ERP guides
Accounts payable in QuickBooks Online
What QuickBooks Online checks for you, the reports that show what was paid, and where duplicates and overpayments slip through.
- Duplicate paymentsThe built-in duplicate check, its gaps, and how to find bills already paid twice.
- Duplicate vendorsWhy the same supplier ends up in the vendor list twice, and how merging works.
- Payment terms and discountsHow terms and discounts are held, and the mistakes that lead to overpaying.
QuickBooks Online's duplicate bill check
- QuickBooks Online has a preference under Account and Settings > Advanced > Other preferences that warns when a bill number already used for that vendor is entered again. It warns; it does not stop the bill being saved. Source 1 (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the vendor's documentation on Nov 6, 2026. Products change; the vendor's current help is the final word.
Reports for reviewing payables
- Standard payables reports include Accounts payable aging summary and detail, Bill Payments List, Bills and applied payments, Unpaid Bills, Vendor Balance Detail, Vendor Balance Summary and Transaction List by Vendor (not every plan includes every report). Source 1 (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the vendor's documentation on Nov 6, 2026. Products change; the vendor's current help is the final word.
Merging duplicate vendors
- Duplicate vendors are merged from the vendor's Edit menu with Merge contacts: the duplicate becomes inactive and its transactions move to the vendor you keep. A merge cannot be undone. Source 1 (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the vendor's documentation on Nov 6, 2026. Products change; the vendor's current help is the final word.
Payment terms and discounts
- Intuit's community support says applying an early-payment discount automatically from payment terms isn't a built-in QuickBooks Online feature (QuickBooks Desktop handles it differently), so discounts on bills are taken by hand. Source 1 (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the vendor's documentation on Nov 6, 2026. Products change; the vendor's current help is the final word.
In a paid-bills export from QuickBooks Online, the supplier's invoice number is in the Num column. Export paid bills from QuickBooks Online.