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aceboogie

Enter Bill vs Write Check vs Payments

SUGGESTED
Posted By

I need some input on the best way to enter invoices, and bills that may or may not have been paid but items/inventory/service has been received.  

I own a restaurant.  We purchase long lists of items that we track and enter.  We also do have single transactions for which "write a check" seems to be best

Questions:

When it comes to reconciling the bank statement, which methods allow for easiest bank transaction clearing?

When it comes to showing on reports (i.e. item reports, vendor ledger reports) "write a check" doesn't allow for entering items, so that leaves deciding between "enter bills," or "payments"...which populates the Sage 50 reports better?  If "enter bills" allows for better reporting then how can I get the "payments" method to give me the same reports?

What are the limits, advantages/disadvantages of each: "payments" vs "enter bills". 

  • 0

    If you are buying inventory items, you should record them using Enter Bills.

    what sort of info/reports are you looking for?  the Reporting tool in Sage 50 is pretty decent for this sort of thing.

  • 0
    SUGGESTED

    Using "Enter Bills" allows you to keep track of what you owe and when it's due. If you enter bills as you receive them you can use reports such as Aged Payables or Cash Requirements to track what is due and when. Then you can easily pay them using "Payments" or "Select For Payment". Enter Bills also feeds into the Cash Flow Manager found in the Analysis menu.

    If you use inventory, Enter Bills also allows you to get items into inventory when you receive them, rather than waiting until you pay the bill. If you get Net 30 terms from your suppliers that's significant.

    Unless your company is set up as Cash Basis, it will also affect when the expenses are recognized. If you use Enter Bills, the expense will post on the invoice (bill) date. If you use Payments without entering a bill, the expense will post on the payment date.

    It can also be useful to have the invoice detail in Sage 50. If a vendor says they didn't receive payment for invoice 12345, you can easily see which invoices you have received and when they were paid with which check number.

    If none of those things matter to you, then you can save a step and go straight to Payments without entering a bill first. You may find that it makes sense to enter bills for some things but not for others.

  • 0 in reply to StephenC

    thanks StephenC.  Which, "payments" or "enter bills" is easiest when clearing/matching transactions in the bank rec process?

    Can i just match the bank rec transactions with "enter(ed) bills" and it will clear the AP entry for the bill?

  • 0 in reply to aceboogie

    Bills don't show on the bank rec. If you use Enter Bills you will then have to use Payments to pay those bills, and those payments will appear on the bank rec. So there's no difference between the two methods from a bank reconciliation perspective.

  • 0
    SUGGESTED

    Just an FYI - the process for printing checks differs depending on which option you use.  The date the transaction hits the G/L differs.  Also, only "Enter Bills" checks for duplicate invoice numbers when entering.

    That being said, we almost always use "Payments", except when we need to back date an expense.

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