> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.adorabl.info/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Outgoing payments

> Schedule and record payments to suppliers.

Outgoing payments capture disbursements to suppliers — ACH, check, card, wire, and manual methods — and apply them to open bills. Unapplied amounts stay on the supplier account until you allocate them.

## Prerequisites

Before recording payments:

* Posted **open** bills exist to apply against. See [Bills and adjustments](https://www.adorabl.info/accounts-payable/bills-and-adjustments.md).
* [System accounts](https://www.adorabl.info/books/setup/system-accounts.md) includes a bank or clearing account for payment posting.
* Supplier records are **Active** — **On hold** suppliers should not receive new payments. See [Suppliers](https://www.adorabl.info/accounts-payable/suppliers.md).
* Optional: [Connect bank accounts](https://www.adorabl.info/banking/connect-bank-accounts.md) so treasury can reconcile outflows to recorded payments.

| Prerequisite | Where |
| - | - |
| Open bills | Bills & Adjustments → Bills tab |
| Payment GL account | Finance setup → Default GL Accounts |
| Supplier payment details | Check #, ACH trace, or gateway reference |

## Payment list anatomy

The **Outgoing Payments** list surfaces what needs attention first:

| Column | Purpose |
| - | - |
| **Payment #** | Unique document identifier (for example, APPMT-…) |
| **Supplier** | Who was paid |
| **Date** | Payment date |
| **Method** | ACH, wire, card, cash, check, or a custom method |
| **Amount** | Total disbursed |
| **Applied** | Amount allocated to bills |
| **Status** | Draft, Pending, Succeeded, Closed, Voided, or Failed |
| **Applications** | Bill numbers this payment touched |

Stat tiles at the top summarize payment count and volume for the current period. Failed and pending payments sort to the top.

## Record a payment

**1. Open Outgoing Payments**

1. In the sidebar, open **Accounts Payable**.
2. Click **Outgoing Payments**.

**2. Start a new payment**

Click **Record payment**.

adorabl opens a new payment record with header fields and an application grid.

**3. Enter header details**

| Field | Guidance |
| - | - |
| **Supplier** | Required — drives open bill list; blocked if supplier is on hold |
| **Payment date** | Date cash left or will leave the bank |
| **Method** | ACH, wire, card, cash, check, or a custom method configured in [Payment methods](https://www.adorabl.info/books/setup/payment-methods.md) |
| **Cash account** | GL cash or clearing account — only accounts linked to the selected method appear |
| **Provider / reference** | Gateway, check number, or ACH trace ID |
| **Transaction type** | **Payment** or **Prepayment** |

Type, supplier, payment date, method, cash account, and a positive amount are required before adorabl saves a draft or posts. Drafts display as **Draft payment**; the payment number is assigned when you post.
\| **Status** | **Draft** while unposted; **Open** once posted with unapplied balance; **Applied** or **Closed** when fully allocated to bills; **Failed** on gateway errors |
\| **Amount** | Total payment |

After you select a supplier, adorabl loads open bills with balances due.

**4. Apply to bills**

On the application grid:

1. Select bills and enter the **amount to apply** on each row.
2. Amount auto-fills from selected rows unless you override the header total.
3. Confirm **Applied** + **Unapplied** = **Amount**.

| Scenario | Result |
| - | - |
| Applied = Amount | Payment fully allocated; bills update to Paid or Partial |
| Applied \< Amount | Unapplied balance remains on the supplier |
| Applied > Amount | Blocked — applications cannot exceed payment |

**5. Post the payment**

Click **Save & post**.

adorabl:

* Creates the cash disbursement journal entry
* Reduces bill balances and updates bill status
* Links the payment to bills in the relationship map

Posted payments with journal entries become read-only — reverse rather than delete.

If the supplier has an email on their default address and [Email sending](https://www.adorabl.info/books/setup/email-sending.md) is verified, adorabl emails a remittance advice to the supplier automatically on post.

## Payment statuses

| Status | Meaning |
| - | - |
| **Draft** | Saved but not yet posted to the general ledger |
| **Pending** | Posted; awaiting external confirmation (for example, in-flight ACH) |
| **Succeeded** | Posted with cash disbursed and applications recorded |
| **Closed** | Fully allocated to bills; no unapplied balance remains |
| **Voided** | Reversed by the user; original journal entry offset by a reversal entry |
| **Failed** | Provider or bank returned an error |

## Void a payment

Voiding reverses the payment's journal entry, restores the balance due on any bills it was applied to, and stamps the payment with the **Voided** status. Use void to correct a posted payment — never delete one.

**1. Open the payment**

From **Outgoing Payments**, open the payment you need to void.

**2. Choose Void**

Click **Void**. adorabl opens a confirmation dialog explaining the reversal and asking you to choose the posting date.

**3. Pick the reversal posting date**

Select one of the following options:

| Option | When to use |
| - | - |
| **Today** | Prior period is closed and the reversal belongs in the current open period |
| **Original payment posting date** | Correcting a same-period entry so the reversal nets to zero on the original date |
| **Custom date** | Backdating or forward-dating to a specific open period — pick a date in the calendar |

**4. Confirm**

Click **Void payment**. adorabl:

* Posts a reversing journal entry on the selected date
* Restores the balance due on every bill the payment was applied to (including bills that were closed)
* Sets the payment status to **Voided** and stores the reversal journal entry code on the record

The **Relationship map** and **Source journal entries** panel on the payment both link to the reversal entry so you can trace the offset.

> [!WARNING]
>
> You cannot void a payment that has already been voided. Once **Voided**, the payment and its allocation grid are read-only.

> **Coming soon: ACH and virtual card payouts**
>
> Electronic payout batches through adorabl are not yet available for all organizations. Record payments manually with method **ACH** or **Manual** until [Payables setup](https://www.adorabl.info/accounts-payable/setup/payables-setup.md) shows electronic payouts as configured.

## Copy a payment

Use **Copy payment** in the header to start a new draft from an existing outgoing payment. The copy is dated today and keeps the supplier, method, cash account, amount, and reference. It starts **unapplied** — posting state, bill applications, and reversal links are not copied — so allocate it in **Transactions to Apply** before you post.

## Discard a draft payment

If you started a payment in error, delete it before posting to keep the payments list clean.

| Situation | Header action | What happens |
| - | - | - |
| New payment, nothing entered yet | **Cancel** | Closes the form and returns to the Outgoing Payments list without saving. |
| Existing payment still in **Draft** | **Delete** | Removes the payment and any in-progress bill applications after you confirm, then returns to the Outgoing Payments list. |

> [!WARNING]
>
> **Delete** is only available while the payment is in **Draft**. Posted payments must be undone with a reversal — deleting them would break audit history and GL balances.

## Record payment from a bill

For a one-off payment against a single bill, use the **Payments** panel on the bill detail screen instead of the full outgoing payment record:

1. Open the bill from **Bills & Adjustments**.
2. Scroll to the **Payments** panel below the line grid.
3. Enter **Amount**, **Date**, **Payment Method**, and **Cash Account**, then click **Record payment**.

adorabl pre-fills the supplier, creates the outgoing payment, and applies it to the bill in one step. The **Cash Account** dropdown lists only the accounts linked to the selected payment method — pick the payment method first.

See [Bills & adjustments](https://www.adorabl.info/accounts-payable/bills-and-adjustments.md) for the full inline payment walkthrough.

## Example: Trail Ridge Outfitters

Trail Ridge pays Apex Supply Co. \$5,420.00 for bill **BILL-8842**:

| Field | Value |
| - | - |
| Payment # | APPMT-3318 |
| Payment date | April 3 |
| Method | ACH |
| Reference | `ACH-9928841` |
| Applied | BILL-8842 · \$5,420.00 |

Result: BILL-8842 → **Paid**; Apex open balance \$0.

Their weekly rhythm batches three suppliers on Thursday per the payment run schedule on Payables setup:

| Supplier | Bills applied | Total |
| - | - | - |
| Apex Supply Co. | BILL-8842, BILL-8851 | \$8,140.00 |
| Acme Logistics | BILL-7710 | \$1,920.00 |
| UPS Freight | BILL-7702 | \$640.00 |

One ACH to Apex is recorded as **Pending** until the bank confirms — status updates to **Succeeded** when treasury marks it cleared.

## Relationship map and journal entries

On a posted payment, open the **Relationship map** to see linked bills, supplier, and journal entries. The **Source journal entries** panel shows the GL impact for audit and reconciliation. The **Activity** tab lists every change to the payment — see [Audit log and record history](https://www.adorabl.info/admin-and-settings/audit-log.md).

## Related guides

> **[Bills and adjustments](https://www.adorabl.info/accounts-payable/bills-and-adjustments.md)**
>
> Post bills before applying payments.

> **[Suppliers](https://www.adorabl.info/accounts-payable/suppliers.md)**
>
> Review supplier open balance and payment history.

> **[Bank reconciliation](https://www.adorabl.info/banking/bank-reconciliation.md)**
>
> Match bank outflows to posted outgoing payments.

> **[Cash flow](https://www.adorabl.info/banking/cash-flow.md)**
>
> Model pay-date scenarios before committing to a payment run.

## Troubleshooting

> **No open bills when recording payment**
>
> The selected supplier has no posted open bills. Confirm bills are posted (not draft) and belong to the same organization.

> **Cannot select supplier — on hold**
>
> Change supplier status to **Active** on the [supplier record](https://www.adorabl.info/accounts-payable/suppliers.md) after resolving the hold reason.

> **Save as Draft is disabled**
>
> A draft needs a transaction type, supplier, payment date, method, cash account, and an amount greater than zero. Fill the missing header field and try again.

> **Cannot post — applications exceed amount**
>
> Reduce per-bill application amounts so the total applied equals or is less than the payment amount. Unapplied balance is allowed; over-application is not.

> **Payment posted but bill still shows open**
>
> Refresh the bill detail. Partial applications leave **Partial** status until balance due reaches zero. Confirm you applied to the correct bill number.

> **Need to undo a payment**
>
> Open the payment detail and click **Void**, then choose the reversal posting date (today, the original payment date, or a custom date). Voiding restores bill balances and posts an offsetting journal entry — see [Void a payment](#void-a-payment). Do not delete posted payments.

> **Void fails because the period is closed**
>
> Reopen the target period from [Period close](https://www.adorabl.info/books/period-close.md), or run the void with a **Today** or **Custom date** in an open period. The reversal journal entry must land in an open period.

> **Payment does not appear in bank reconciliation**
>
> Confirm the payment posted to the same GL account mapped to your connected bank account. See [Connect bank accounts](https://www.adorabl.info/banking/connect-bank-accounts.md) and [Bank reconciliation](https://www.adorabl.info/banking/bank-reconciliation.md).


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