We use Commerce to create Purchase Orders. Many of the purchase orders are paid before the inventory is actually received. How do I record payment of the bills in QBO?

Thanks for visiting the Community, lynne-turn-erin-.

I can give steps on how you can record the payment.

You can use Bank Deposit to record your payment for this vendor. Then, apply the transaction once you have the bill created.

Here's how:

1. Go to + New > Bank deposit.
2. Select the bank account from the Account drop-down.
3. In the Add funds to this deposit section, select the vendor's name from the Received From column.
4. From the Account field, choose Accounts Payable.
5. Add the Description or Payment Method.
6. Enter the payment in the Amount box.
7. Click Save and close.

Here's a sample screenshot for a visual reference:

When you're ready to add the purchase order to a bill, please check out the steps in this article: Add purchase orders to expenses, bills, or checks in QuickBooks Online.

Once the bill is created, you can apply the deposit to the bill payment by following these steps:

1. Go to Expenses > Vendors.
2. Select the vendor's name and open the bill. 
3. Click the Mark as Paid button.
4. In the Bill Payment page, add put a check mark on the deposit. 
5. Hit Save and close. 

To learn more about creating bills and recording the payments, please feel free to read this link: Enter bills and record bill payments in QuickBooks Online.

If you have more questions related to vendors or need help with other task, please let me know in your reply below. I'll be around to share the solutions. Take care!

The purchase orders created in Commerce are for items that we ordered and are paying for.  I'm trying to record an entry for those payments, and apply the payments to the purchase orders that are in Commerce (but don't show yet in QBO - I'm guessing because they are not marked as "received" yet).  We have not received any money, so I don't want to record a deposit. Am I misunderstanding your advice?

I appreciate you for getting back to this thread, @lynne-turn-erin-.

When you record a payment, it will be marked as received once you created the bill. To create one, follow the steps below: 

1. Click + New button.
2. Choose Bill. 
3. From the Payee ▼ dropdown, select the vendor. This opens a window with their open purchase orders.
4. Click Add for the correct purchase order. This adds the items from the purchase order. They appear in the Item details section.
5. If you plan to bill a customer for a specific item, select the Billable checkbox. Then add the customer you plan to bill in the Customer column.
6. Once done, click Save and close.

You can also review this link for more info: Add purchase orders to expenses, bills, or checks in QuickBooks Online.

Moreover, learn how to enter bills to keep track of your payables. Entering your income and expenses gives a more complete picture of your business and profit.

Keep me posted if you have other questions about handling purchase orders in QuickBooks. I'll be around to help you always. Have a good day!

This doesn't work either for a couple of reasons:

-The purchase order does not show as an open purchase order for the vendor until the goods have been received (or in other words, "Active" purchase orders in Commerce do not show in QBO).  The goods have not been received, so the purchase order does not show in QBO, and I'm not able to select it when paying a bill.

-I am pre-paying for a purchase order.  We have not received the goods yet, so I do not want them marked as received in the system.  

I also notice that the system appears to be backdating bills.  For instance, I have a purchase order with an issue date in November.  It remained active until January, when the goods were received.  In January when the goods were received in the system (and the purchase order was no longer active), an automatic entry was created in QBO to recognize the bill and add it to Prepaid Inventory/Accounts Payable.  The transaction journal entry was backdated to the original issue date of November, even though the goods weren't received until January.  What is happening?  Is this a setting in our system?

Hello there, @lynne-turn-erin-.

Since the issue persists after performing the steps given above, I'd recommend getting in touch with our Customer Support Team. This way, they can pull up your account in a secure environment and check the cause of the issue.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Help icon.

2. Click Contact Us.

3. Enter your questions or concerns and click on Let's talk.

4. Choose either Start a chat or Get a callback.

To ensure that you'll be assisted on time, I'd suggest reaching out to them during their support hours. For more details, please see this article: QuickBooks Online Support.

To learn more about creating bills and recording the payments, please feel free to read this link: Enter bills and record bill payments in QuickBooks Online.

Please come back and keep us posted on how it goes, @lynne-turn-erin-. We're always here to help you out. Have a good one.

I am in a similar situation and often pay for inventory before receiving it and so it would be nice to also have the option to pay Purchase Orders BEFORE receiving the goods. I was told my a Quickbooks Commerce sales agent that these steps were separate (paying vs receiving), but it seems like a PO must be closed (good received) before a bill can be created for it. That is unfortunate as so many vendors require payment upfront.