How to Enter Vendor Bills using QuickBooks Online

Accounts Payable Preferences

The first thing you need to do is to turn on the accounts payable feature in the preference section and then  watch my  short video, see below. 


The following is a list of the procedures to you need to perform to set  up this important preference.

1.     Choose Vendors > Manage Bills.

2.     This will bring up a Mini-Interview window.  Say Yes to the question "Do you want to keep track of bills you owe, but wait to pay them later?".

3.     Click Finish.

Once this feature is turned on you will be able to use the QuickBooks Online accounts payable features in your business.


The video below will show you how to enter a bill into Accounts Payable using QuickBooks Online. Just in case you need the instructions I have included  the instructions to enter a bill below:


Choose Vendors, then select  Enter Bill.

1.     Vendor- The company that you owe the money to.

2.     Ref # - Enter the invoice #

3.     Amount Due - total amount of money you owe on this bill.

4.     Terms - when the vendor expects payment. For example: "net 30" means payment is due in 30 days, that is 30 days after the invoice date.

5.     Due Date - calculated based upon the Terms you have listed.

6.     Memo - note on the bill. This will not appear on the bill payments.

7.     Account Enter the category that the bill should be charged to i.e. supply expense,insurance expense

8.     Click Save.

Procedure - Bills are generally  processed by a bookkeeper  who enters them as payables in QuickBooks. These bills should be  paid every week or every two weeks.


Tip  - Bills should be approved by management or the owners  prior to their entry into accounts payable by the bookkeeper.  The approved invoice or billing should then be attached to the check and presented to management for signature when processing the bill for payment. This procedure and related approval can be performed either in a paper format or paperless format. If  there is no prior approval of the bill before entry into QuickBooks payables  there is the risk that unauthorized payments may be processed and paid.