Why Does Bill Have ‘Unpaid’ Status After Paying It?
Quickbooks supports several different methods for paying bills, including Write Checks and Pay Bills. Only the latter, however, will the place the bill in closed status. If you attempt to bill a bill using the Write Checks feature, it will remain open. As further explained by Intuit, if you use Write Checks and Enter Bills together, the respective check will not be linked to the bill; thus, the bill remains open. This is why it’s a good idea to get into the habi of using the Pay Bills feature, which will avoid conflicts such as this.
So, how do you fix a bill that’s in open/unpaid status because of the Write Checks feature? There are a few solutions, one of which is to remove the bill and create or leave the Write Check entry. However, you should only use this option if you don’t need all of the information associated with the payment in your Accounts Payable report.
A second solution is to link the check to a bill. Assuming the check has been reconciled, you won’t be able to delete it without throwing off your books. You can, however, link the check to the bill. This is done by logging in to your Quickbooks account and changing the Expense account to Accounts Payable. When you reach the written check, simply change the Expense account to Accounts Payable. Next, on the Customer: Job menu, select the vendor’s name. Without entering a name, Quickbooks will reveal an error. After after entering a name for the vendor, click “Save & Close.”
You’ll then need to pay the bill. This is done by accessing the “Vendors” menu, followed by “Pay Bills.” From here, choose the bill or bills associated with the check. Next, click “Set Credits” and check the box labeled “credit.” You can then adjust the total amount of the credits as needed. When you are finished, click “Done,” followed by “Pay Selected Bills.” Assuming you followed these steps correctly, the bill will appear as paid status instead of open/unpaid.
The bottom line is that you need to fix any paid bills that appear as open/unpaid. Failure to do so will throw off your books. Thankfully, Quickbooks simplifies this process by offering several solutions. Refer to the options listed here to ensure that paid bills show as paid in your Quickbooks account.
Did this tutorial work for you? Let us know in the comments section below!