Bills Management Best Practices and FAQ
This guide combines best practices for efficient bill management with answers to the most frequently asked questions. Whether you are new to AccuArk's Bills Management module or looking to optimize your workflow, this article will help.
Best Practices
Enter Bills Promptly
Enter bills as soon as you receive them. This ensures that due dates are tracked accurately and overdue detection works correctly. A bill that sits on a desk for two weeks before being entered may already be overdue by the time it appears in the system.
Use Reference Numbers Consistently
Always enter the vendor's invoice number or reference number in the Reference field. This makes it easy to match bills in AccuArk with vendor statements and prevents duplicate entries. If a vendor sends you a bill and you search by reference number, you can immediately see if it has already been entered.
Review the Bills Browser Daily
Make it a habit to open the Bills Browser at least once a day with color coding enabled. The color-coded display lets you scan for overdue bills (red/orange), bills due today (amber), and bills due soon (yellow) in seconds.
Use Recurring Schedules for Regular Bills
If you pay the same vendor the same amount on a regular schedule, set up a recurring bill schedule. This eliminates the risk of forgetting to enter a bill and saves time on data entry.
Record Payments on the Day They Are Made
Record payments on the actual date they were processed, not days later. Timely payment recording keeps your bills browser current and ensures your balance information is always accurate.
Use Notes for Context
Add notes to bills explaining what the bill is for, especially for vendors who send multiple bills. Notes like "January office supplies" or "Q1 building insurance" make it much easier to identify bills months later.
Cancel Instead of Ignoring
If a bill is entered in error, cancel it rather than leaving it in the system. An uncancelled incorrect bill will show as unpaid or overdue, cluttering your Bills Browser and skewing your reports.
Assign Correct Locations
For multi-location businesses, always assign bills to the correct location. This ensures location-based reports are accurate and that users at each location see only the bills relevant to their operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find a specific bill?
Use the vendor filter on the Bills Browser to narrow down to a specific vendor, then use the date range filter to narrow the time period. You can also look at the Bill ID column if you know the bill number.
Can I change the amount on a bill after payments have been recorded?
Yes, you can edit the amount on a bill that has payments. The balance will recalculate automatically. If the new amount is less than the total payments already made, the bill will show an Overpaid status.
What happens if I overpay a bill?
The bill's status changes to Overpaid and the row displays with a pink color scheme in the Bills Browser. You can either record a credit on the next bill from that vendor or contact the vendor for a refund.
Can I undo a cancellation?
No. Once a bill is cancelled, it cannot be un-cancelled. If you need to reinstate a cancelled bill, create a new bill with the same details.
Why can I not see the New Bill button?
The New Bill button requires the FIN_CREATE_BILL permission. If you do not see it, your role does not have this permission. Contact your administrator to request access.
Why can I not see the Recurring button?
The Recurring button requires the FIN_MANAGE_BILL_SCHEDULE permission. This permission is only assigned to Super Admin, Location Admin, and Manager roles by default.
How does the overdue detection work?
When the Bills Browser loads, it checks each bill's due date against today's date. Any bill that is not paid, not cancelled, and has a due date before today is automatically marked as Overdue in the database. You can also trigger this check manually by clicking the Update All Bill Statuses button.
Can I record a partial payment?
Yes. Enter any amount less than the remaining balance as the payment amount. The balance will update to reflect the partial payment. You can record multiple partial payments against the same bill until the balance reaches zero.
How do I split a payment across multiple accounts?
On the Payment Transaction form, use the split payment grid to add multiple lines with different accounts and amounts. The total of all split lines must equal the payment amount. See the Split Payments article for step-by-step instructions.
What is the maximum number of bills a recurring schedule can generate?
The system generates a maximum of 30 bills per schedule creation. This limit prevents accidentally creating an excessive number of bills from a high-frequency schedule.
Why do some bills show "Due in X days" instead of "Unpaid"?
The Bills Browser enhances the status display for unpaid bills approaching their due date. Bills due today show "Due today" and bills due within the next 14 days show "Due in X days." This is a display enhancement only and does not change the underlying database status.
Can multiple users edit the same bill at the same time?
AccuArk does not have explicit record locking for bills. If two users open the same bill simultaneously, the last one to save will overwrite the other's changes. As a best practice, coordinate with your team to avoid editing the same bill concurrently.
Troubleshooting Tips
Bills Not Appearing in the Browser
Check your filters. The status, date range, vendor, and location filters may be set in a way that excludes the bill you are looking for. Try setting the status to All, the date range to All Time, the vendor to All Vendors, and remove any location filter.
Balance Shows Incorrect Amount
Open the bill and verify the Amount, Returns, and Total Payments values. The balance is calculated as Amount minus Returns minus Total Payments. If any of these values are incorrect, edit the bill or adjust the payments accordingly.
Payment Form Not Opening
Ensure you have the FIN_PAY_BILLS permission. Also check that the bill is not cancelled (cancelled bills disable the payment section) and that the balance is greater than zero (fully paid bills disable the New Payment button).
What to Read Next
- Getting Started with Bills Management — Return to the overview for a refresher
- Bills Permissions and Roles — Complete permission reference
- Navigating the Bills Browser — Master the main bills screen