TABLE OF CONTENTS


AP Overview

Accounts Payable (AP) manages vendor bills, credit memos, repair charges, and workflow approvals. It integrates with QuickBooks for accounting.


Vendor bills, credit memos, surcharges, and tenant chargebacks are managed through AP modules. AP history and invoice attachments are stored in the Media tab.


AP workflow includes:

  • Receive bill or credit
  • Attach to unit or property
  • Approve
  • Post to ledger
  • Pay vendor
  • Report via AP history


Vendor Requirements

All AP bills and credit memos must be tied to a vendor, and vendor data is managed in vendor notebooks. The vendor must be approved, meaning the accounting file cannot be blank. Use Recent Bills to avoid duplicates.


Vendors are tracked in the Vendors module. Work orders can be assigned to vendors, and vendor account numbers can be referenced in repeating charges.


Creating a Bill to Pay

Creating a bill to pay or credit memo. Header must include:

  • Vendor
  • Invoice or credit memo number
  • Invoice date
  • Terms
  • Due date (auto-calculated)
  • Post date
  • Subtotal
  • Taxes
  • Shipping
  • Other

Post date cannot be in a closed period unless overridden.


Property managers can attach repair photos, vendor documents, and inspection images through Add/View Media.


AP Line Items

Each invoice requires:

  • Charge type (Property, Unit, or Lease)
  • Charge to (the target property, unit, or lease)
  • Transaction (must be Charge to Profit & Loss type)
  • Memo
  • Amounts

Totals must match the header.


Credit Memos

Credit memo:

  • Used for vendor credits and adjustments
  • Processed through the same AP workflow as bills
  • Entered as a negative invoice
  • Tracked in AP history


Surcharges

Surcharge:

  • Maintenance Paid by Owner transactions can include a surcharge, such as 5 percent, posted as management company income
  • The surcharge can be overridden or removed per transaction

Example: A $325 invoice plus a 5 percent surcharge equals $341.25 billed to the owner.

  • $325 = vendor bill
  • $16.25 = management company income


Charging Tenants for Repair

Charge tenant for repair:

  • If there is tenant damage, select the lease, choose Charge to Resident transaction, and the system can auto-calculate the maintenance surcharge.

This is not used in AP. Tenant charges are handled through Lease or Prospect transaction types, not AP.


AP History

AP History shows:

  • Journal activity
  • Bank details
  • Void flags
  • User timestamps
  • Supports internal audits and vendor dispute resolution

All AP transactions, including bills, credits, and surcharges, are reportable through A578 Accounts Receivable, A576 Open Charges, and A574 Open Transactions.


AP History is fully auditable and tracks approvals, edits, and attachments.


AP Workflow Requirements

User approval limits:

  • Users need sufficient approval authority
  • Supervisor override is required if approval limits are exceeded

Integrates with QuickBooks for accounting through the Accounting File and Transaction Set.


Accounting - Transaction Behavior

Maintenance Paid by Owner transactions support surcharges. The maintenance surcharge is auto-calculated based on the percentage defined at the property level, and it can be overridden.


Maintenance charges to tenants are processed through work orders and AP. Credits and adjustments are tracked in AP and tenant ledgers.


Reporting Related to AP

Reports include:

  • A578 Accounts Receivable Report
  • A576 Open Charges Detail Report
  • A574 Open Transactions Report
  • A160 Charges Paid Report
  • A175 Profit/Loss Detail Report
  • A220 PM Profit/Loss Statement

AP reporting supports:

  • Audits
  • Vendor disputes
  • Chargeback verification
  • Owner billing reconciliation


Best Practices

Property manager best practices:

  • Confirm vendor approval
  • Use Charge Tenant for Repair to avoid owner misbilling
  • Enable auto-allocation of taxes and shipping
  • Audit AP history regularly


Security and Permissions

Permissions control AP entry, updates, and deletions. See Setup Preferences and Security Settings.


Additional Notes

  • AP integrates with scheduled transactions, AutoPost, and portal self-service
  • Next Draft Date cannot move backward
  • AutoPost is a two-step submission process: create scheduled transactions, then submit to the processor