In addition to creating bills by manually uploading invoices or forwarding them via email, you can import bills to Float Bill Pay that already exist in your connected accounting system. Unpaid bills will sync automatically each day and can also be synced on-demand.
Importing bills from QuickBooks or Xero allows you to use your existing AP invoice management workflow, make payments rapidly after importing, and reduce downstream bill export errors by coding bills in your accounting system first, ensuring compliance with that system's rules.
To connect your accounting system to Float Bill Pay, see:
Bill Pay & QuickBooks Online
Bill Pay & Xero
Guide Overview
Importing Unpaid Bills from your accounting system
Why aren't my Unpaid Bills Importing?
Importing Unpaid Bills from your accounting system
Once enabled, Float will import unpaid bills from your accounting system automatically and on-demand. Invoices will not be duplicated - if an invoice is already associated with a reimbursement or has been previously imported to Bill Pay, it will not be re-imported.
Importing Bills Automatically
Float will automatically sync unpaid bills from QBO or Xero once a day.
- Log in to Float as an Administrator and navigate to Bill Pay > Settings.
- Toggle on "Import Unpaid Bills from QuickBooks Online" or "Import Unpaid Bills from Xero"
Once connected, Float will automatically pull in your unpaid bills once a day. You can find them in the Unpaid tab on the Bill Pay page.
Importing Bills On-Demand
If you've created or made changes to a bill in your connected accounting system and you want to pay it immediately from Float, you can initiate an Import on-demand.
- Log in to Float as an Administrator and navigate to Bill Pay
- In the "Open Bills" summary tile, click "Import Unpaid Bills"
After importing, you can review the bills on the Unpaid tab, verify vendor payment details if needed, and schedule payments by adding a payment date.
Working with Imported Bills
Imported Bills can be paid through Float or marked as paid if you're paying externally. Imported bills cannot be edited from within Float (but edits are easily synced) and cannot be moved to the "draft" stage.
Editing Imported Bills
If you need to make changes to an imported bill, they must be made in the system of origin and then synced to Float. The imported bill has a direct link back to your accounting system to make this process straightforward:
- Locate the bill on Bill Pay > Unpaid and click to open it
- Click "View Bill in QuickBooks Online (QBO)" or "View Bill in Xero" to be taken directly to the bill edit view in your accounting system
- Make the necessary changes in QBO or Xero
- To sync the changes into Float, click "Import Unpaid Bills" on the "Open Bills" summary tile from the Bill Pay page
Paying Imported Bills
Schedule payments for imported bills just as you would for a bill created directly in Float. See:
How to Schedule & Unschedule Bill Payments
Once payment is complete, Float will automatically update your accounting software to reflect the payment status.
Why aren't my Unpaid Bills Importing?
Incomplete Bill Pay Configuration
If you haven't completed your Xero or QBO configuration for Bill Pay, unpaid bills won't import. To ensure they are configured properly, see:
Configuring QuickBooks Online (QBO) for Bill Pay
Currency Mismatch Between the Vendor and the Bill
If the vendor's currency in Float is different from that of the bill's currency in your accounting system, the unpaid bill will not import.
To resolve this, update the vendor's currency in your accounting system or ensure the correct vendor is associated with the bill. Once the currencies between the bill and vendor match, select the "Import Unpaid Bills" button from the Bill Pay page.
The Bills use Item Based Fields
If the bills in your accounting system use item based fields, it may not be possible to import them into Float. As Float's system is based on GL Codes, it was not created to be able to read and import information from item based fields in bills.
The Bills are Partially Paid
Partially paid bills will not import into Float. Only entirely unpaid bills will be able to be imported into Float.