22 Nov Paid Bills STill on Unpaid Bills Report
Ask the Expert – Paid Bills Still on Unpaid Bills Report
Q – I have entered several bills and subsequently paid them, but they are still showing on the screen when I go to pay bills. How do I get rid of them?
A – Several errors in data entry can create this situation. Please choose the one that is most appropriate for you.
A/P Procedures not followed – If a bill has been entered, but a check is created rather than following the proper Accounts Payable (A/P) procedure of “Pay Bills” to create a bill payment-check, the bill will not show as paid. Typically, even more important than the bill still showing as unpaid is the fact that the check is coded incorrectly. To correct the problem, you can do one of three things:
Reclassify the code on the check to Accounts Payable (this will show as a negative or credit on the Unpaid Bills Report). On the newer versions you will also need to put the vendor in the name column. When you pay bills you can “link” the bill and the credit/check. Use this method if you have not yet completed the work for the period.
Delete the check and create a bill payment-check through the proper procedure of pay bills. Only use this method if you have not yet reconciled the bank account. Otherwise you will have a problem when you go to reconcile.
Enter a bill credit for the amount of the payment and code the bill to the same account as the check to offset the incorrect entry; this is the best method if the time period has already been completed.
Voided Checks – When a bill payment-check is voided it shows a void in the check register and the bill will again show unpaid. The situation that creates the problem is: If a check has not printed correctly, for example, but the bill is entered again, then paid prior to voiding the previous bill payment-check. In this case the bill has been entered twice, so, assuming you catch the error prior to completing the reconciliation for the period, you can simply go to the Unpaid Bills Report, double click on the bill, and then delete it. If the period has already been completed, you should enter a credit to offset the bill in question