QuickBooks Entering & Paying Bills

Welcome back to Educator.com0000

This lesson today is entering and paying bills.0003

We are going to discuss how we can handle your business with bills. It is a great feature in business.0006

We have to pay individuals or other vendors- not my favorite thing to do. I would rather receive the money.0012

In business, we have got many different ways that we can take care of our bills and handle the bills.0020

In QuickBooks, we can handle those in a couple of ways.0024

One situation we cannot avoid is for instance, you might be at a retailer, and you have to write a handwritten check.0030

At which point, then, you will have to go back to QuickBooks, enter in the information manually to record that check.0038

There are other examples. For instance, you might have to write a check and print it right there and then for a bill that might be due.0046

Or you have someone here that is delivering something to your office, then, you have to write them a check right then and there.0053

So, then, you can utilize QuickBooks. Enter the information and print the check from QuickBooks.0059

Then, the other scenario is certainly that when we get bills in that are due at a later date, we can use the Accounts Payable system.0066

And that is what we are going to be talking about mostly in this lesson today, is the accounts payable situation.0074

Then, there are other areas where we may be able to pay with a credit card entering those expenses using the credit card, as well.0080

So, we are going to be working currently with the bill pay or the Accounts Payable system in QuickBooks.0090

QuickBooks uses the accounts payable function very nicely, so we can go ahead and setup, kind of, a tickler file.0098

It handles it in a sense that it can remind and give us reminders of what is due.0106

I always recommend to all my clients that they enter in their bills as soon they get them from the mail, enter it into QuickBooks,0113

so that then, you can put in the due date, and you can keep track of your cash flow.0122

You can keep track of what bills are due, at which date, and you can manage your cash a little bit easier and better at utilizing Accounts Payable system0127

especially if you have a lot of bills, and you are growing your business.0137

So, the first thing we are going to do is we are going to talk a little bit about now using the QuickBooks for accounts payable.0142

Next, we are going to be discussing on how to use the Accounts Payable system.0156

And from the Lists menu in QuickBooks...hopefully, I have here QuickBooks open by now.0163

From the Lists menu, we are going to choose Chart of Accounts, and we are going to scroll on down to our Accounts Payable under the Chart of Accounts.0168

And we are going to double click on that.0179

It is going to open up the Accounts Payable Register just like a check register, just like any other register in QuickBooks.0182

It has the same functionality, same information, date, the number and the type, the vendor account, memo.0191

This is going to give us a little bit of information regarding the due date, when it is due,0198

if it has been paid or not and the billed amount and the paid amount when we make payments.0203

So, this is going to give us a little synopsis and helps to keep track of each bill the we have actually entered along with the due date.0210

That is our Accounts Payable Register. There is a lot of other reports that we would get into the next lesson.0220

And we will start talking about the various reports that we can look at and other accounts payable reporting.0226

We will hit Escape once, or we will hit Escape twice to close those two windows.0235

So, now, we are going to talk about entering bills.0242

Now, when we get our bills in the mail, it is always a fun thing to do. We get our bills in the mail.0246

We realize we owe somebody else money for the services in which they have provided to us or the products in which we have purchased.0252

And we need to make sure that we enter those.0259

In this scenario, what we are going to do, we are going to talk about how this company here in our QuickBooks Company File that we received the bill0261

that created some new brochures and business cards and whatnot for our business.0269

And they are going to go ahead, and part of that bill is a delivery charge to us.0274

And we are going to plan on paying that at a later date. We are not going to pay it right now.0280

We are going to pay it later. They are giving us a little bit of time.0284

So, we want to keep an eye on our accounts payable total, so we can see what is happening.0287

Just as a little quick reminder before we start this, we are going to go into Lists. We are going to look at our Chart of Accounts.0292

And we are going to highlight the accounts payable just so we can get an idea of our balance.0300

So, keep a note of what your balance is in your Chart of Accounts.0306

My example has a $41,636 balance. Your sample might be a little different file0309

if you are using your own business or you are using another sample file to work on.0316

So, keep an idea of what that balance is before we begin.0323

In order to enter a bill, I am going to go ahead and escape out of there, and we are going to go to the Vendor menu.0328

And we are going to look at Enter bills, OK?0337

When we go to Enter bills, it brings up our Billing screen, our Accounts Payable screen, and here, we have this is either a bill or a credit.0342

This is going to be a bill at this point.0351

Under the Vendor, the upper right or upper portion of the screen here it gives us similar to like if we are going to write a check.0354

It is a very similar format. This is where we are going to put in the bill or the invoice information.0363

At this point, we are going to type in the name of our vendor who printed our brochures, and we are going to type in Willis, W-I-L-L-I-S Advertising.0369

We will hit tab, and we do not have that in our Vendor List, so we are going to go ahead and choose Quick add to add it to our Vendor List.0382

At which point, I can go ahead and type in their address at 1234 Main Street, and it will be Sample City, California 90012.0391

We will hit tab on that, so we have at least the address that we are going to be sending it to.0410

We are going to click on the amount. If there is a reference number for the invoice or the bill that they gave to us, we can actually enter it here.0417

Enter their reference number or their invoice number. We can put that in there.0424

We can put in the amount due is $1500. This is how much we are paying.0428

Notice that it is going to give us 10 days from the date of today.0435

So, today's date in this example is 12-15-2016, and it is going to say it is due 10 days from receipt.0439

So, we are going to leave that as is, 10 days, in advance if we are going to pay it then.0447

We can always put in here in the Memo field that this is for brochures and business cards. We can do whatever we would like there.0454

Then, when we hit tab from the Memo, it is going to bring us down to the Expense categories where it is going to see the expenses here and the account.0467

What we are going choose is this is Printing. Let me type this properly- Printing and Reproduction.0476

When we hit tab from there, it is going to assign this amount of money of expense to Printing and Reproduction.0484

But, remember, we said that there is a delivery charge in this example.0491

So, we are going to say that it was $1450 just for the printing brochures and business cards.0495

And then, we are going to tab on through to go to the next line.0511

And then, on the next line, we are going to go ahead and click on the freight and delivery, and it will give us the balance.0516

So, notice that it prefilled the information. We put in up at top $1500 for the total bill.0529

When we changed the amount down here to $1450, it recalculates it say "Well, you need to still assign an additional $50, so we can equal the 1500 bill on total".0537

So, it gives us an idea with that, so it will automatically do that for us.0552

We can always put in the memo here that this is freight and delivery service, OK?0556

Now, when we have that all completed and filled out, it looks like there we have it.0565

Bill was received for $1500. We broke it out, $1450 for brochures and business cards and $50 for freight and delivery.0569

Now that we have that, we can go ahead and click on Save and close.0577

To change the address for our advertising company, I am going to go ahead and say "Yes, I want to update that record".0584

So, now, it will go ahead and update that vendor record with that.0591

Now, remember what our balance was on the accounts payable, so I am going to go take a look at that by clicking on Lists, Chart of Accounts.0595

I am going to go scroll down to Accounts Payable and see how the balance increased by $1500.0602

Now, we have that, we can look at it and see what happens, what QuickBooks does in the back end of things.0612

When we entered that bill, it took a credit of $1500 to accounts payable and then, debited our printing expense and our freight and delivery expense.0619

So, that is what it did. It went ahead and debited the printing expense and freight and delivery expense and then, credited our accounts payable.0636

And you can see here on our accounts payable, we have that $1500 on 12-15 of Willis Advertising.0646

It added that bill right there, and it says that the due date is now on 12-25, so we have that.0656

If I go ahead and gray X or escape once, it will close down my Accounts Payable.0664

And I will escape one more time to close down the other Chart of Accounts, so that is entering those bills.0669

Now, assume we have had several bills come in. We have entered them just in the same way.0677

Now, it is time to go ahead and pay those bills, so now, we are going to talk about paying those bills.0683

When we go ahead and open up QuickBooks or the Company File, a reminder window will appear0691

and tell us whether we have transactions to complete such as bills to pay or money to deposit.0698

And if we do not see the Reminders window when we start up QuickBooks,0704

we can turn it on by choosing the Preferences from the Edit menu and clicking Reminders.0707

You can always go to Edit menu, go to Preferences and click on Reminders. Let's pull this up a little bit, and we have our Reminders here.0713

So, we click on Reminders, and we can say "Well, show Reminders list when opening the company files".0725

We want to make sure that, that is checked for your preferences, and then, we will click on OK.0731

So, once you have that turned on as I just showed you, again, let's go to Edit, Preferences, highlight Reminders0738

and make sure that the box next to Show reminders list when opening a company file is checked.0748

So, when you open up QuickBooks, and you have items that are due or bills that are due, it will go ahead and remind you what is due.0755

And then, that alert will go on to the right side of the column, as well as of the Home page.0763

So, we will have alert somewhat not that will come up over here on Reminder Alerts down here, and at this point, we do not really have many reminders.0769

I can pull it up. This is To Do notes and paid bills etc., so that is our Reminder List there.0780

And it has a few of them there listed, OK? So, that is our Reminder list.0787

When it pulls up, it shows our To Do Notes, Money To Deposit, Bills To Pay, Overdue Invoices, Checks To Print etc.0794

And over here on the Home screen, it will give you the Reminder Alerts just to let you know.0803

Now, we are ready to go ahead and pay a bill. There are a couple of ways to get into there.0811

We can go ahead and after entering bills on the Home screen, here, we can notice that the flowchart brings us straight over here to, say, Pay Bills.0821

Or we can go up to Vendors menu and click on Pay bills. It will bring us to the same screen.0830

And notice there on the top, it shows that we are going to look at all bills, or we can say Due on or before the 25th, OK?0838

But, if we show all bill, it will give us everything that is outstanding. We can also sort it by all vendors or just by one particular vendor, say0848

"Well, how much do I owe? I know I have a lot of outstanding invoices with Bruce's Office Machines" or whatever.0858

We can select that and sort through who we need. We can sort it by vendor or due date or etc.0865

This is being sorted by vendor. If I choose the due date, it will resort it and say who do we owe first, what bill is due first.0874

It will list that there, so I just resorted it to due date, and, of course, Willis Advertising came up first.0887

So, the first thing we want to do is we are going to make sure that it says down at the bottom, selected the items, it says To be printed.0895

Because we are going to go ahead and pay these bills and print the checks.0906

So, the first thing we want to do is make sure that, that is checked.0910

And we are going to check the box next to Willis Advertising that we want to pay that bill, now, assuming that it is the 25th of December.0915

Why we are working on that day, I am not sure, but that is our example.0926

We are going to select that. QuickBooks goes ahead and displays the check mark next to the bill and changes0933

the amount in the ending bank balance to reflect the payment of $1500, so it changes the ending bank balance.0939

If we uncheck it, you will notice that the ending bank balance will change, so you check that box again, and it will reduce the ending bank balance.0946

So, you can keep track of your cash flow. When you are paying your bills, it gives you, kind of, a running total what your bank balance is immediately.0954

From this point in time, we can go ahead and select Pay selected bills button.0963

And it will give us a summary of all the bills that we selected to pay that moment in time.0972

From here, we could actually print those checks or print and go back,0979

say "Well, we want to go ahead and pay additional bills" or we can say Print those checks.0983

But, for this lesson, we are getting ahead and say Done because we are not going to actually print.0988

We can go through the exercise, of course, printing checks. If we hit File, Print the forms.0996

We can always say we want to print checks. It will bring up what we have ready to print, and there is that Willis Advertising.1001

And we would make sure that we have the first check number etc., and we can go forth and print those.1009

If I hit OK on this, it will select it and say What printer do you want to go to etc. We are not going to do that at this point in time.1014

So, that is how we pay our bills, and the next section that we are going to talk about is how QuickBooks records your bill payment.1024

We will look at that at how QuickBooks handles that for us.1034

From the Company menu, we are going to go ahead and look at the Chart Of Accounts.1038

And we can get to our Chart of Accounts over here from the Company menu.1044

Of course, we can do it through our Lists or from Company menu. From this point, we will use Company menu.1048

In the Chart Of Accounts, we can look at the Accounts Payable again, highlight that and we could double click it, and it will open up the Register again.1058

From here, we can see all the different bill payments that we have had.1070

We had the 1500 Willis. Now, we saw before we entered it as a bill, it had the due date, and now, next to it, it shows that is has been paid.1074

And the register of that item is no longer due. These are other items that are still due and outstanding.1085

And we can run some additional reports to see what our outstanding bills are and how many days out we are.1090

So, at that point in time, we have that taken care off.1099

Now, under the Chart Of Accounts, we are going to close this one down on that.1105

We are going to look at the Checking Account, how it affects that.1110

So, that is the bill and how it was paid, how it affects the accounts payable. Now, we can look at our checking account.1113

It says we wrote a check, and we can double click on that, and we can see how it affects our checking account.1120

Here, we have Willis Advertising. We wrote the check.1125

It is $1500, and it reduces our available bank balance, and that is how it records that.1132

If we edit that transaction by highlighting that transaction in the register and choosing up above where it says Edit transaction from the register,1139

it will pull up that actual check, and then, we can actually see the check that we paid with the bill with.1151

It is to be printed, and we can also see that from here, it shows that an invoice or a bill pay was utilized from the Accounts Payable system.1159

So, when you look at that and we can see if we wanted to, we can double click on this and look at the bill pay, so we can look at all that.1177

From here, we can actually go back and look at this particular bill if we wanted to or pay.1197

If we hit History, it will pull up the bill payment. From there, we can actually go to that bill.1213

By clicking History, we can go in, go to the bill that we had entered in, so we can drill into it a little bit more.1221

Let me show you that one more time. When we are in the check register, we have that there.1228

If we highlight that item that we paid those check and click on Edit transaction, we notice down below, it has the bills paid with this particular check.1239

We click on History. We still see that the transaction history gives us the bill payment check.1249

But then, we can actually go to the bill or the invoice that we had and to the accounts payable.1254

And it will show us that, that accounts payable was paid and the breakdown of those expenses.1261

So, I can close that down by hitting Escape, hitting Escape one more time to close that all down.1266

So, that is how we utilize our accounts payable and how we can manage it a little bit better, how we can manage our bills in the future.1272

I always again recommend that when we get bills in, we go straight to our vendor and enter those bills from the Vendor menu and enter those bills in.1283

So that we can have them and keep track of them. It is a great reminder.1294

I have had situations and other clients where they have actually lost invoices when they have had a stack of paper on their desk.1297

And it slipped behind the wall or elsewhere, and they have forgotten to pay that bill, and then, they end up with late fees and charges.1305

So, again, thank you for visiting Educator.com. We will see you next time.1313