How to pay bills in MYOB

The bill needs to be in MYOB. You can record a payment while you're entering a bill or any time after it's saved. Have the payment details ready: which bank or credit card account it came out of, the date, the amount, and any discount the supplier allowed.

Decide how the money reaches the supplier. Paying straight into their bank account through MYOB needs some one-off setup first, such as entering the supplier's bank details. Once that's done, you tick Electronic payment on each payment and send them through together later.

Some bills never need this screen. MYOB points out that a card payment for something incidental can be allocated when it shows up in your bank feed, and bank feed rules can record regular supplier payments for you.

1. Open the bill: from the Purchases menu choose Bills, then click the bill. If you're still entering it, carry on from that page.
2. Click Record payment at the bottom of the bill.
3. If the money is going straight into the supplier's bank account, select Electronic payment.
4. In the Bank account field, choose the account the bill is paid from.
5. Check the Date. Type a new one or use the calendar icon beside it if the payment was made on another day.
6. If the supplier gave a discount, click Apply discount and enter it in the Discount field. The Discounted balance recalculates by itself.
7. Change the Amount paid if you're paying something other than the full total. A part payment is fine.
8. To tell the supplier, select Send remittance advice and choose Send now or Send later.
9. Click Save.

The payment is applied to the bill and listed in the Activity history at the bottom of it, under its reference number. A full payment clears the bill; a part payment leaves the rest still owing.

If you paid more than the bill was for, MYOB creates a debit note for the overpayment, which you settle separately as a supplier debit.

With Electronic payment selected, nothing has reached the supplier yet. The payment waits until you process your electronic payments in MYOB, which starts the transfer from your account to theirs.

A payment can be edited or deleted later, but deleting one only works while it isn't reconciled or matched to a bank transaction.

Paying in cash? MYOB describes one approach: a Cash on Hand bank category that you allocate cash withdrawals to, then choose as the Bank account when you pay the supplier. MYOB notes it might not suit every business, so check with your accountant if you're unsure.

If you use AccountRight on the desktop, bills are paid in the Pay Bills window from the Purchases command centre. You choose Electronic Payments or Pay from Account, enter the supplier and the total paid, then spread it across bills in the Amount Applied column, and the Out of Balance figure has to be zero before you can click Record. A discount there can only go on a bill you're paying in full. Several bills can also be paid together from the Accounts Payable tab of the To Do List.