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Setting Up AP and Clearing Accounts for Bill Pay

  • Updated

Setting up your Accounts Payable (AP) and Clearing Accounts in Float are essential for keeping your financial records accurate and making sure your payments are processed smoothly. These accounts help track outstanding bills and ensure payments are correctly reconciled once they are made. In Float, you'll be able to set these up in Bill Pay > Settings. 

Note: At this current point in time, Bill Pay only supports QBO and Xero. All other accounting software can have data imported via CSV.

 

What You Need to Set Up

QuickBooks Online (QBO):

  • AP Account: This account tracks all unpaid bills. The Accounts Payable account type must be "Accounts Payable (A/P)", account class "Liability", and in CAD/USD.
  • Clearing Account: This account helps reconcile payments after they’ve been made. The Clearing Account must be the type "Bank" and subtype "Chequing". 

Xero:

  • Clearing Account: Xero uses a Clearing Account for both tracking unpaid bills and reconciling payments. No separate AP account is needed. The Clearing Account must be either account type "Bank" or have "enable payments to this account" switched on. 

 

Setting up QBO AP and Clearing accounts for Float Bill Pay:

  1. Set Up Your Clearing Account(s):

  2. Set up your AP Account(s):

    • Create an Accounts Payable (AP) Account in QuickBooks Online.
      • CAD AP Account: In QBO, create the AP account with the account type being "Accounts Payable (A/P)", the account class being "Liability", and the currency being "CAD".
      • USD AP Account: If QBO does not allow for the creation of a USD AP account with Float's requirements, you can create one in QBO with the steps below:
        1. Ensure that multi-currency is enabled in QBO.
        2. In QBO, create a test bill in USD, associate it with the (CAD) AP account you created and save the bill.
        3. Once saved, QBO will automatically create a USD AP account with the correct account type, account class and currency.
        4. Return to Float and link the USD AP account. See: Link Your Accounts in Float in the step below.
        5. Delete the test bill from QBO.

  3. Link Your Accounts in Float:

    • Link Clearing Accounts: Make sure that the Clearing Accounts you set up are linked correctly in Settings > Accounting Sync > In the "Quickbooks Online" section, select your USD and/or CAD Clearing Accounts from the drop-down menu.
    • Link AP Accounts: After linking your Clearing Accounts, go to Settings > Bill Pay Settings > Scroll to "Account Systems Settings" > Select your CAD and/or USD AP Accounts from the drop-down menu.

 

Setting up Xero AP and Clearing accounts for Float Bill Pay:

  1. Set Up Your Clearing Account(s):

  2. Set up your AP Account(s):

    • Xero uses a Clearing Account for both tracking unpaid bills and reconciling payments. No separate AP account is needed. 

  3. Link Your Accounts in Float:

    • Make sure that the Clearing Accounts you set up are linked correctly in Settings > Accounting Sync > In the "Xero" section, select your USD and/or CAD Clearing Accounts from the drop-down menu.

 

Manual Reconciliation via CSV Export:

If you prefer to manage your accounts manually or need to import data into another accounting software, you can export your bills and payments as CSV files from Float. This allows you to perform manual reconciliation or import the data directly into your accounting software.

 

Setting up AP and Clearing Accounts in Float ensures that your financial data is accurately recorded and easily integrated with your accounting software. Whether you’re using QuickBooks Online, Xero, reconciling manually or importing CSVs into your accounting software, these configurations help keep your books in order and streamline the reconciliation process, making your financial management more efficient.

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