ACH [check] payment

Hi there, @cfoland. Let me help you clear your vendor balance in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Before we proceed, could you confirm whether the balance is in a positive or negative amount?

If your vendor has a positive balance, it indicates outstanding unpaid bills. In this case, you don't need to create new bills to attach the checks.

To link the checks appropriately, I suggest editing them and selecting the Accounts Payable account in the Account column. This action will create vendor credits that can offset their outstanding balance. Here are the steps:

1. Go to Lists and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Look for the bank where you recorded the check, then double-click it to open.
3. Find the check and double-click it to open.
4. In the Expenses tab, choose Accounts Payable under the Account column.
5. Click Save & Close, then Yes to confirm.

Next, utilize the Pay Bills feature to link the payments and checks. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Vendors menu and select Pay bills.
2. Check the bill transaction boxes.
3. Select Set Credits, then check the credit transaction boxes that you've recorded.
4. Click Done and select Pay Selected Bills.

If the vendor's balance is negative, indicating they have a credit balance, you can simply create a bill to offset it. Then, follow the above steps to link them using Pay Bills.

QuickBooks Desktop provides various pre-built vendor reports to track your company's expenses and accounts payable. You can refer to this article on how to access them: QuickBooks Desktop Vendor Reports.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions about attaching checks to bills and managing your vendor's balance. I'm here to assist. Have a great day!

Still in need of some help.

When I find the check and open it, there is no "Expense" tab!

I ensure you can locate the Expense tab, Cfoland. Let me show you the way by following the steps provided by my colleague in QuickBooks Desktop.

Upon opening the check, you'll find an Expense section where you can input the account details.

Also, you can send us a screenshot so we can identify we're facing the same view.

However, if this page isn't visible on your end, let's ensure you've updated your account to the latest release. Please take this article as your reference on how to keep QuickBooks up-to-date: Update QuickBooks Desktop to the latest release.

Additionally, we can review this page that will provide more information about the managing your chart of accounts: Add, edit, or delete accounts in QuickBooks Desktop.

I'll be here if you need other help managing your vendor bills. Ping me in this loop and I'll get back to you soon. 

Below is what I see!@

I have no idea how a person paid this without attaching it to an invoice.

Thanks for providing us with more details about your concern, @cfoland.

A person could've paid the bill without linking it to any transaction by entering the payment value directly into the Amount Paid field. Additionally, there's likely no entry displayed in the window due to its deletion.

To rectify the situation, I recommend running the Transaction List by Vendor report to trace the entry associated with the payment. Here are the steps:

1. Navigate to the Reports menu and select Vendors & Payables.

2. Open the Transaction List by Vendor report.

3. Click on the Customize Report button and go to the Display tab.

4. Ensure the Report Date Range is set correctly. Then, enter Billing Status on the Columns search field and tick the checkbox.

5. Head to the Filters tab, then type and select Transaction Type in the Search Filters field.

6. Under the Transaction Type dropdown, choose Multiple Transaction Types, then select Check, Bill, and Bill Payment.

7. Hit OK twice.

Moreover, you can review transaction changes in the audit history. This way, you'll be able to find out who made the modifications, when they were created, and what they were.

In case you want to set up an automatic recurring payment, check out this article for guidance: Create an automatic recurring payment (check) to a vendor.

Feel free to swing by this thread if you have more questions or need help with your bill payments. We're readily available to assist you. Have a great day ahead!