Pay a supplier, and apply it across their bills

A payment belongs to the supplier, not to one bill, so a single bank transfer can settle several of their invoices at once — pick the supplier under Pay Bills, tick the bills being paid, and the total is worked out from what you enter against each. Only approved bills appear, because an unapproved bill is not yet a payable. Paying a single bill from its own page does the same thing behind the scenes. Cancelling a payment reverses every bill it settled, not just the one you opened it from, and needs a reason that stays on the record.

Paying a supplier is the last step in the purchasing chain, and the only one that moves money.

Pay one or several bills {#pay}

Purchases → Pay bills. Pick the supplier, tick the bills being paid, and enter what is going against each. The payment total is worked out from those amounts rather than typed separately, so the parts always add up to the whole.

A payment belongs to the supplier, not to a bill. That is what allows one bank transfer to settle five invoices — which is how suppliers are actually paid. Paying a single bill from its own page does the same thing behind the scenes.

A bill is not offered for payment {#approved}

Only approved bills appear. An unapproved bill is not yet a payable, so it is not offered. A bill missing from the list is almost always still in draft or waiting on approval.

Cancel a payment {#cancel}

Cancelling reverses every bill the payment settled, not only the one you opened it from, and requires a reason that stays on the record.

This surprises people: because a payment can span several bills, cancelling it touches all of them.

Supplier credits {#credits}

A credit note from a supplier is recorded separately and applied against their bills the same way a payment is — it reduces what is owed without money moving. Applying one needs supplier_credits.apply.