What is the process to record a Vendor Bill and pay it later?

• A. Enter a Bill and immediately mark as paid without using Pay Bills.
• B. Record a Purchase to the vendor and apply a credit.
• C. Create an Expense and select the vendor.
• D. Create a Bill for the vendor, then use Pay Bills to select the bill and pay with Check or Online Payment, marking it as paid.

Answer: (D)

Creating a Bill establishes a liability in QuickBooks by recording what you owe the vendor and increases Accounts Payable. This sets up the payable so you can manage payments later. When you’re ready to pay, you use Pay Bills, pick the bill, choose a payment method (Check or Online Payment), and mark it as paid. Doing this reduces both your cash account and your Accounts Payable balance, and the bill is cleared.

The other options don’t fit because they bypass the payable flow: paying immediately after entering a bill defeats the purpose of recording a bill to manage payables; recording a Purchase or a vendor credit doesn’t create the same payable record to be paid later; and creating an expense records the cost directly and does not establish a liability to be paid in the future.