Accounting — Vendor Bills
The Accounting ▸ Vendor Bills page is where you enter what a vendor invoices the firm and post it to the books (Accounts Payable). Posting a bill raises an Accounts Payable balance — a payable the firm owes; paying it from the operating account is a separate step.
Entering a bill
Section titled “Entering a bill”Click New bill, pick the vendor, and add one or more lines. Each line has:
- Expense account — the GL account the cost is categorized under (a 5xxx expense account).
- Matter — leave as Org overhead for firm costs (rent, software), or pick a matter to mark the line a recoverable client cost.
- Quantity × Unit amount and an optional tax rate.
Save it as a draft (editable, no GL impact) or Save & post to write it to the ledger immediately.
How it posts to the GL
Section titled “How it posts to the GL”| Line type | Posting |
|---|---|
| Org-overhead line | DR <expense 5xxx> / CR 2000 Accounts Payable |
| Matter (recoverable) line | DR 1210 Client Disbursements Recoverable / CR 2000 Accounts Payable |
| Input tax (ITC) | DR 1290 HST/GST Receivable |
Recoverable client costs are an asset (the client owes them back), not a firm expense — they sit in 1210 Client Disbursements Recoverable until the matter is billed, then clear into Accounts Receivable on the client invoice. This mirrors the standard treatment of advanced client disbursements.
Posting, voiding, deleting
Section titled “Posting, voiding, deleting”| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Post | Freezes the bill and writes the GL entry |
| Void (posted bills) | Writes a reversing entry; blocked once any payment has been applied — reverse the payment first |
| Delete | Only available on drafts (no GL footprint yet) |
Permissions and scope
Section titled “Permissions and scope”| Role | View | Manage |
|---|---|---|
| Owner / Admin / Bookkeeping Management add-on | ✓ | ✓ |
| Member | ✗ | ✗ |
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”| Symptom | Most likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Can’t void a posted bill | A payment has been applied | Reverse the payment, then void |
| Can’t delete a bill | It’s posted, not a draft | Void it instead (drafts only can be deleted) |
| Matter cost not billing to client | Line left as Org overhead | Edit the line and assign the matter |
Vendors themselves are managed under Settings ▸ Accounting ▸ Vendors.
Related pages
Section titled “Related pages”- Accounting ▸ Recurring Bills — auto-generated standing vendor bills
- Accounting ▸ AP Reports — outstanding payables aging