Paying bills internally (not using QuickBooks Payment feature)

lomontman · ‎March 26, 2025

Just migrated from QBMac to QBO. I can't seem to pay some of my bills the way I used to do it with QBMac. I occasionally purchase inventory online with a credit card. I immediately enter the credit card transaction using Accounts Payable for the account. Sometime afterward I'll receive a bill from the vendor - sometimes, because of backordered items, not for weeks. I would enter the bill when I receive it, then choose Vendors -> Pay Bills, see all my open bills and any payments in a new window. I would put a check in the payment column for both the bill and the payment, they would add to zero and I'd be done.

QBO won't do this. It demands either using QB Payments, or entering a new payment. Perhaps I'm missing something - how do I outsmart QBO and get it to bring up all credits to Accounts Payable for a vendor when I'm trying to pay the bill and simply apply the credit to the open bill?

FishingForAnswers · ‎March 26, 2025

@lomontman Don't have much to add here except that there should be an actual credit card function for you to use in QBO, rather than backdooring through other functions for your credit card purchases.

Rea_M · ‎March 26, 2025

Welcome back to the Community, lomontman! It’s wonderful to see you here again! Properly entering bills and managing payments is essential for keeping track of your expenses effectively. I’m here to help you navigate through QuickBooks Online (QBO) so you can confidently manage your business transactions.

In QBO, you can easily track your bill payments manually, just like in QuickBooks for Mac. If you've selected the Schedule Payment option, you'll see a prompt to use QuickBooks Payments. To continue smoothly, choose Save and Close or Save instead to complete the process successfully. Here are the steps to record payments toward your bills:

Go to + New and pick Pay bills.
From the Payment account dropdown, select the account (credit card) you paid the bill from.
Enter the Payment date.
Choose the checkboxes for the bill(s) you made a payment towards.
In the Payment column, enter the amount you paid towards each bill. If you have credit with the vendor, you can apply it in the Credit Applied column.
Hit Save and Close or Save.

For the comprehensive guide to tracking your bills and recording the payments in QBO, please see this article: Enter and manage bills and bill payments in QuickBooks Online.

Moreover, if you're interested in using QuickBooks Bill Pay in the future to schedule online bill payments, check out this article for the details: Learn about QuickBooks Bill Pay for QuickBooks Online.

Additionally, have you had the chance to connect with our QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted team? They focus on making revenue and financial management easier for you. I highly recommend looking at what they offer, as their skills can be a great asset for your accounting needs!

It was a pleasure guiding you, lomontman! I'm looking forward to your return to the Community whenever you need support with your QuickBooks accounts and transactions. Feel free to reach out anytime. Wishing you a wonderful day ahead!

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Paying bills internally (not using QuickBooks Payment feature)

Paying bills internally (not using QuickBooks Payment feature)

Paying bills internally (not using QuickBooks Payment feature)

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