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Why can't I use Online Bill Pay to pay a contractor, and how do I pay them by check instead?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
February 11, 2021
9 replies
42 views

Is there a way to use online bill pay to pay contractors? (Instead of only the Direct Deposit or self-print check options?)

QuickBooks Online

Best answer by katelynner

Why contractors don't use Online Bill Pay

Online Bill Pay works for bills you enter under Vendors, not for people tracked as 1099 contractors through Payroll or Contractor Payments. That's why the flow keeps sending you back to the contractor payment screen instead of offering Bill Pay.

Paying a contractor by check

If your contractor needs a paper check and you don't have your own check stock or printer set up, you can still record and generate one:

Go to All apps, then Payroll, then Contractors.
Select the dropdown next to the contractor's name, then select Write check.
Choose the bank account the check draws from and fill in the check details. You can attach a related bill here too.
Select Print check to send it to the print queue now, or check Print later.
Select Save and close.

If you don't have check stock handy, you can still print the check to a PDF and mail it yourself, or ask the contractor whether direct deposit would work for them instead.

If you’d like to learn more: Pay a contractor with a paper check, Pay bills in Online Bill Pay

Have a follow-up on setting up contractor payments? Let us know and we'll walk through it.

BettyJaneB

Level 9

I'd be pleased to assist you in paying your contractors in QuickBooks Online, @nicole-qh-pr-com.

The Online Bill Pay option is only applicable for bills. If you've created a bill for your contractor then you can utilize this option in paying them. Here's a reference that you can bookmark to guide you in using the pay bills feature in QBO: Pay bills in Online Bill Pay.

On the other hand, if you want to issue a check for your contractor, you can pay them by going to the Contractors page. This way, you can create and print a check manually if you refuse to use the direct deposit option. Know that you can also attach a bill to the check that you're going to make.

To do that:

Click on Payroll at the left pane.
Refer the Contractors tab.
Choose the contractors name and hit on Write Check.
Enter the information needed. If you want to add a bill, just select on Add to the bills that will show up.
Tap on Save and Close.

To give you complete details about paying a contractor in QBO, please see this article: Learn how to create paper checks to pay your contractors in QuickBooks and Intuit Payroll.

Know that I'm always here to help if you need anything else. Have nice day!

N

nicole-qh-pr-comAuthor

Thank you for responding. This contractor requested a paper check (so ACH is not an option), and I don't have the option to print my own checks--I was hoping to have a check sent via Bill Pay/Melio just as I have with other vendors.

BettyJaneB

Level 9

I'm happy to have you back, @nicole-qh-pr-com.

Let me provide some clarifications regarding printing checks for your contractors.

Once you turn on the bill pay option for your vendors' payment, this will not generate a check. To pay your contractor, I recommend creating a check from the contractor's page. Their bills can also be associated with this transaction.

Please follow the steps I've shared above on how to do this.

Moreover, if you want to disable the online bill pay option for this contractor, you'll need to reach out to your service provider so they can do it for you.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'll make sure you're all set. Keep safe!

U

useraccounting19

Hey Nicole, what I discovered is that I have to change the category from something other than "Contractors" which by default in your chart of accounts is a detail type of "Payroll Expenses" to something that is not a "Payroll Expenses" detail type. For example if you swap it over to something like "Interest Paid" (which I know is not right - just for purposes of correcting this) it will allow you to go on to bill payment like you would expect.

Hopefully, Intuit will fix this however, they will probably come back with it "working as designed" which as we know sucks and now we as users have to spoof the system by using some category that does not accurately reflect the true type of expense and we have our books all screwed up just because they programmatically put this in.

katelynner

Answer

Community Manager

Why contractors don't use Online Bill Pay

Online Bill Pay works for bills you enter under Vendors, not for people tracked as 1099 contractors through Payroll or Contractor Payments. That's why the flow keeps sending you back to the contractor payment screen instead of offering Bill Pay.

Paying a contractor by check

If your contractor needs a paper check and you don't have your own check stock or printer set up, you can still record and generate one:

Go to All apps, then Payroll, then Contractors.
Select the dropdown next to the contractor's name, then select Write check.
Choose the bank account the check draws from and fill in the check details. You can attach a related bill here too.
Select Print check to send it to the print queue now, or check Print later.
Select Save and close.

If you don't have check stock handy, you can still print the check to a PDF and mail it yourself, or ask the contractor whether direct deposit would work for them instead.

If you’d like to learn more: Pay a contractor with a paper check, Pay bills in Online Bill Pay

Have a follow-up on setting up contractor payments? Let us know and we'll walk through it.

Why contractors don't use Online Bill Pay

Paying a contractor by check

Why contractors don't use Online Bill Pay

Paying a contractor by check

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