Bills that were paid twice by credit card

Diane18 · ‎October 31, 2019

My husband pays one company's statements by credit card. Sometimes he misses payment and has to pay 2 months at once. Once, he paid by credit card after the statement was issued so when he received their statement, he paid the total - which included the items on the last statement he just paid. My problem is I don't know how to reconcile the credit card now. The first payment was $77.96 and when the next statement came in he paid $114.25 which included the $77.96. His payment should have only been $36.29. Now I can't properly reconcile the VISA because I don't have that $114.25 as a bill payment in QB. I hope this makes sense.

LauraAB · ‎November 04, 2019

Hi Diane. Thanks for the clarification about what happened. I see what you're saying now and can help you with this.

When it comes to recording an overpayment made to a vendor, there are a couple of things to consider: did the vendor refund you the money or is it being used as a credit toward the next bill?

Whichever the situation, I recommend creating both bills and their payments, then refunding or creating a credit for the duplicated amount of $77.96. So you'd have the first bill of $77.96 plus its payment, which is fine. Then you'd enter the second bill of $114.25 plus its payment so that the amount hits on the card in QuickBooks and allows you to reconcile it properly.

To go the route of creating a credit afterward, open up the Enter Bills feature and choose the Credit option. Enter the vendor, what the bill was for, and the amount being credited. Hit Save & Close. This will create a credit on the account that can be used toward a future bill. You would simply pick Set Credits in the Pay Bills window and choose the credit when it comes time to do so.

If the vendor has refunded the money, I recommend checking out this article, which goes over a number of refund scenarios and how to handle them: Record a supplier refund in QuickBooks Desktop

It's always good to check in with an accountant if you feel unsure about this process. Let me know if you have questions about what I've outlined.

View solution in original post

LauraAB · ‎November 01, 2019

Hello Diane18,

Thanks for the details about what's happened with your bill payments. I can help you sort this out so you can reconcile.

In QuickBooks Desktop, it's important to mark your bills as paid when you pay them. What we recommend is entering the bills when you receive them using the Enter Bills feature in the program, but only use the Pay Bills feature when you've actually paid the bills.

For instance, say you get the bill for $77.96 on September 1 and the subsequent bill of $36.29 on October 1, but you don't pay both bills until October 15th. It's for October 15th that you would enter that you've paid those bills, meaning you'd leave them open until they're paid. You can either pay them both at once, creating a lump payment, or pay them individually. Just keep in mind that you paid them individually when you go to reconcile your account so that you know to check off both transactions against the lump sum on your bank statement.

For your situation, you may want to considered deleting the two bill payments or at the very least the payment for $77.96 if you entered it before it was actually paid, then go back and record the payment with the proper date. In doing this, all your numbers should line up when you go to reconcile.

Here are a few links to help you out.

If you'd like an agent to go over this with you, don't be afraid to get in touch by calling 1-877-772-9158. Learn more about hours and policies for our support teams here: Intuit QuickBooks Desktop software support policies

I hope that helps! Have a great weekend. :)

Diane18 · ‎November 04, 2019

Hi LauraAB - I understand how to pay bills within QB. I only do my husband's books about once a month (small business). What happened was my husband paid the $77.96 by VISA over the phone like he should have. He paid it at the end of the month so the next statement was in the mail already. Before I came in to update his books, he paid the total amount on that next statement by VISA over the phone. That statement included the $77.96 that he just paid so he paid it twice. In other words, he overpaid. How do I record an over payment to a vendor in QuickBooks? Deleting a payment doesn't solve the problem because the payments went through on the VISA. I hope I explained this properly.

LauraAB · ‎November 04, 2019

Hi Diane. Thanks for the clarification about what happened. I see what you're saying now and can help you with this.

When it comes to recording an overpayment made to a vendor, there are a couple of things to consider: did the vendor refund you the money or is it being used as a credit toward the next bill?

Whichever the situation, I recommend creating both bills and their payments, then refunding or creating a credit for the duplicated amount of $77.96. So you'd have the first bill of $77.96 plus its payment, which is fine. Then you'd enter the second bill of $114.25 plus its payment so that the amount hits on the card in QuickBooks and allows you to reconcile it properly.

To go the route of creating a credit afterward, open up the Enter Bills feature and choose the Credit option. Enter the vendor, what the bill was for, and the amount being credited. Hit Save & Close. This will create a credit on the account that can be used toward a future bill. You would simply pick Set Credits in the Pay Bills window and choose the credit when it comes time to do so.

If the vendor has refunded the money, I recommend checking out this article, which goes over a number of refund scenarios and how to handle them: Record a supplier refund in QuickBooks Desktop

It's always good to check in with an accountant if you feel unsure about this process. Let me know if you have questions about what I've outlined.

Diane18 · ‎November 06, 2019

That makes total sense. The vendor gave a credit towards the next statement. I don't know why I couldn't come up with that solution myself. I was working on it for so long, my brain was foggy. Thank you very much.

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Bills that were paid twice by credit card