Vendor

Manage vendors and payments in QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online offers several tools to help you organize your vendor list, pay bills efficiently, and handle specific payment scenarios. Below are answers to common questions about managing vendor-related tasks.

Clean up your vendor list

If you want to remove old vendors or customers to tidy up your lists, you generally cannot delete them if they are associated with existing transactions. Deleting names attached to transactions can alter your financial records.

Instead, we recommend marking them as inactive. This hides the name from your lists and menus without affecting your historical data.

Pay multiple bills for one vendor

You can pay multiple open bills for a single vendor in one transaction without manually entering a separate check for each one.

1. Go to Settings and select Pay Bills.
2. Select the specific vendor and place a checkmark next to all the bills you want to pay.
3. Ensure the payment account and date are correct.
4. If you are printing checks, leave the Assign Check number option unchecked (if available in your view) to let QuickBooks assign numbers automatically when you print.
5. If you are entering a check number manually (or paying via Direct Deposit/ACH), select Assign Check number.
6. Enter the starting check number (or a code like “ACH”) in the field provided.
7. Select Save or Save and close.

QuickBooks will group these bills into a single payment transaction.

Record vendor payments via ACH or Direct Deposit

If you pay vendors electronically through your bank but want to record the payment in QuickBooks Online, you can use the Pay Bills feature and treat the transaction like a check.

1. Select Settings and then Pay Bills.
2. Choose the bills you want to pay.
3. For the Method, select Check.
4. Select the Bank Account the funds are coming from.
5. Choose Assign Check number.
6. In the check number field, enter a code to identify the payment type, such as “ACH,” “DD,” or “EFT.”
7. Select Save and close.

This marks the bills as paid in your accounts payable while clearly indicating the payment method was not a physical check.

Record refunds for debit card purchases

If you return items purchased with a debit card and receive a refund back to that card, you need to record the credit to track the expense reduction.

Because there isn’t a specific “Debit Card Credit” form, you can use a workaround involving a clearing account:

1. Create a clearing account:

   • Go to Settings (the gear icon) and select Chart of Accounts.
   • Select New.
   • Choose Credit Card as the Account Type.
   • Name it something like “Debit Card Clearing” (do not name it after your real bank account).
   • Select Save and close.

2. Enter the credit:

   • Select the + New button.
   • Select Vendor Credit (or search for “Credit Card Credit” if using that specific form type).
   • Select your new “Debit Card Clearing” account in the appropriate field.
   • Enter the vendor and the details of the refund.
   • Select Save and close.

Attach details to a vendor payment

You cannot attach a bill directly to a check printout because a bill is the record of what you owe, while the check is the record of payment. However, if you need to send your vendor documentation of what the payment covers, you can print a report.

1. Go to the Reports menu.
2. Search for Purchases by Vendor Detail.
3. Set the date range to match the payment period.
4. Print or email this report to attach to your check payment.

Troubleshoot 1099 printing issues

If a vendor’s 1099 form isn’t printing or showing up in the review wizard, check the following settings:

1. Vendor Setup: Ensure the vendor is actually selected in the “Prepare 1099s” workflow (the first screen of the wizard).
2. Payment Accounts: In the “Map accounts” step (or Vendor payment accounts screen), verify that the accounts you used to pay this vendor are mapped to the correct 1099 box (typically Box 7: Nonemployee Compensation). You can select multiple accounts here.
3. Payment Thresholds: Ensure the total payments made to that vendor in the fiscal year exceed the minimum reporting threshold.
4. Review Payments: Use the “View Included Payments” button in the wizard to confirm that the specific transactions you expect are actually included in the calculation.

Remove standard messages from checks

If you see a standard message on your checks that you want to remove, check the following:

• Check Format: Standard messages are typically set up for sales forms like invoices or sales receipts. They usually do not appear on checks. If you are seeing text, verify it isn’t part of a Logo image or a Signature image attached to your check design.
• Customization: Go to Settings and select Custom Form Styles. Find your check style and review the layout to ensure no extra text has been added to the header or footer.