How to Use Online Bill Pay in QuickBooks Desktop? 

In QuickBooks Desktop, the Online Bill Pay is an integrated feature that lets you manage and pay your vendor bills directly from the software. It automatically records the payments in your books and gives you the flexibility to pay via electronic bank transfer (ACH) or physical check. Instead of writing and mailing paper checks or logging into external bank portals, you can process all your vendor payments in one place.

This way, you can centralize your accounts payable by allowing you to pay vendors directly via ACH, paper check, or credit card without leaving the software. Let’s walk you through this detailed guide on how you can use Online Bill Pay in QuickBooks Desktop by setting it up for financial payment management. 

What is Online Bill Pay? 

Online Bill Pay is a convenient feature that can help businesses manage and pay their bills electronically without relying on paper checks or manual payment methods. By using Online Bill Pay in QuickBooks Desktop, users may be able to schedule vendor payments, keep track of due dates, and organize billing activities more efficiently. It can also help reduce payment delays, improve financial visibility, and simplify day-to-day accounting tasks for growing businesses.

Easy Steps on How to Use Online Bill Pay in QuickBooks Desktop

After understanding how Online Bill Pay works in QuickBooks Desktop, it becomes easier to explore the setup process and learn how each feature can help streamline everyday payment management.

Important Update About QuickBooks Desktop Bill Pay

Important Notice: QuickBooks Desktop Bill Pay, which was previously provided by Fiserv, was officially discontinued on December 2, 2019. Since the service has been retired, users are no longer able to schedule new online bill payments or make changes to previously scheduled transactions through QuickBooks Desktop.

Although access to the service was removed after December 2, 2019, Fiserv continued processing payments that had due dates on or before December 6, 2019. Any payments scheduled beyond that date were automatically canceled. Customer support for payment status inquiries remained available through Fiserv until December 31, 2019.

It is important to note that this discontinuation only affected QuickBooks Bill Pay services and did not impact standard bank feeds connected through financial institutions. Users could still continue using regular banking features within QuickBooks Desktop without interruption.

To continue managing online bill payments, users were encouraged to contact their bank or financial institution to explore alternative payment solutions. In addition, it was recommended that users disconnect their QuickBooks Bill Pay account from QuickBooks Desktop after December 2, 2019, to avoid unnecessary connection issues or payment confusion.

Set up direct connect in QuickBooks Desktop

To set up an account, users need to apply for online payment services through their bank. Once approved, the bank account can be connected to QuickBooks Desktop, allowing vendor bills to be paid directly within the software.

Pay your vendors using the Pay Bills window

Important: The bank controls online bill pay, which means that each bank determines its own buffer. If you get an alert about “Invalid Send On Date”, try forwarding the delivery date.

• Select Pay Bills under the Vendors menu.
• Select the bill(s) to pay.
• Set any discounts or credits that you want to apply.
• From the Account dropdown, choose the checking account with the online vendor payment service.
• From the Method dropdown, choose Online Bank Pmt.
• Add a reference number or change the dates if needed (optional).
• Select the Include reference no. checkbox if you want bill or credit reference numbers to be sent along with your name and account number. If you select this option, the payment will not be sent electronically. The payment processor will print and mail a check to the payee instead.
• Change the date(s) as needed. If your payment processor requires lead time to prepare the payment, QuickBooks shows both the Process On date (the date the funds are withdrawn from your account) and a Delivery On date for the payment. Otherwise, there’s only a payment date.
• Select Pay Selected Bills to record the bill payment. The Payment Summary window opens to show the bills that were successfully recorded.
• The payment appears in the Items to Send list of the Bank Feeds. The payments aren’t sent until you go online and select Send Items.

Pay your vendors using the Write Checks window

• From the Banking menu, choose Write Checks.
• From the Bank Account dropdown, select the checking account with the online vendor payment service.
• Select the Pay Online checkbox.
• From the Pay to the Order of dropdown, choose the vendor to pay.
• In the Delivery Date field, enter the date you want the check to be delivered or processed. (QuickBooks calculates the appropriate lead time for this vendor and enters the correct date.)
• In the $ field, enter the amount of the check.
• Follow one or more of the optional bullet steps as appropriate:
• Select the Transmit Memo checkbox, then enter a note to your payee in the memo field. Note that if you enter a memo, the payment won’t be sent electronically. The payment processor will print and mail a check to the payee instead. 

Important: If the Transmit memo option is grayed out or not available, the extended payments service is not available at this FI.

• If you need to edit items displayed from a purchase order: Select the Items tab, then enter the purchased item in the detail area and associate it with the appropriate customer:job.
• If you need to enter new items, select the Item tab, then enter the new items in the detail area.
• To enter shipping charges, taxes, and other expenses not associated with any one item, select the Expenses tab. Then enter each charge and associate it with its correct expense account in the detail area.
• Finally, click Save & Close.

Summing Up 

The Online Bill Pay, an integrated feature, allows you to automatically pay your vendors using electronic bank transfer. This saves you time and manual effort in writing down or logging into external bank portals. 

With this detailed guide, you will learn how to configure and use Online Bill Pay in QuickBooks Desktop. For further queries or professional services, reach out to QuickBooks ProAdvisor now!

Frequently Asked Questions 

How do I inquire about an online payment to a vendor?

To inquire about an online payment, gather the Invoice Number, Vendor Name, Payment Date, and Transaction ID. Contact the vendor via email, phone, or their payment portal to verify receipt.

What information can be sent with online vendor payment?

When making an online vendor payment, you can send vital information to ensure the funds are easily identified and reconciled. This accompanying data—often sent as remittance advice or in the transaction’s remark section—includes: Invoice/Bill Numbers, Purchase Order (PO) Numbers, Dates & Amounts, Tax Details, and Credit Adjustments.

How do I cancel an online payment after sending it?

To cancel an online payment you already sent in QuickBooks, you can void or delete the transaction, but your ability to stop the funds depends on the processing status.