How to pay bills in QuickBooks Online with Bill Pay

The steps, in plain language

1. 1

   Make sure the bill is approved

   Pay only bills that have been matched or approved. Paying from an unapproved bill is how duplicates and fraud get through.

2. 2

   Check the vendor’s payment details

   Confirm bank details through a known contact if they are new or changed.

3. 3

   Choose the payment date

   Pay by the due date, earlier if an early-payment discount is worth more than holding the cash.

4. 4

   Pay in batches

   Group bills into a regular payment run so someone reviews the whole batch before it goes.

5. 5

   Record the payment

   Make sure every payment is recorded against its bill so the bill closes and the aging report stays right.

Set up QuickBooks Bill Pay

Intuit’s activation steps, from its help page.

1. 1

   Start the application

   Go to Expenses, select Bills, then Schedule payment.

2. 2

   Choose a plan

   Pick Basic, Premium or Elite. Intuit says Basic is included with your QuickBooks Online subscription.

3. 3

   Enter business and owner details

   Business phone, address and EIN (it must match IRS records), the owner’s date of birth, home address and the last four digits of their SSN, plus the bank account you will pay bills from.

4. 4

   Finish

   Review, select Finish setup, confirm the subscription payment method and select Subscribe. Intuit says most applicants get an instant decision; others hear within 3 to 5 days.

Schedule a bill payment

Intuit’s steps for paying through Bill Pay.

1. 1

   Open Bills

   Open Expenses & Bills from the All apps menu, then Bills. Look on the Unpaid tab, or under For Review if the bill is not there.

2. 2

   Select bills

   Select one bill, or use the checkboxes for a batch: up to 20 bills at a time on Basic and up to 50 on Premium and Elite.

3. 3

   Schedule payment

   Choose Schedule payment from the Action column, or from the header when several bills are selected. You may be asked to verify by text.

4. 4

   Set the details

   Choose the bank account, the payment method (ACH or a check that Intuit mails), the withdrawal date, payment speed, the amount (full or partial) and an optional note for the payee.

5. 5

   Confirm

   Select Continue, review and confirm. You and the payee get confirmation emails when it is scheduled and again when it is processing.

Autopay recurring bills, or record a payment made elsewhere

Two more cases from Intuit’s help pages.

1. 1

   Autopay

   In Bills, open the Recurring tab, add or find a recurring bill and turn on autopay. Confirm the interval, choose the Pay from account, add a payment method, then save and schedule.

2. 2

   Record a payment made outside Bill Pay

   From the Dashboard go to Expenses & Pay Bills and select Pay bills. Choose the Payment account and Payment date, select the bills and select Save. You can record payments made by check, credit card or cash.

Where Aequo AP fits

Aequo handles everything before payment: capture, matching, coding and approval. The approved bill then syncs to QuickBooks Online, ready to pay.

1. 1

   Connect QuickBooks Online

   On the Integrations page, select Connect on the QuickBooks Online card. It syncs vendors, bills and purchase orders.

2. 2

   Approve in Aequo

   Bills are routed by your Approval Rules and approved from the Approvals page.

3. 3

   Check the sync

   Use the Failed sync filter in the Work Queue, or Settings › Accounting Sync, to make sure every approved bill reached QuickBooks Online before the payment run.

4. 4

   Pay in QuickBooks Online

   Paying vendors from Aequo is coming soon. Today, approved bills sync to QuickBooks Online or Xero and you pay them there.

Common mistakes

• Paying from the bill list without checking the bill was approved.
• Scheduling a payment, then also recording it from Pay bills, which records it twice.
• Accepting new bank details from an email without calling the vendor on a known number.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides and tools

• AP automation for QuickBooks Online (blog)What to automate before the payment run.
• QuickBooks Online integrationWhat syncs between Aequo AP and QuickBooks Online.
• Early payment discount calculatorIs paying early worth it?
• Preventing duplicate paymentsChecks to run before a payment run.