Prior Day Reporting Guide

Prior Day reporting provides a daily, file-based summary of account balances and transaction activity from the previous reporting period. It is designed to support reconciliation, financial reporting, and downstream processing workflows.

This guide explains how Prior Day reports are generated, when they are delivered, and what to expect across business days, weekends, and holidays.

Overview

Prior Day reporting delivers CSV files once per day, summarizing activity from the prior reporting period.

Key characteristics:

• Daily delivery (single batch per day)
• Includes prior-day activity across transactions and accounts
• Files are delivered even when no activity occurred
• Designed for reconciliation and financial workflows

Like all Newline CSV reporting, Prior Day files contain the same underlying data available via the API, delivered in a file-based format for batch consumption.

Prior Day Processing Window

Prior Day report generation follows a consistent daily processing cycle.

When Processing Begins

• Prior Day processing begins immediately after the prior reporting day closes
• File generation starts at midnight UTC (approximately 8 PM or 9 PM ET depending on daylight savings time)

Key Characteristics

• Processing occurs within a consistent, repeatable window each day
• Processing is not dependent on client activity volume
• All enabled Prior Day reports are generated as part of a single batch process

Delivery Timeframe

Typical Delivery Timing

• Files are typically delivered within ~1 hour after generation begins

Variability

Delivery timing may vary slightly due to:

• System processing load
• File size and report volume
• Downstream transfer timing via Sterling MFT

Important:
Minor variations in delivery timing are normal and expected. Files should still arrive within a predictable operational window each day.

Special Consideration — Posted Transactions Enabled

If the Prior Day Posted Transactions report is enabled, delivery timing may differ from other Prior Day reports.

Because posted transactions depend on bank posting cycles (which follow business-day processing), these reports may be delivered by the end of the next calendar day rather than within the standard ~1 hour window.

This is expected behavior and reflects the dependency on bank statement posting.

Weekend & Holiday Behavior

Prior Day reporting does not pause on weekends or holidays.

What to Expect

• Reports are generated and delivered every day, including non-business days
• Files may contain:
  • Full data (if activity occurred)
  • Header-only files if no qualifying activity occurred

Why Files May Be Empty

• Settlement activity may be limited or absent
• Posting activity does not occur on bank-closed days

From reporting behavior:

• Statement-posted data reflects business-day activity only
• Weekend and holiday reports often contain unchanged or empty data

Prior Day Report Types

Each Prior Day report reflects a different aspect of platform activity.

1. Prior Day Settled Transactions

Represents:

• All transactions that completed settlement during the prior reporting period

Behavior:

• Includes all settled transactions over the prior day
• May still contain data on weekends depending on settlement timing

2. Prior Day Updated Transactions

Represents:

• Changes to transaction records (status updates, corrections)

Behavior:

• Includes final transaction states (e.g., failed, canceled)
• Includes updates such as ACH Notifications of Change (NOCs)
• May be empty if no updates occurred during the prior period

3. Prior Day Accounts

Represents:

• Account balances derived from prior-day activity

How Balances Are Calculated:

• Based on settled transactions from the prior reporting period

Additional Notes:

• May include a statement closing balance derived from posted transactions (if enabled)
• Values may remain unchanged on weekends and holidays

4. Prior Day Posted Transactions (if enabled)

Represents:

• Transactions that have posted to the bank statement

Behavior:

• Reflects the prior business banking day
• Often empty on weekends and holidays because posting does not occur on non-business days

Consistency & Automation Expectations

Prior Day reporting is designed for predictable automation.

Key Principles

• Files are always delivered, regardless of activity
• Files may contain:
  • Data rows
  • Header row only (no data rows)

From the refresher session:

• Header-only files still contain a single header row and no records

Important Guidance

• An empty file does not indicate an error
• Systems should be designed to:
  • Accept files on a fixed schedule
  • Handle empty files without failure

Daylight Savings Time (DST) Behavior

Prior Day reporting operates on a fixed UTC-based schedule.

What This Means

• Generation timing is consistent in UTC
• Local delivery times may appear to shift during DST transitions

Example:

• Files may arrive at 8 PM ET vs 9 PM ET, depending on DST

Important:
This is expected and does not indicate a change in processing behavior.

Prior Day Reporting Timeline

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Frequently Asked Questions

When should I expect my Prior Day reports each day?

Prior Day reports begin generating at midnight UTC and are typically delivered within approximately one hour.

Why did I receive a Prior Day file on a holiday?

Prior Day reporting runs every day. Files are delivered regardless of whether activity occurred.

Why is my Prior Day file empty?

Files are generated on a schedule. If no qualifying activity occurred, the file will contain only the header row. This is expected behavior.

Does the timing change during Daylight Savings Time?

The underlying process does not change. However, delivery time may appear shifted relative to your local timezone because reporting operates in UTC.

How do I know if my Prior Day report failed to generate?

If no file is delivered at all, this may indicate an issue. However, receiving a header-only file indicates successful generation with no data for that period.

Key Takeaways

• Prior Day reporting provides daily summaries of prior-period activity
• Reports are generated on a consistent UTC-based schedule (midnight UTC)
• Files are typically delivered within ~1 hour
• Reporting continues on weekends and holidays
• Empty (header-only) files are expected and correct
• Each report type reflects a distinct stage of the transaction lifecycle (settled, updated, posted, balances)