What is Bill Payment Tracking?
Bill Payment Tracking: Renterra's accounts payable system that records payments made to vendors outside of Renterra, tracks outstanding balances, and maintains a complete audit trail of your payables.
Note: Renterra tracks your payments for accounting purposes, but actual money transfers happen outside the system.
Key Benefits:
Accurate balance tracking - Know exactly what you owe each vendor at any time
Payment history - Complete record of all payments made outside Renterra
Prevent double payments - System shows what's been paid before you write that check
Use Cases:
Recording Monthly Check Runs: After writing checks to vendors, record all payments in Renterra to update balances
Tracking Partial Payments: Record installment payments on high-value bills to track remaining balance
Matching Vendor Statements: Record payments with reference numbers to reconcile with vendor statements
Viewing Bills
Primary Access Method
Navigate to Invoices & Bills in the sidebar
Click the Bills tab
View all bills with status indicators
Note: Only users with Accounting permissions can create bills or record payments
How Payment Recording Works
💡 Key Concept: Renterra doesn't process actual payments from bills — it just records payments you make outside the system. Recording payments in Renterra updates your accounts payable balance but doesn't move actual money.
Your Workflow:
Pay your vendor using your preferred method (write a check, bank transfer, credit card, etc.)
Record the payment in Renterra to update bill status and balances
Track everything with complete payment history and remaining balances
Creating Bills from Purchase Orders
Open a Purchase Order
Click + New Bill button
Add vendor invoice details:
Vendor Invoice #: Enter the invoice number from your vendor
Bill Date: Date on vendor's invoice
Due Date: When payment is due
Once the bill is created, review auto-populated line items:
Received Items: Shows quantity received × unit price. Only received items ready for billing are shown
Already Billed: System prevents double-billing automatically
Click Create Bill
If items arrive in multiple shipments: Create separate bills as items are received — the system tracks what's been billed
The system only bills for items marked as received, preventing billing for undelivered inventory
Important Validations:
Cannot bill more than received quantity
Custom line items bill at full amount
Multiple bills per Purchase Order are supported
Recording Single Bill Payments
After Making a Payment
First, pay your vendor outside Renterra (via check, bank transfer, credit card, etc.)
Then record the payment in Renterra:
Open the bill from your Bills list
Click Submit Payment
Enter payment details:
Click Submit Payment
Bill status updates automatically
Recording Bulk Payments (Best for Check Runs)
Pay your vendor outside Renterra (single check, wire transfer, etc.)
Navigate to the Vendor page and select Submit Payment button
Record the amount paid for each bill
Leave at $0 to skip a bill
Enter other payment details
Click Submit Payment
System updates all selected bills with payment amounts
Example: You write one $15,000 check to a vendor for three bills. Record it as one bulk payment — each bill updates individually while sharing the same check number.
Once a bill is created, the line items are locked — edit the bill directly rather than the Purchase Order. Only Unpaid bills can be edited.
Understanding Payment Status
Unpaid: Has outstanding balance (red indicator)
Partially Paid: Shows "Paid $X of $Y" with remaining balance
Paid: Fully paid (green checkmark)
How Bills Affect Accounting
When Bill Created (Accrual Basis):
Increases Accounts Payable (what you owe)
Records expense by category
When Payment Recorded:
Decreases Accounts Payable (you've paid the vendor)
Decreases cash/bank account (reflects money leaving)
Remember: Recording a payment in Renterra updates your books but doesn't move actual money — ensure your bank transactions match your recorded payments
When Voided:
Reverses all accounting entries