This guide will walk you through the steps to set up Bill Pay in Float.
Guide Overview:
Configuring your Bill Payment Setup
- Defining AP Clerk roles
- Using Approval Policies
- Set up your default funding source
- Setting up AP and Clearing accounts for QBO and Xero
Configuring your Bill Pay Setup
Defining AP Clerk roles
In Bill Pay, users with the AP Clerk role can upload and edit draft invoices, schedule payments, and export payments to the accounting software.
AP Clerks cannot authorize the release of funds - only Administrators can release funds for payments. For more details, see: User Roles.
To configure a User as an AP Clerk:
- Log in to your Float Administrator account from login.floatcard.com
- Navigate to the Users page or Settings > Bill Pay > Select "Configure AP Clerk in User Settings"
- Select the User > In the "Role" drop-down, select the AP Clerk role
Using Approval Policies
Every bill must go through the approval process before it can be paid. A Default Approval Policy will be assigned automatically and can be edited. Customers on Float's Professional or Enterprise plans can configure additional Approval Policies.
To edit the Default Bill Pay Approval Policy:
- Go to Settings > Approval Policies > Go to the Bill Approval section > Select "Edit" beside the default policy
- Make your desired edits > Select "Save" to finalize your updates
To create a custom Bill Pay Approval Policy:
- Go to Settings > Approval Policies > Go to the Bill Approval section > Select "+Add Approval Policy"
- Configure the new policy > Select "Save" to create the new policy
For more details, see: Configuring and Editing Bill Pay Approval Policies
If you've configured more than one policy, select a default policy for all bills from Settings > Bill Pay. Policies are selectable on each bill, allowing for complete flexibility for who and in what order a bill must be approved before it is paid.
Choosing Your Default Funding Source
On the Essentials plan, you can only pay bills from your pre-funded Float Cash balance. On Professional, you'll be able to select your Float Cash balance or your bank account to pay a bill.
To set a default funding source:
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- Go to Settings > Bill Pay > Default Funding Source
- Set a funding source for CAD and USD bill payments
Configuring AP and Clearing Accounts for QBO and Xero
If your Float account is connected to Quickbooks Online (QBO) or Xero, you'll need to configure an AP and Clearing account to export bill payments to your accounting system.
For more details, see:
Configuring Quickbooks Online (QBO) for Bill Pay
Adding Vendors to Float
You can add vendors in two ways:
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Manually from the Bill Pay page > Select "Manage Vendors” > Select "Add Vendor +"
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If you've connected your QBO or Xero accounts to Float, your vendors will automatically sync into Float
If you sync vendors from another system to Float or create them in Float without adding the mailing address and payment details, bills created for that vendor will show an "Incomplete vendor record" error message.
How to Add a Vendor's Payment Details
- Navigate to the Bill Pay page
- Select "Manage Vendors" > Select the vendor and add all of the payment details > Save your changes
OR - Open a bill and select the "Add Payment Information" button for the vendor > Add the payment details > Save your changes
How to Edit a Vendor's Payment Details
- Navigate to the Bill Pay page
- Select "Manage Vendors" > Select the vendor and update their payment details
- Save your changes
Note, it is not possible to remove a vendor's payment details once they have been added.
Vendor Currencies
The vendor's currency when created (in Float or synced from your accounting system) will dictate the currency of bill payments that can be made to that vendor. USD bill payments can't be made to a CAD vendor and vice versa.
If you create the vendor directly in Float and haven't connected an accounting sync, you can change the vendor's currency later. If you sync the vendor to Float from QBO or Xero, its currency in the accounting system will determine its currency in Float, and it will not be editable in Float.
Bill Pay States
Bills on Float can be in 1 of 6 states prior to payment being issued:
- Draft: Bill has been created, but does not have the required fields to submit for approval
- Pending Approval: The bill is currently being approved through the assigned Approval Policy
- Unpaid: Once approved, a bill will stay in this state until a scheduled payment date is set
- Set Payment Date: Schedule a payment date for the bill payments. If multiple bills are scheduled for payment on the same date, bills are batched into those dates.
- Authorization Required: Once a payment date is set, an Administrator must authorize funds release.
- Paid: Once Funds have been authorized for release and there has been a successful payment, Bills will be marked as Paid.
Next step, see: Bill Pay Workflow from "Draft" to "Paid"