification regarding the transaction. Notice the message below the transaction information, "Click here to return to the starting page."

Invoices

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Invoices - Open Invoices

The Open Invoices section displays the type of invoices that are open, the number of invoices per type and total amount due with a cumulative total for invoices and amount due.

1. Invoices are grouped by Invoice Type
2. Pending transactions are rolled into the invoice balance. An icon will denote if there are pending transactions.
3. Navigation is possible using the links available
4. Navigation is also possible with the benefit to narrow down by invoice type using the links on the invoice types.

Invoices - Pay Open Invoices

On the Pay Open Invoice page:

1. Select the Invoice(s) to be paid by clicking the checkbox next to the invoice Type. The invoice payment amount is auto-filled in the Payment Amount box. Use the Invoice Type filter in the upper right side of the page to filter on invoice type.

2. Underlying transactions like Pending and Posted activity on an invoice is now available along with the invoice

1. Pending transactions will reflect on Invoice Balances.
2. E-Bill will indicate pending transactions made against invoices but which have not yet posted
3. Pending transaction activity will now be available
4. View Posted Transaction Activity, such as payments applied to invoices. Activity dated from February 1, 2016, and later is available.

3. After selecting the invoice and entering the payment amount click the Pay Now button.

4. PDF of the invoice is available under the Invoice column

5. Transaction Details is available under the Details column. The filesize and the type is now also available

6. The Invoice Payment information is displayed, followed by the Payment Type information. Choose from the following selections:

1. New Credit/Debit Card. Clicking this option will display the Credit/Debit Card Information fields: Card Type, Card #, Card Security Code, Expiration Date, and Billing Information. Mandatory fields are marked with a red asterisk "*."
2. New Bank Account. Clicking this option will display the Bank Account Information fields for Account Type, ABA Routing number, Bank Account Number, Account Name etc.
3. Previously Used Card or Bank account. This is the system default and will be selected each time this page is accessed. To delete a previously used card or bank account, click the Remove button.
4. Transfer funds from FINRA Flex-Funding Account. Clicking this radio button will allow funds to be transferred from your FINRA Flex-Funding account to pay the invoice(s) selected. Paying an invoice from the Flex-Funding account is termed "Reallocation." Funds are transferred from the account and reallocated to pay the selected invoice(s). Reallocation entitlement is required to use this feature. Contact your SAA for entitlement to the reallocation privilege. These transfers are noted as REALLOCATION in the E-Bill Transaction Type column. Within CRD Accounting, this transfer is detailed as "EBILL REALLOCATION." Note: Individuals will receive an email confirming the transfer request, once the transfer has been processed, if the transfer fails to process and when the transfer request fails due to a technical issue.
5. Previously used credit cards and bank accounts will be displayed in the Previously Used Cards or Bank Accounts section. Once a payment selection has been made, continue to the next step.

7. Click the Update E-mail hyperlink to edit the email address.

8. Check the box next to the FINRA E-Bill Program Agreement and Terms of Use. Declining the Terms and Conditions will prevent you from making your payment.

9. Click Submit to submit the funds, Cancel to cancel the transaction.

10. The request is processing - do not close the browser until the transaction has been completed.

11. The system displays a message indicating the payment has been processed successfully. The system sends an email notification regarding the transaction. Notice the message below the transaction information, "Click here to return to the starting page."

Invoices - Closed Invoices

1. Navigate to the Closed Invoices section to view details of the closed or invoices with credit invoices.amount.

2. The following features are available

1.  Filter on the type of invoice that you are looking for
2. Filter on the Invoice Date to narrow down the range further
3. Underlying transactions like Posted activity on an invoice is now available along with the invoice. Activity dated from February 1, 2016, and later is available.

Invoices - Invoice Deliver Options

1. Navigate to the Invoice Deliver Option section to request mailed invoices.

2. Selection of invoice types

1. Please select to enable paper invoices for the following invoice types. FINRA’s preferred invoice delivery method is E-Bill. Updates to this page will be reflected on future dated invoices only and will be at the firm level.
2. Some invoice types are selected by default to address regulatory requirements.

AutoPay

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E-Bill users can set E-Bill to to set parameters to automatically pay invoices and fund their FINRA Flex-Funding account. Based on the parameters, E-Bill will automatically initiate a payment on the user’s behalf using the user’s saved ACH account information.

Setting a Flex-Funding Account AutoPay

Procedures:

1. Select the AutoPay tab and click on the Manage AutoPay.

2. Select the ‘New AutoPay’ dropdown and click on the Flex-Funding Deposit.

3. Setting up New Flex-Funding AutoPay

1. Select the frequency by entering the deposit amount and the threshold amount
2. Choose a previously saved payment method or you may prefer to use a ‘New Bank Account’. In case of a ‘New Bank Account’, FINRA will not retain ANY information regarding your bank account. All information supplied will be forwarded to the payment network for processing. the payment provider will automatically retain your information. FINRA will re-use this information for submitting future payments so that you do not have to re-enter the payment information every time.
3. Accept the terms and conditions
4. Save your new deposit.

3. Setting up New Invoice AutoPay

1. Choose from available invoice types – if an invoice type is not available it is because it has been previously setup or this invoice type is not available for your firm.
2. Select the frequency by determining how many days after invoice generation date should an invoice be paid.
3. Choose a previously saved payment method or you may prefer to use a ‘New Bank Account’. In case of a ‘New Bank Account’, FINRA will not retain ANY information regarding your bank account. All information supplied will be forwarded to the payment network for processing. the payment provider will automatically retain your information. FINRA will re-use this information for submitting future payments so that you do not have to re-enter the payment information every time.
4. Accept the terms and conditions
5. Save your new deposit.

4. Review and update your subscription

1. You may review your subscriptions in the review grid
2. You may delete your subscriptions and recreate new ones in case you wish to change them

Alerts

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E-Bill users can set email subscriptions for events in E-Bill, such as Flex-Funding Account selections, Renewal statement Selections, Invoices, and General Settings.

Setting a Flex-Funding Account Alert

Procedures:

1. Select the Alerts tab and click on the Flex-Funding Account option.

2. There are three Alerts related to the Flex-Funding account - if the Account's sufficient balance is below a specified number; if the Account's sufficient balance is above a specified number; or if funds are withdrawn for purposes unrelated to CRD/IARD Fees.

Setting a Renewal Statement Alert

Procedures:

1. Select the Alerts tab and click on the Renewal Statement selection.

2. There are six alerts related to the Renewal Statement - preliminary renewal statements; final renewal statements; preliminary renewal statement payment posted; final renewal statement paid in full; preliminary renewal statement due within a specified amount of days; and the final renewal statement due in a specified amount of days.

Setting an Invoice Alert

Procedures:

1. Select Alerts tab and click on the Invoices option.

2. There are three alerts related to Invoices - when a new invoice is available; when an invoice is due in a specific number of days, and when an invoice is past due a specific number of days. Invoices Alerts can be set up for any of the Invoice types.

Alerts General Settings

Procedures:

1. Select the Alerts tab and click on General Settings

2. There are three alerts related to General Settings - New Announcements on E-Bill, Willing to participate in user testing and release notice.

Alerts History

Alerts are sent out via email and stored in the Alerts History Section.

Procedures:

1. Select the Alerts tab and click on Alert History

2. The alerts that have been sent via email are displayed on the Alert History page.

3. Click the Alert Type filter to sort by a specific alert type.

Alerts Active Subscription and History

Current alert subscriptions and a history of subscription activity for a 12 month period are displayed in the Active Subscriptions and History page.

Procedures:

1. Select the Alerts tab and click on Active Subscription and History.

2. The Active Subscription and History page displays a table with all active alerts.

Alerts Active Subscription and History SAA View

The SAA view differs from the standard signed-in user. The SAA has read-only ability to review alerts that have been subscribed to by other user(s). However, the SAA cannot subscribe users to Alert subscriptions. Each user must subscribe to alerts individually.

Reports

1. Financial transactions are available as downloads via the reports tab.

2. Relevant parameters can be selected before generating the reports.

3. Reports can be generated as PDF and CSV.

Procedures:

E-Bill Terminology

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Flex-Funding Account – The Flex-Funding account is the primary account in which firms deposit funds for day-to-day registration transactions to occur or invoices be paid.

Renewal – Financial activity related to the annual renewal program, including the Renewal Statement and historical renewal payments.

Sufficient Account Status – Projected Balance of firm's Flex-Funding Account is $0.01 or more. Sufficient status is indicated by a positive number.

Deficient Account Status – Projected Balance of firm's Flex-Funding Account is $0.00 or less. Deficient status is indicated by a negative number. If the firm's account balance goes below $0.00 at any point throughout the day, the firm's account status will become Deficient and fees will not be processed until the account becomes Sufficient again.

Estimated Balance – This is an ESTIMATE ONLY and may be subject to additional transactions that are not reflected due to overnight processing. Estimated Balance is the net of Last Posted Balance and any Funds Deficient Transactions and Pending Transactions.

Estimated Balance Status – The Estimated balance status is defined as Sufficient or Deficient and is dependent on the running balance.

Last Posted Balance - This balance includes transactions posted to the account. Transactions are posted during overnight processing – please refer to www.finra.org/ebill/ for the processing schedule.

Funds Deficient Transactions - Registration/exam requests that are held until there are sufficient funds in the Last Posted Balance to pay for all Funds Deficient Transactions.

Pending Transactions - Transactions submitted via E-Bill and CRD/IARD but not yet been posted to the account. Pending checks and wires are not included. Pending transactions are generally posted during the next overnight processing cycle and then reflected in the Posted Balance.

Beginning Balance – Posted balance at the beginning of selected date range.

Ending Balance – Posted balance at the end of the selected date range.

Deposits – Deposits made into the Flex-Funding Account.

Fees – Day-to-day registration transactions

Withdrawals – Any funds withdrawn from the firm's Flex-Funding Account that are not related to the CRD/IARD.