> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lead.bank/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# ACH Timing & Availability

> Lead's ACH processing windows, cutoff times, and how settlement timing is determined.

Lead submits ACH entries to the Fed in six processing windows each business day. A transfer goes out in the next window after it passes validation, provided it reaches Lead before that window's cutoff. Cutoffs are firm: anything received after a cutoff is queued for the next available window, with no exceptions.

Two things determine when a transfer settles:

* **How you asked for it to be delivered.** For API transfers, the [`delivery_type`](/api-reference/endpoint/ach/create-an-ach#body-delivery-type) you choose at creation: `same_business_day` or `next_business_day`. For file submissions, the [`effective_date` fields in the file](/file-reference/balances-and-transactions/transactions-schema).
* **Which window your submission lands in**, based on the cutoff times below.

All times are Central Time. Business days are weekdays that are not Federal Reserve holidays; transfers submitted on a weekend or holiday settle on the next business day. Submit as early as you can ahead of a cutoff to avoid slipping into the next window.

## Same Day ACH

Transfers created with `delivery_type: same_business_day` settle within hours, through the first three windows of the day:

| **Lead's Cutoff** | **Settlement**                   |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------- |
| 9:00 a.m. CT      | 12:00 p.m. CT, same business day |
| 1:15 p.m. CT      | 4:00 p.m. CT, same business day  |
| 2:00 p.m. CT      | 5:00 p.m. CT, same business day  |

Submit before 2:00 p.m. CT on a business day to settle that day. After 2:00 p.m. CT, a same-day transfer is converted to next-day delivery and settles at 7:30 a.m. CT on the next business day. After 10:00 p.m. CT on the evening before a business day, it is instead carried in that business day's same-day windows and settles at 12:00 p.m. CT. On a weekend or holiday, it settles at 7:30 a.m. CT on the next business day.

<Note>
  Nacha caps Same Day ACH at \$1,000,000 per transfer. A `same_business_day` transfer over that amount is processed as next-day.
</Note>

## Next Day ACH

Transfers created with `delivery_type: next_business_day` settle at 7:30 a.m. CT on the next business day, whichever of the six windows they go out in:

| **Lead's Cutoff** | **Settlement**                  |
| :---------------- | ------------------------------- |
| 9:00 a.m. CT      | 7:30 a.m. CT, next business day |
| 1:15 p.m. CT      | 7:30 a.m. CT, next business day |
| 3:15 p.m. CT      | 7:30 a.m. CT, next business day |
| 6:30 p.m. CT      | 7:30 a.m. CT, next business day |
| 9:15 p.m. CT      | 7:30 a.m. CT, next business day |
| 10:00 p.m. CT     | 7:30 a.m. CT, next business day |

Submit before 10:00 p.m. CT on a business day to settle at 7:30 a.m. CT the next business day. After 10:00 p.m. CT, the transfer misses the overnight window: it is processed with the next day's transfers and settles at 7:30 a.m. CT on the business day after that. For example, a transfer submitted Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. CT settles Thursday morning, while a transfer submitted late Friday night still settles Monday.

## ACH Returns

Returns use all six windows and settle same-day through the 3:15 p.m. CT window:

| **Lead's Cutoff** | **Settlement**                   |
| :---------------- | :------------------------------- |
| 9:00 a.m. CT      | 12:00 p.m. CT, same business day |
| 1:15 p.m. CT      | 4:00 p.m. CT, same business day  |
| 3:15 p.m. CT      | 5:00 p.m. CT, same business day  |
| 6:30 p.m. CT      | 7:30 a.m. CT, next business day  |
| 9:15 p.m. CT      | 7:30 a.m. CT, next business day  |
| 10:00 p.m. CT     | 7:30 a.m. CT, next business day  |

Settlement timing is separate from return deadlines. A return must still be submitted within its Nacha return window; see [Returns, Reversals, & Exceptions](/products/ach/exceptions) for those rules and Lead's return cutoffs.

## Try It

Pick a submission time and type to see when a transfer is expected to settle. The estimator applies the cutoff tables above, including weekends and Federal Reserve holidays.

<div id="ach-settlement-calculator" />

If the estimator doesn't load, the tables above contain the same rules.