Vendor and payee questions, answered

Vendors in fiscal50 are the businesses that bill you; payees are people or businesses you pay without a bill. You can add or import vendors, edit them, pay advances before a bill arrives, and see every bill and payment on the vendor dashboard, ledger and timeline. Vendors marked for 1099 are tracked through the year so the 1099 filings screen can prepare Copy B and an e-file CSV. These questions cover vendors, payees, advances and 1099s.

Vendor management · 1099 tracking

Updated

What is a vendor advance?

Money you pay a vendor before receiving their goods or services, such as a deposit. It is held as a credit with that vendor.

When should I use an advance instead of a bill payment?

Use an advance when you pay before the vendor bills you. Use a bill payment when you are paying a bill you already have.

When should I use Make Other Payment instead of an advance?

When you are paying for something with no bill and nothing to follow. An advance is for money paid before a bill that will arrive later.

Is an advance an expense?

Not yet. It is recorded as a prepayment asset. The expense is recorded when the vendor's bill arrives.

What is a payee?

Anyone you pay money to — a vendor, employee, tax agency or anyone else.

Which payee type should I choose?

Vendor for businesses you buy from, Employee for staff reimbursements, Tax Agency / Government for tax and government payments, and Other / General Payee for anyone else.

How do I add a payee's address?

Use the detailed form. Start typing the address and pick it from the suggestions — city, state, ZIP and country fill in automatically.

How do I change a payee's SSN?

On Edit Payee, clear the masked SSN field, type the new number, and click Update. Leaving the mask unchanged keeps the current SSN.

Why does the Edit Payee screen say the payee is linked to a vendor?

The payee was created from a vendor. Update the main details in Vendor Management so both stay in step.

Why do some payments show "---" as the name?

They have not been assigned to a payee yet.

What does DOJ mean on the Vendors list?

Date of joining. It is the date the vendor was added, or the date you entered on the Add Vendor form.

What is the difference between a vendor's Credits and Current Balance?

Credits is money you have with the vendor to use against future bills, such as advances. Current Balance is the amount you currently owe the vendor.

What does the Status column show for a vendor?

The vendor's status, such as Active.

What icons are in each vendor row?

Dashboard, Ledger, Timeline, Edit (pencil), Pay Advance (wallet) and the Action (gear) button. Each opens that task for the vendor in the row.

Which fields are required when adding a vendor?

Display name and Terms. On the detailed form, Vendor Type and the vendor's address (address, city, state, ZIP and country) are also required.

Can I add more details after saving a vendor?

Yes. Both forms create the same vendor record — click the Edit (pencil) icon in the vendor's row on the Vendors list to add or change details.

What happens after I save a new vendor?

The vendor is added to the Vendors list, with their date of joining shown as DOJ, and any opening balance becomes the opening balance in their ledger. You can record their bills straight away.

Can I add a vendor from other screens?

Yes — for example from the ⋮ menu of the Payables panel on the Application Dashboard (Add Vendor), from the Withdrawals screen in Banks (Add Vendor or the floating footer buttons) and during registration on the Opening Entries page. Complete their details afterwards on the Vendors list with Edit.

What file does Import Vendors accept?

An Excel file, with one row per vendor. On the import screen you can download a sample file for the template you choose.

What happens if my vendor file has duplicates?

Remove duplicate rows before importing. On the review screen, watch the duplicate warnings so a vendor already in fiscal50 isn't added twice; duplicate entries are also a common reason rows are skipped.

Can I use import to update vendors I already have?

No — import adds new vendors. Vendors already in fiscal50 are flagged as duplicates on review so you can skip them; change existing vendors with the Edit (pencil) icon on the Vendors list.

Some vendor rows were skipped. What now?

fiscal50 checks each record on upload and lists the records imported and any skipped rows with errors — most often missing required fields, invalid date formats or duplicate entries. Fix those rows in your Excel file and upload them again.

What is the difference between Regular Expenses and Inventory Purchases?

Regular Expenses are services, supplies, and other costs from the vendor. Inventory Purchases are inventory items bought from the vendor. Both cover the current fiscal year.

Why does Total Qty. Purchased show a dash?

The row is an expense that isn't counted in units, such as labor or repairs.

What does the Vendor Ledger show?

Every accounting entry for one vendor, both sides of each double entry with running balances: the opening balance at the top, each entry's date, transaction type, transaction ID, account, offset account and debit or credit amount, and the closing balance at the bottom. The summary totals the debits, credits and balance.

What is the opening balance in the vendor ledger?

The vendor's balance at the start of the period you're viewing. For a new vendor it starts from the Opening Balance entered when they were added — what you owed when you started with fiscal50.

What does the vendor ledger summary show?

The totals of the debits, the credits and the balance for the period.

What is the difference between Cash and Accrual in the vendor ledger?

Cash shows transactions when money is paid. Accrual shows expenses when they are incurred, even if not yet paid.

What is the Vendor Timeline?

The vendor's history as a flow of events — bills, advances, payments — in date order from account creation to today.

What events appear on the Vendor Timeline?

Each point on the timeline is one event, such as a bill, an advance or a payment, shown in date order.

What is the difference between the Vendor Timeline and the Vendor Ledger?

The Timeline shows the vendor's history as a flow of events in date order. The Ledger lists every accounting entry with accounts, debits and credits, and opening and closing balances.

How far back does the vendor timeline go?

From when the vendor's account was created to today.

What is 1099 Filings in fiscal50?

The screen that prepares Form 1099-NEC for the vendors and payees you paid for services, with recipient PDFs, an e-file CSV and a detail report.

Which form does fiscal50 prepare?

Form 1099-NEC, for nonemployee compensation. Form 1099-MISC is not supported yet.

Which TIN should I enter?

An SSN for individuals, or an EIN for businesses. Use the TIN on the recipient's Form W-9.

Try it in your own books.

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