Payments Made Reports
The Payments Made reports track every outgoing payment your business makes to vendors. These reports help you understand how money is leaving your business, verify that checks have cleared, and plan your cash flow. AccuArk provides these through the Payments Made Analysis form (with three preset views) and the standalone Payments Made Report.
How to Access
Navigate to Reports > Payables > Payments Made and choose from:
- Payments by Method — Opens the Payments Made Analysis form with the PaymentsByMethod preset
- Check Register — Opens the Payments Made Analysis form with the CheckRegister preset
- Disbursement Summary — Opens the Payments Made Analysis form with the DisbursementSummary preset
Permission Required
All payments made reports require the RPT_VIEW_PAYMENTS_MADE permission. Super Admins and Location Admins have this permission by default.
Filters
All payment reports share the same filter controls:
- Location — Filter to a specific location or view all locations
- Date Range — Set From and To dates to control the reporting period
Payments by Method Preset
The Payments by Method view breaks down your outgoing payments by how they were made, giving you a clear picture of your payment mix.
Columns
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Method | The payment method (Check, Credit Card, Bank Transfer, Cash, Other) |
| Count | The number of payments made using this method |
| Total Amount | The total dollar value of payments for this method |
| Percentage of Total | This method's share of all outgoing payments as a percentage |
This view is useful for understanding your payment habits. If you are paying a high percentage by check, you may want to consider switching to electronic transfers to reduce processing time and postage costs. If credit card payments are dominant, watch for transaction fees eating into your margins.
Check Register Preset
The Check Register is a chronological log of every check payment issued during the selected period. This is one of the most important reports for bank reconciliation.
Columns
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | The date the check was issued |
| Check # | The check number |
| Vendor | The vendor the check was payable to |
| Amount | The check amount |
| Memo | The memo or reference note written on the check |
| Cleared Status | Whether the check has cleared the bank (Cleared, Outstanding, Void) |
Using the Check Register for Bank Reconciliation
The Check Register is essential for monthly bank reconciliation:
- Export the Check Register for the reconciliation period to CSV
- Compare each check against your bank statement line by line
- Mark checks as cleared in AccuArk as you match them to bank transactions
- Investigate outstanding checks — Checks that have not cleared after 30 days may need follow-up. The payee may not have received or deposited the check
- Watch for voided checks — Ensure voided checks in AccuArk are also not appearing as cleared on the bank statement, which could indicate fraud
Sort by Check # to match checks in sequential order, or sort by Cleared Status to quickly see all outstanding checks grouped together.
Disbursement Summary Preset
The Disbursement Summary provides a high-level view of total outgoing payments grouped by time period and broken down by payment method.
Columns
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Period | The time period (week, month, etc. depending on your date range) |
| Total Disbursements | The total amount paid out in this period |
| By Check | The portion paid by check |
| By Card | The portion paid by credit or debit card |
| By Transfer | The portion paid by bank transfer or ACH |
| Other | Payments made by cash or other methods |
Using the Disbursement Summary for Cash Flow Planning
The Disbursement Summary is your primary tool for understanding outgoing cash flow patterns:
- Identify seasonal patterns — Run the report for a full year to see which months have the highest payment volumes. This helps you plan for periods of heavy cash outflow.
- Forecast future payments — If your disbursements follow a consistent pattern, use historical data to predict upcoming cash needs.
- Compare period over period — Run the report for the same period in different years to see if your payment volume is growing, stable, or declining.
- Budget for payment processing fees — The By Card column helps you estimate credit card processing fees as a percentage of card-based payments.
- Optimize payment timing — If most disbursements happen at the beginning of the month, consider spreading payment schedules across the month to smooth out cash flow.
Tips and Best Practices
- Reconcile monthly — Use the Check Register every month to reconcile your bank account and catch errors early
- Review outstanding checks — Any check outstanding for more than 90 days should be investigated and potentially voided and reissued
- Monitor payment method trends — Use Payments by Method quarterly to evaluate whether your payment processes are efficient
- Export for your accountant — The Disbursement Summary exported to CSV is an excellent supporting document for your accountant during tax preparation
- Cross-reference with AP — Compare the Disbursement Summary totals with your AP Aging report to ensure payments are reducing your payable balances as expected