How to write a check (cheque) to pay a vendor bill

How-to guides / Pay a bill by check

The accounting behind it

Entering a bill records the expense and what you owe in accounts payable. Paying it only moves money: A/P goes down and the bank goes down.

An ordinary check written straight to the expense account is right only when there is no bill, for example a one-off purchase paid on the spot.

The check number on the payment lets you match it on the bank statement and spot missing or duplicate check numbers.

Bill entered (earlier)
Account	Debit	Credit
Expense	Bill amount
Accounts Payable (vendor)		Bill amount

Bill paid by check
Account	Debit	Credit
Accounts Payable (vendor)	Amount paid
Bank		Amount paid

Worked example: paying a $2,750 bill with check 2041

On May 2 you entered a $2,750.00 bill from your print supplier. On May 28 you pay it with check 2041. The expense is already on May's P&L; the payment just clears A/P.

May 28
Account	Debit	Credit
Accounts Payable (Print Supplier)	$2,750.00
Checking		$2,750.00

Common mistakes

Writing a regular check to the expense account for a bill that is already entered. The expense doubles and the bill stays open.
Paying the right amount against the wrong bill, so the A/P aging report shows one bill overdue and another overpaid.
Skipping the check number, which makes the bank reconciliation and the missing-checks report harder.
Forgetting a vendor credit or early-payment discount that should have reduced the payment.

In the US and in Canada

United States

If the vendor is an independent contractor, payments you make by check count toward Form 1099-NEC reporting; see the guide to 1099 vendors.

Canada

The same entries apply to a cheque. The GST/HST was already recorded as an input tax credit when you entered the bill, so the cheque has no tax line.

In AcboBooks

Open Pay Bills. Go to Vendors → Pay Bills. Show bills Due on or before a date, or All, and filter by Vendor if you like.
Tick the bill. Tick the bill to pay. The Payment column fills with the balance; apply any Credit or Discount in their columns.
Choose the bank and number. Set Pay from to your bank account, the Payment date, and the cheque number in First check #. Paying several vendors at once numbers the checks in sequence.
Pay. Click Pay Selected Bills. Each vendor gets one bill payment and the bills close.

Write Checks (Write Cheques in the Canadian edition) is for spending that has no bill; it can't post to Accounts Payable, which helps avoid paying a bill twice. In 0.2.1 the Print Checks screen prints checks from Write Checks; bill payments are recorded with the number of the cheque you write by hand.

Menu names are from AcboBooks 0.2.1. Not using it yet? Try it free for 15 days, with the sample company to practise on.

Questions

Should I use Write Checks or Pay Bills?

Pay Bills when you entered a bill; Write Checks when there is no bill and you are paying on the spot.

I already wrote a check to the expense for a bill. How do I fix it?

Void or delete the check in Activities → Transactions, then pay the bill properly with Pay Bills using the same check number and date.

Can I pay part of a bill?

Yes. Type the smaller amount in the Payment column; the rest stays open on the bill.

Related how-to guides

Terms used here

More on this site

Updated October 25, 2026. General bookkeeping information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rules differ by state and province and change over time; check with the IRS, the CRA or your accountant for your own situation.

All how-to guides

How to write a check for a vendor bill