Managing Vendor Bills
The Bills form in AccuArk is the central place for managing all vendor bills. From here you can view outstanding bills, create new ones, filter by date range and location, update statuses, and set up recurring payment schedules.
Opening the Bills Form
Navigate to Business > Bills from the main menu. This opens frmBills. You need the FIN_VIEW_BILLS permission to access this form.
Vendor List Grid
The left side of the form displays a list of all vendors. The grid contains the following columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Vendor ID | The unique identifier for the vendor |
| Name | The vendor's business name |
| Status | Whether the vendor is active or inactive |
Inactive vendors are displayed with red text so they are easy to identify. Clicking on a vendor in this list loads their bills in the bill details grid on the right side of the form.
Bill Statuses
Every bill in AccuArk has one of the following statuses:
- Draft — The bill has been entered but not yet approved. Draft bills can still be edited freely.
- Approved — The bill has been reviewed and approved for payment. Approved bills are queued for processing.
- Received — The goods or services associated with the bill have been received. This status confirms that the bill is legitimate and ready to be paid.
- Paid — The bill has been fully paid. Paid bills are moved out of the outstanding balance.
- Canceled — The bill has been voided. Canceled bills do not count toward the vendor's outstanding balance.
Bills progress through these statuses as they move from entry to payment. Not every bill must go through every status in order, but the typical flow is Draft, Approved, Received, and then Paid.
Creating a New Bill
Click the New Bill button in the toolbar to create a new vendor bill. This requires the FIN_CREATE_BILL permission. The new bill form lets you:
- Select the vendor from a dropdown
- Set the bill date and due date
- Choose the location this bill is associated with
- Enter line items with descriptions, quantities, and amounts
- Add notes or reference numbers
- Save the bill in Draft status
Once saved, the bill appears in the bill details grid under the selected vendor.
Date Filtering
Above the bill details grid you will find date filtering controls. These let you narrow down which bills are displayed:
Preset Ranges
A dropdown provides common date ranges for quick filtering:
- Today
- This Week
- This Month
- This Quarter
- This Year
- Last Month
- Last Quarter
- Last Year
- All Time
Custom Range
Select “Custom” from the preset dropdown to enable the From and To date pickers. Set your desired date range and the grid will update to show only bills within that range.
Location Filtering
A Location dropdown lets you filter bills by business location. This is useful when you want to see bills for a specific store or office. Select “All Locations” to view bills across your entire business.
Bill Details Grid
The right side of the form shows the bills for the selected vendor. Each row represents one bill and displays information such as the bill number, date, due date, status, total amount, and amount paid. You can double-click a bill row to open the full bill details for editing.
Canceling a Bill
To cancel a bill, select it in the grid and click the Cancel Bill button in the toolbar. This requires the FIN_CANCEL_BILL permission. Canceling a bill changes its status to Canceled and removes it from the vendor's outstanding balance. You will be prompted to confirm before the cancellation is applied. Paid bills cannot be canceled.
Update All Bill Statuses
The Update All Statuses button in the toolbar recalculates the status of all bills for the selected vendor. This is useful when payments have been recorded outside of the normal bill payment flow and you need to synchronize the bill statuses. For example, if a bill's total has been fully covered by recorded payments, clicking this button will automatically change its status to Paid.
Recurring Payments
Click the Recurring Payments button in the toolbar to open the bill schedule form where you can set up automated bill creation on a recurring basis. This requires the FIN_MANAGE_BILL_SCHEDULE permission. See the “Setting Up Recurring Bill Schedules” article for detailed instructions.
Permissions Summary
| Permission | What It Allows |
|---|---|
| FIN_VIEW_BILLS | View the Bills form and browse vendor bills |
| FIN_CREATE_BILL | Create new bills |
| FIN_CANCEL_BILL | Cancel existing bills |
| FIN_MANAGE_BILL_SCHEDULE | Access the recurring bill schedule form |
Tips
- Use Draft status for data entry — Enter bills as drafts first, then approve them in batches after review. This prevents accidental payments on unapproved bills.
- Set due dates accurately — The AP Aging Report relies on due dates to calculate aging buckets. Accurate due dates ensure your aging reports are meaningful.
- Filter by date range — When looking for a specific bill, use the date filter to narrow results instead of scrolling through a long list.
- Review inactive vendors — Inactive vendors shown in red may still have outstanding bills. Check these periodically to ensure all balances are resolved.