> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.arcuserp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Pay Bills and Print Checks
> Use Pay Bills to select open vendor bills, apply vendor credits, record outgoing payments, print checks, or generate a NACHA file for bank upload.
## Before You Pay
* The vendor bill must be open or partially paid with a remaining balance.
* You need permission to process accounting payments.
* The payment date must be in an open accounting period.
* Check, ACH, NACHA, and wire payments need a bank account selected.
* Cash payments do not require a bank account.
* Checks need check numbering, check layout, check stock, and the check-clearing account configured.
* Plaid ACH requires entity-level Plaid Transfer setup and an approved funding account.
* NACHA requires a funding bank with routing details and vendors with ACH banking information.
**Pay Bills records accounting activity**
Confirm the payment method, date, bank account, selected bills, and credit usage before you submit.
Voiding later is possible for supported payment states, but the original payment history remains visible.
## Open Pay Bills
1. Go to **Accounting**.
2. Open **Pay Bills** under Payables.
3. Use the vendor filter when you only want one supplier.
4. Choose a payment method, bank account, and payment date.
5. Select one or more bill rows.
## Choose a Payment Method
* **Check**: records the payment and creates a printable vendor check.
* **ACH (Plaid)**: initiates ACH through Plaid when setup is approved for the entity.
* **ACH File (NACHA)**: generates a bank-upload file and finishes after you confirm it was sent.
* **Wire**: records a wire payment after the wire is sent separately through your bank.
* **Cash**: records a cash payment without a bank account selection.
**Vendor credits are not a payment method button**
Vendor credits appear inside the matching vendor group. Apply them to reduce
the cash portion of the payment before you confirm.
## Pay Selected Bills
1. Select the bill rows you want to pay.
2. Adjust **Amount to Pay** if you are making a partial payment.
3. Apply vendor credits when they should reduce the cash outlay.
4. Confirm the selected method, bank account, and payment date.
5. Click **Pay Selected Bills**.
6. Review the **Confirm Payment** modal.
7. Click **Confirm Payment**.
## Apply Vendor Credits
Vendor credits reduce what you need to pay a supplier. They only appear
under the vendor they belong to, and they can only be selected after at
least one bill for that vendor is selected.
* **Apply all**: applies available credits up to the selected bill total.
* **Clear credits**: removes selected credits from the payment preview.
* **Cash portion**: shows the bill amount minus the applied credits.
* **Fully covered bills**: may not need a check or bank withdrawal if credits cover the full amount.
**Credits must match the vendor**
Expired, fully used, voided, or different-vendor credits cannot be applied to the selected bills.
## Review the Confirm Payment Modal
The confirmation modal shows the method, date, bank account, bill count,
selected bill total, vendor credit total, and final cash outlay. This is
the last checkpoint before Arcus records the payment.
## Print Checks
When you pay by check, Arcus creates a check record after the payment is
confirmed. Use the success card's **Print Check** action, or
open the check later from **Accounting > Check Register**.
* The check amount is the cash portion after vendor credits.
* Printed checks usually sit in check clearing until they clear the bank.
* Checks can be printed or batch printed from the Check Register.
* Void a check from the Check Register when it should no longer count.
* Voiding a check reopens the affected bill balance when the payment is reversed.
**Use the Print Check button directly**
Browser popup blockers are strict. Use the Print Check button from the payment result
or Check Register instead of trying to open the printable check in a separate manual step.
## Use ACH File (NACHA)
NACHA creates a bank-upload file for selected vendor payments. It does
not send money by itself. Your team still uploads the file to the bank portal.
1. Select the bills to pay.
2. Choose **ACH File (NACHA)**.
3. Select the funding bank account.
4. Confirm the payment to generate the batch and download file.
5. Upload the file to your bank portal.
6. Click **Confirm Sent** only after the upload is complete.
**Do not confirm a NACHA batch early**
Generating the file alone does not finish the payment. Click Confirm Sent only after
the file was uploaded to the bank portal so Arcus and the bank stay aligned.
## Common Blocks
* **Pay Selected Bills is disabled**: select at least one bill and choose a required bank account.
* **No bills are shown**: no open or partial bills match the selected vendor filter.
* **Amount to Pay is blocked**: reduce the amount so it does not exceed the remaining bill balance.
* **Vendor credit is unavailable**: select a bill for that vendor and confirm the credit is open and unexpired.
* **Check payment is blocked**: review check numbering, check layout, check-clearing account, and bank account setup.
* **ACH is blocked**: confirm Plaid Transfer setup and funding-bank approval.
* **NACHA is blocked**: confirm the funding bank and vendor ACH details include valid routing and account information.
* **Payment date is blocked**: the date may be in a closed or locked accounting period.
* **Print window did not open**: allow popups for Arcus and use the Print Check action again.
## Related Articles
Record vendor bills, approve them, post them, and track AP aging.
Create scheduled vendor bill templates, pause runs, allocate GL splits, and review history.
Create one-time vendor checks without starting from an existing bill.
Review flagged vendors, W-9 status, tax-year totals, downloads, and locks.
Issue, review, expire, and apply supplier credits during bill payment.
Print, batch print, clear, void, and audit vendor checks.