Bill by Bill shows every invoice or bill for one customer or supplier, and how much of each is still unpaid. A pending bill is one where some money is still due. A settled bill is one that has been fully paid or received. This guide shows you how to switch between them so you see exactly what you need.
Before you start
- You need access to Reports in your company.
- The customer or supplier must already exist as a party account.
- Their bills are only listed if the account keeps bill-by-bill tracking.
Steps
- Open the Reports page. Select Reports in your company, then choose Bill by Bill under the party reports.
- Choose a party account. Pick the customer or supplier in the Party account box. The report stays empty until you choose one.
- Set the dates. Use the date range at the top to decide which period the report covers.
- Look at the two boxes. Beside the export buttons you will see two tick boxes: Show pending and Show settled. Show pending is ticked when you first open the report.
- Show only pending bills. Keep Show pending ticked and Show settled empty. You then see only the bills that still have money to be paid or received.
- Show settled bills too. Tick Show settled to see paid bills as well. Untick Show pending if you want only settled bills.
- Read the totals. Check the Pending total under the list. Overdue bills are shaded so you can spot them quickly.
What each box does
The two boxes work together. Show pending lists bills that still have an amount due. Show settled lists bills that have been fully cleared. Tick both to see the complete history for that party.
Smart Books will not let you clear the last box that is ticked. If only Show pending is ticked, it stays ticked until you tick Show settled. This stops you from seeing an empty list that looks like the party has no bills at all.
Reading the columns
For each bill you see the voucher number, the bill reference, the date and the due date. The Original column is the first amount of the bill, Settled is what has been paid or received so far, and Pending is what remains. Bills past their due date show the number of days they are overdue, and are shaded lightly in red.
Totals at the bottom
The Pending total adds up every open row. If your list includes credit notes, a Net figure may appear beside it with Dr or Cr, showing the balance after the two sides are set against each other.
Settle a bill from the report
On a pending bill, the Action column lets you start a new receipt or payment against that bill, allocate a receipt or payment you already entered, or raise a journal against it. After you save, the bill moves toward settled and your Pending total goes down.
Share or save the list
Use the export buttons beside the boxes to save the list that is on your screen. The file contains only the rows you chose to show, so tick the boxes first. You can also send a WhatsApp payment reminder listing a customer's open bills when that button is available.
Good habits
- Check pending bills at the start of every week and follow up on the overdue ones.
- Turn on Show settled when a party disputes a payment, so you can see what was cleared and when.
- Pick the right date range, or older bills may not appear.