Bills

Snap it, check it, approve it

Every invoice from your produce guy, your linen service or your liquor distributor becomes a bill in DishBooks. Upload a photo or PDF and DishBooks’ AI reads it for you: vendor, date, amounts and every line item, each matched to a GL accountGL accountGeneral ledger account. One of the named buckets on your books, like Food Sales or Sales Tax Payable, that every dollar is sorted into..

Your job is the part that needs a human: a quick check, then approve. The more bills you run through, the smarter it gets about your vendors.

How a bill moves

The cards across the top of Expenses → Bills match these statuses, with a count and total for each, so you can see what’s waiting on you at a glance.

Before you start

• Your vendors are set up (or you’re happy to add them as bills come in). See Set up vendors.
• Set a default GL account on vendors who always hit the same account, like your landlord (Rent) or linen service (Janitorial). Every line on their bills fills in automatically. See the tip below.
• Have your invoices handy as PDFs or clear photos.

Step 1 Upload a bill

1. Go to Expenses → Bills and click Upload (top right).

2. Choose your PDFs or photos. Got a whole stack from this week’s deliveries? Select them all at once. Each invoice becomes its own bill, so 10 invoices means 10 new rows.

3. The Processing card counts it while the AI reads the invoice, and a 1 new row tag appears below the cards. Click it to refresh the list. Reading usually takes just seconds, then the bill moves to Pending.

   

   

Shows up under Failed? The AI couldn’t read it. Upload a clearer scan or photo.

Step 2 Check it and accept it

Open a bill from Pending. The invoice shows alongside the details so you can check one against the other.

1. Confirm the vendor first. Pick them from Select a vendor and click Confirm vendor. Buying from someone new? Under Or create new vendor, DishBooks fills in the name straight from the invoice. Give it a quick check and click Create vendor. Nothing else on the bill opens up until the vendor is set, and it’s how DishBooks learns each vendor’s items for next time.

2. Check the details in the summary bar: vendor, bill date and due date (set by the terms), location and bill total. Click Edit at the top to change any of them.

3. Check each line item. Every line shows the item, location and the GL account the AI picked, with a confidence %. Confirm it, or choose a different GL account. The Not reviewed and Needs attention counters above the table show what’s left to look at.

4. Check the totals match the invoice. The original sits on the right under Attachments. Below it, the Audit log shows who uploaded and changed the bill, and Notes holds anything printed on the invoice, like delivery instructions.

5. Click Accept, or Accept & next to jump straight to the next pending bill. The bill moves to Draft.

   

   

What does the confidence % mean? It’s how sure DishBooks is about the GL account it picked. On a clean invoice most lines land at 100%. Anything lower is worth a second look, so start there. Confirm or fix those lines and DishBooks learns, so the next bill from that vendor comes in even more confident.

Two optional fields worth knowing:

• Document date: the date printed on the invoice, when it’s different from the bill date. For example, a June 30 invoice that arrives after June is closed: post it to the first open day, and record June 30 here so everyone can see when it really happened.
• Exclude from journal entriesJournal entryA record of money moving between GL accounts. Each one lists debits and credits that must be equal.: only for opening balances when you first move to DishBooks (bills that were already open on your go-live date). It records the bill without touching your financials. Leave it off for everyday bills.

Step 3 Approve it

Accepted bills wait under Draft for a final OK.

• Open one and click Approve, or Approve & next to move through the pile.
• Got a stack you’ve already checked? Tick the boxes next to them on the Bills list and click Approve in the bar that appears. Bills that can’t be approved yet, like pending ones, are skipped, and DishBooks lists them first.

Approved bills are ready for payment. Schedule them through Bill Pay, or record the payment once your check, ACH or card payment goes out. When the payment is recorded, the bill shows as Paid.

Need to make a change?

Open the bill and click Edit. If it’s already approved, click Unapprove first, make your change, then approve it again.

• Bill details (right side): vendor, location, bill number, date, terms and due date. Document date is reference only: pick Same as date or Different. It doesn’t affect your journal entries. Notes and the Exclude from journal entries switch live here too.
• Line items (left side): change the description, location, quantity or unit price on any line. Think the AI picked the wrong GL account, or know a better fit? Click the GL account and choose another from the dropdown. Need one more line? Click + Add line at the bottom. The Bill total updates as you go.
• Attachments: view or remove the invoice, or click Attach file to add another, like a packing slip.

When you’re done, click Save changes. Changed your mind? Cancel or Discard throws out your edits.

By GL Account or By Item?

Every line has a Mode:

• By GL Account keeps it simple: what you bought, where the cost lands, quantity and price. This is all most lines need, and it’s the only sensible choice for things like a fuel surcharge or sales tax.
• By Item adds the product details: Purchase unit, SKU, Product, Brand, Pack qty and Pack unit (say, a case of 12) and Ind. qty and Ind. unit (say, 1 lb each). Use it when you want to know exactly what you bought, not just what it cost. These lines also build that vendor’s Item Catalog.

Other ways bills show up

• From your integrations. Invoices from MarginEdge, Opsi, Sysco or US Foods land here on their own. The Created by column shows where each came from. See Integrations overview.
• Email them in. Open Expenses → Bill Inbox to find the email address for each location. Forward invoices to it from the email you log in with, and they become pending bills on their own. Anything DishBooks can’t trust, like an unknown sender or an email with no attachment, waits under Needs review until someone clicks Upload or Dismiss. You need Upload on Bills to see the Bill Inbox.
• Create one from scratch. Click + Create new to type in a bill by hand, for a vendor without a paper invoice.

The Bills list works like a spreadsheet: filter and sort any column, and use the page controls at the bottom to move through older bills.

Tips and common questions

How do I stop retyping the same GL account for one vendor?

Open the vendor and set a default GL account. From then on, every line on their bills fills in with it. Perfect for rent, linen service, utilities and anything else that always lands in one place.

Can I accept a whole batch of pending bills at once?

No, on purpose. Each pending bill needs a human to look it over. Once they’re in Draft, you can approve in bulk.

I uploaded the wrong file.

Open the bill, click Actions and choose Delete bill, then upload the right one.

Is there a shortcut for a bill that looks the same every time?

Yes. Open a past one, click Actions and choose Duplicate bill. You get a copy with the same vendor and lines, ready for the new date and amounts. Great for a weekly linen service or a standing order. Actions also has Create New Bill if you’d rather start fresh.

What does “This bill changed since you started these edits” mean?

Someone else (or an integration) updated the bill while you had it open. Saving now writes over their change. If you’re not sure what changed, click Discard, reopen the bill and make your edit again.

What’s the difference between bill date and document date?

Bill date is when it hits your books. Document date is what’s printed on the invoice. They’re usually the same; they differ when a month is already closed.

Where’s the invoice image after I approve?

It stays attached to the bill. Open the bill and click the attachment to see it.

What’s next

Your bills are approved and ready to pay. Next, record a payment or print a check.