I have entered all of our invoices for the month and need to pay all of our vendors. I want to make sure I’ve got enough funds in my bank account to pay all of the outstanding invoices. Is there a report that can help me?
In Accounts Payable, there is the Cash Requirements Report. This report will display all of your outstanding invoices sorted by Due Date. The GLS bank account balance can optionally be included on this report to show a running bank account balance, allowing you to see how the balance will be affected by the payables on the report.
To specify a running bank account balance be included on the Cash Requirements Report
- From the Utilities menu, select Customization.
- On the General Ledger tab, select Print bank account balance on Cash Requirements Report.
- Press Ctrl+S.
To run a Cash Requirements Report
- From the Checks menu, point to Check Preparation and select Cash Requirements Report.
- On the Options tab, optionally select Bank Account Order to get separate reports, one for each bank account
- Click OK.
Invoices are occasionally entered for old vendors that aren’t used anymore, and we don’t always catch the mistake in time. Is there an alternative to deleting old vendors? We need to keep the vendors’ history.
In Version 19, we introduced the ability to mark vendors as inactive. Invoices, manual checks, and EFTs cannot be entered for inactive vendors.
To mark a vendor as inactive
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Vendor.
- In the Vendor Information window, select the desired vendor.
- Select the Inactive check box.
- Press Ctrl+S.
Inactive vendors can be included or excluded from the Vendor Lookup window, Vendor List, and Vendor Analysis Report.
Note: Vendors with one or more recurring entries cannot be marked as inactive. Recurring entries must be deleted before the vendor can be marked inactive.
I need to print a check for someone, but I don’t want to add them as a vendor since it is unlikely that we will be paying this person in the future. Is there a way to enter an invoice and print a check if the payee is not a vendor in the software?
Yes, there is! A miscellaneous vendor can be set up for just this purpose. The Miscellaneous Vendor feature was designed to be used for “one-time” vendors so that you don’t have a multitude of vendors set up in your vendor file that you will never use again. You can enter a different name and address for each invoice or manual check that is entered for a miscellaneous vendor.
A miscellaneous vendor can be designated via the Vendor file (File | Open | Vendor) by selecting the desired vendor or creating a new vendor, and then selecting the Miscellaneous Vendor check box. Once the vendor has been set up, simply enter the desired address during Invoice/Manual Check Entry.
To enter an invoice for a miscellaneous vendor
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Invoice/Manual Checks.
- Select the desired miscellaneous Vendor.
- Click in the address block.
- In the Address Details window, enter the vendor’s name and address information.
- Click OK.
- Complete the remaining invoice/manual check fields as desired.
When I post my firm’s checks from Accounts Payable (APS) to General Ledger (GLS), there is no indication on the journal entries as to what vendor they belong to. Is there a way to automatically include the vendor on my journal entries?
You can change what information is included in the journal entry, as well as what order the information is in, via APS Customization.
To include vendor information in GLS journal entries for posted checks
- From the Utilities menu, select Customization.
- On the General Ledger tab, select the desired Journal Description (e.g., Vendor Name, Invoice Description followed by Vendor Name, or Vendor Name followed by Invoice Description).
- Press Ctrl+S.
One of my vendors offers a 5% discount if paid within 10 days. Is there a way I can set it up so that if I pay within this period it automatically only pays the discounted amount?
Discount information can be set up in the Vendor file. Once set up, the discount will automatically be taken for any future invoices that meet the criteria.
To set up a discount for a vendor
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Vendor.
- Select the desired Vendor.
- In the Discount % field, enter “5.00”.
- In the Disc Days field, enter “10”.
- Press Ctrl+S.
We had an invoice that was entered twice for a vendor. This resulted in a check being printed for double the invoice amount. Is there a way to avoid this in the software?
The Check for Duplicate Invoices setting can help prevent this from happening. When this setting is enabled, a warning will be shown if an invoice or manual check for the same vendor has the same invoice number, invoice date, and invoice amount. This preventative measure is performed when an invoice/manual check is added, or when an invoice is changed and saved.
To enable Check for Duplicate Invoices
- From the Utilities menu, select Customization.
- On the Main tab, select the Check for Duplicate Invoices check box.
- Press Ctrl+S.
When looking at our Vendor List in APS, we noticed that we have a vendor that has two different vendor numbers. Is there any way to combine the two vendor numbers into one?
You can transfer all of the invoices and checks from one vendor to another using the Transfer Invoices function. Everything will then be on one vendor number and you can delete the vendor that you transferred everything from.
To transfer all invoices and checks from one vendor to another
- From the Maintenance menu, point to Invoice and select Transfer Invoices.
- In the Vendor section, select the desired vendors in the From and To fields.
- In the Invoice Type section, select Both.
- Select the Transfer Posted Check box.
- In the Invoice Range section, select the Beginning Ref # and Ending Ref #.
- Click OK.
Now that the transfer is completed, you can delete the unwanted vendor, effectively combining the two vendor numbers into one.
We need to include more information on a check stub for a certain vendor; however, there is not enough space. Is there any way to add more information to the description?
The Description field of an invoice allows a total of 60 characters. However, an extended description invoice can be created to provide a longer description.
Note: In order to print an extended invoice description, the vendor must have the One Check per Invoice check box cleared in the Vendor file.
To create an extended description invoice
- Enter the first invoice record with the desired Invoice Amount, Amount to Pay, the first 60 characters of Description, and GLS journal entry information (if applicable).
- Press Ctrl+S.
- Add another invoice record immediately after the previous invoice record, being sure to use the same Vendor, Voucher #, Invoice #, Invoice Date, and Due Date.
- Change the Description to reflect the next 60 characters of the description as desired.
- In the Invoice Amount and Amount to Pay fields, enter “0.00”.
- Press Ctrl+S.
- Add any additional invoices as required.
When printing the check, the extended description will print following the previous description on the check stub. The date, invoice number, and amounts print once.
We have one check that we don’t want to include on a Vendor’s 1099 form this year. Can this check be excluded or do I have to void the record first and then enter it again after the forms are printed?
You can easily exclude an invoice from 1099 totals via Invoice/Manual Checks.
To exclude an invoice from a Vendor’s 1099 form
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Invoice/Manual Checks.
- Select the desired Vendor.
- Select the desired Reference number.
- In the Payment Information section, select Exclude from 1099 Reporting check box.
- Press Ctrl+S.
Note: The Exclude from 1099 Reporting check box will not be available if the vendor does not have a Federal ID # or 1099 Info entered.
We receive several invoices from one of our vendors each month. I’d rather write a single check for all of them at the end of the month instead of writing multiple checks. Is this possible?
The One Check per Invoice check box in the Vendor file controls whether a vendor has a check printed for every invoice, or whether multiple invoices can be paid by the same check.
To configure a vendor to pay multiple invoices with one check
- From the File menu, point to Open and select Vendor.
- Select the desired Vendor.
- Clear the One Check per Invoice check box.
- Press Ctrl+S.
Note: Up to 12 invoices can print on each check stub depending on the length of each invoice’s description.
The Tabs3 Accounts Payable Software (APS) makes paying bills easier. You can print checks, track vendors, generate 1099-MISC forms, run reports and check registers, and more!
APS lets you write checks to saved vendors as well as vendors that are not individually tracked in the software. For monthly payments, set up recurring entries to create multiple invoices in one step. Writing a check by hand? Enter a manual check that will show up in your check register.
Tracking vendors is a snap. In addition to name and address, you can save information for frequently used vendors such as the Federal ID number, 1099-MISC information, vendor discount information, and more! Month-to-date, year-to-date, and to date paid figures for each vendor are also tracked for easy reference.
APS integrates with Tabs3 Billing and Tabs3 General Ledger Software (GLS) to bring things together. Costs can integrate with Tabs3 when adding, changing, or deleting an invoice or manual check. When integrating with GLS, journal entries are automatically created when checks are posted, and voided checks will create reversing journal entries.
APS also offers many reports that can be run to determine activity in the software, including a Check Register, Pre-Check Register, Cash Requirements Report, Aged Unpaid Invoice Report, Vendor Analysis, and lists for vendors, bank accounts, recurring entries, and voided checks.
If you are not currently using APS, try it out! You can install APS Trial Software using the Tabs3 CD, or download a free trial. Contact your Tabs3 reseller or consultant, or our Sales Department at (402) 419-2200 for pricing and information.
Note: Tabs3 works exclusively with Nelco to provide you with checks guaranteed to work with Tabs3 software.
