Simple starter version. can i enter a bill and increase accounts payable? then write a manual check. when the check clears will it decrease accounts payable?

You can signup for a separate Melio account for free to manage and pay bills. Then you will register the transactions manually in your Simple Start.

https://affiliates.meliopayments.com/pricing

Thanks for reaching out to the Community, chic316860.

When you enter an unpaid bill, your Accounts Payable (AP) balance will increase. Once you've entered a payment and linked it with the bill, your AP balance will decrease to show what was paid.

Here's how to pay bills with checks:

1. In the left navigation bar, use your + New button, then click Check.
2. From the Payee drop-down list, choose a vendor.
3. You'll see a window with all of that vendor's outstanding bills. Hit Add to add an open bill to your check. If you don't see an Add option, use the small arrow next to your amount. In the event you have a credit with your vendor, you can also add it from the Credits section.
4. From your Bank/Credit account drop-down, pick the account you made your check payment from.
5. In the Outstanding Transactions area, choose which bills your payment went to. If it covers multiple bills, tick each of their checkboxes. You can split the payment and enter an amount for each bill in your Payment column.
6. Select Save.

I've also included a detailed resource about working with bills which may come in handy moving forward: Enter/manage bills & bill payments

Please feel welcome to send a reply if there's any questions. Have a great day!

i appreciate the replies but i do not think the ability to enter a bill is present in the simple starter version. you need to upgrade to a higher version to get the 'bill management' capability. i took that to mean the link to you bank to upload bills to be paid. but you cannot even enter a bill in the simple version. so without the ability to enter a bill i guess there would be no need for an accounts payable liability account.