Entering bill payments
Step 3: Indicate which purchases will be affected by the payment

Step 1 > 2 > 3 > 4

If you haven't already read the Pay Bills Overview, see Entering bill payments for more information.

In this step, you'll indicate which purchases will be affected -- what debt will be reduced or "paid off," in effect -- by the bill payment. You'll make these entries in the scrolling list in the bottom half of the Bill Payments window.

  1. Depending upon the selections you've made in the Preferences window, the amount you entered in the Amount field may have been applied automatically to the transactions in the scrolling list, starting with the oldest open bill first. These entries, however, are merely suggestions; you can apply the payment to any transactions you want.

    Keep in mind that the total amount you apply in the Amount Applied column must equal the amount that appears in the Amount field before you can record the transaction.

  1. Enter the amount you want to apply the bill payment in the appropriate field in the Amount Applied column.

Note: If you overpaid a vendor

 If you paid a vendor more than you owe him or her, simply enter the full amount in the Amount Applied column -- in effect, you'll be marking one or more of the transactions as overpaid. When you record the transaction, a vendor debit will be created automatically; you can either apply the debit to a future purchase or accept a refund from the vendor.

See Vendor Debits Overview for more information. If you want to print vendor debits on the check stub, see To display applied debit memos on check stubs.
  1. To apply the bill payment to any unpaid finance charges you may have accrued, enter the amount you want to apply in the Finance Charge field.

    Keep in mind that the Out of Balance field must equal zero before you can record the transaction.

  1. Mark the Already Printed option if you're recording a paper check that's already been written, or if you're recording another type of transaction (such as a petty cash payment) that doesn't require a printed check at the end of the transaction.

Entering bill payments - Step 3