---
updatedAt: 2026-09-11T19:45:03.000Z
agentTools:
  projectIndex: https://docs.helix.q2.com/llms.txt
---

# Overview

The Helix API is designed to handle typical web usage patterns. That is, human users clicking on website links and subsequently performing typical human user volumes of Helix API calls. To enforce this, the throttling mechanism detailed in [API Call Limit](https://docs.helix.q2.com/reference/rate-limiting) was introduced to ensure the health of the system as a whole.

However, with any system integration, there are times when mass quantities of data need to be transferred. Helix supports this need via the following files:

<Table align={["left","left","left"]}>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>
        File Type
      </th>

      <th>
        Delivery Frequency
      </th>

      <th>
        Summary
      </th>
    </tr>
  </thead>

  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>
        [Account Balance File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/account-balance-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains basic account information (including balances) for all accounts in an `Open` status or all accounts which moved to a `Closed` status on a given day.
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [ACH Transaction File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/ach-transaction-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily (default) or hourly (upon request)
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains all ACH transactions that posted on a given day/hour
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Admin Activity Files](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/admin-activity-files)
      </td>

      <td>
        Multiple times per day
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains Admin Portal activity that has occurred since the previous file
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Archived Customer Extract File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/archived-customer-extract-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains all Customers in Helix for a given program that moved to `status=Archived` on a given day.
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Bulk Account Close Process](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/bulk-account-close-process)
      </td>

      <td>
        As Requested

        * _Note_\*: This file is processed manually. Users must open a support ticket for the file to be processed. Allow up to 4 business days.
      </td>

      <td>
        Process large numbers of [/account/close](https://docs.helix.q2.com/reference/accountclose) API calls
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Bulk Account Lock Process](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/bulk-account-lock-process)
      </td>

      <td>
        Multiple times per day
      </td>

      <td>
        Process large numbers of [/account/lock](https://docs.helix.q2.com/reference/accountlock) API calls
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Bulk Account Unlock Process](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/bulk-account-unlock-process)
      </td>

      <td>
        Multiple times per day
      </td>

      <td>
        Process large numbers of [/account/unlock](https://docs.helix.q2.com/reference/accountunlock) API calls
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Bulk Transfer Process](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/bulk-transfer-process)
      </td>

      <td>
        Multiple times per day
      </td>

      <td>
        Process large numbers of [/transfer/create](https://docs.helix.q2.com/reference/transfercreate) API calls
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Card Event Notification File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/card-event-notification-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Multiple times per day
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains debit card properties which tie back to events in the corresponding [Event Notification File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/event-notification-file)
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Card Transaction File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/card-transaction-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains all card transactions  on a given day
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Customer File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/customer-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains basic customer information for all customers in a `Verified` status or all customers which moved to an `Archived` status on a given day.
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Customer Beneficiary File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/customer-beneficiary-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily (default) or upon request
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains all customer beneficiaries in Helix for a given program.
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Customer Registration File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/customer-registration-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains all newly registered customers
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Event Notification File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/event-notification-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Multiple times per day
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains all notable events that have occurred since the previous event notification file
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [External Account File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/external-account-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains all external accounts for customers in a `Verified` status or customers which moved to an `Archived` status on a given day.
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Posted Transaction File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/posted-transaction-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains all transactions that posted on a given day
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Recurring Contribution Process](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/recurring-contribution-process)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily
      </td>

      <td>
        Outlines the process for configuring and managing recurring deposits into Helix accounts
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Statement Event Notification File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/statement-event-notification-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily
      </td>

      <td>
        Contains statement properties which tie back to events in the corresponding [Event Notification File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/event-notification-file)
      </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
      <td>
        [Trial Balance File](https://docs.helix.q2.com/docs/trial-balance-file)
      </td>

      <td>
        Once daily
      </td>

      <td>
        A listing of all accounts and program accounts
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</Table>

If your organization has the need to perform a large volume of requests to any other routes in the Helix API, or access to other data points within Helix, please contact us to discuss.

<Callout icon="🚧" theme="warn">
  ### **Format Disclaimer**

  Helix reserves the right to append new field(s) to the end of any Header or Content line without notice. This is to allow new data points to be added as needed in a timely fashion.

  **Implementation Note**
  Your code should be written such that unexpected characters after the "last" field but prior to the end of each line should be ignored. That is, if the file is documented as being 872 bytes per line, receiving a file with 984 bytes per line should not disrupt your processing. This applies to both Header and Content lines.

  **File Name Disclaimer**
  The date in file name should be used as a guideline for human eyes only. Any date-related programmatic dependencies should rely on the `FileCreatedDate` or `FileEffectiveDate` contained within the header line of each file, as these will be precise to the second and will be in the appropriate timezone.
</Callout>