How to Pay Vendors

Related topics

Select vendors to pay

Select invoices to pay

Enter a payment to a vendor not on file

Look up the current payment status of a purchase invoice

Enter a payment for a manually written check

Enter a cash purchase and print the check

Print checks for invoices

Preview checks before printing them

Void checks

Write a check to a customer (refund)

Pay taxes

Record credit card purchases

Enter a deposit or prepayment

Enter and apply a credit memo

Read the payments overview

There are two basic methods of paying vendors:

  • Apply vendor invoices: pay invoices that were previously entered in the Purchases window.

    Tip: If you are paying a vendor for one invoice, there is a quick way to do this. Open the invoice on the Purchases/Receive Inventory screen and click the Pay Now link. The Pay Now link is located next to the invoice status for invoices that have not been paid in full. This will open the Payments screen with the invoice selected to be paid.
    If you are paying a vendor for more than one invoice, follow the steps below.

  • Apply to expenses (cash purchase): pay a vendor without using a vendor invoice. See Enter a Cash Purchase for further information.

Use the following procedure to apply payments to vendor invoices:

  • From the Tasks menu, do one of the following:
    • Select Payments.
    • Select Bills and then Pay Bills.
  1. Enter or select the vendor ID that you want to pay. To display a list of existing vendors, type ? in this field, or select the Lookup button.

    If there are unpaid invoices for this vendor, Sage 50 lists them on the Apply to Invoices tab. If there are no unpaid invoices, Sage 50 displays the Apply to Expenses tab.

  2. If you want this bill to be paid electronically (Sage 50 Premium Accounting and Sage 50 Premium Accounting only), select the Electronic Payment box.

    Note: If the vendor is set up for default electronic payments, the Electronic Payment box will be checked automatically. If you don't want this to be an electronic payment, deselect the box.

  3. Next, if this is an electronic payment, enter or accept the displayed Pay On date.
  4. Select the Pay check box.

Warning! In order for the payment to arrive at the payee on time, it must be transmitted electronically on or before the displayed Send By date.

  1. If you are entering a handwritten check, enter the check number in the Check/Reference Number field. If you want Sage 50 to print the check, leave this field blank. If this is an electronic payment, the Check/Reference Number field will read "Electronic." If you are entering a different type of payment such as cash or credit card, enter a reference number in the Check/Reference Number field that will help you identify the payment in reports and account reconciliation.
  2. Enter or select the cash account from which you will be writing the check.

  3. Select the payment method to designate the type of payment being made, for example, Check. If this is an electronic payment, the payment method will automatically be set to Electronic unless you have deleted that payment method.

    Tip: You can click the Payment Method link to add, edit, or delete payment methods.

  • With the Apply to Invoices tab shown, enter the amount of money you're paying the vendor in the Payment Amount field. Sage 50 will look on the Apply to Invoices tab for an invoice matching that amount. If one is found, it will be selected to pay. Otherwise, the payment amount will be applied to the first invoice listed. If there is an amount remaining, it will be applied to the next invoice and so on until the entire payment amount is applied.

    If you don't want Sage 50 to automatically select the invoices to pay or if you want to change what has been selected, on the Apply to Invoices tab, select the Pay check box next each the invoice that you want to pay.

    Tip: You can use the Pay All/None links to check or uncheck all of the invoices listed.

    • If the you want to pay an invoice in full, place the cursor in the Amount column for the invoice, and select the Pay check box. Sage 50 will fill in the Amount Paid field.
    • If you want pay a partial amount on the invoice, enter that amount. Sage 50 will automatically select the Pay check box.

Notes: If you overpay the amount, a credit is made to the vendor's ledger; for underpayments, the payment amount is applied to the invoice balance. You will need a reference number to post or save the record.

Make sure the Payment Amount is equal to the total of the amounts from the Apply to Invoices and Apply to Expenses tabs.

If you want to print the check, click Print; for step-by-step instructions on printing from the Payments window, see Print a Single Form from a Task Window. Otherwise, click Save to record the payment.

If you want to print a batch of checks, select the Print drop-down button and then choose Select Checks to Print. For more information on printing a batch of checks from the Payments window, see Print a Batch of Forms from a Task Window.

The program debits Accounts Payable for the total amount and credits the cash account for the net check amount and also credits the discount-taken account (if applicable).

You can also use the Select for Payment selection. This allows you to pay invoices that meet certain criteria and print checks for them. You can also partially pay invoices using this selection.