Has the purchase already been paid?
Intuit’s QuickBooks guidance distinguishes a bill for a purchase to be paid later from a check or expense for a purchase paid immediately. That is a useful first question when reviewing a supplier document.
Do not decide based only on the document heading. A supplier can send something labelled “invoice” after a payment has already happened. Check the payment context and the records your team maintains.
Payment timing matters. Check existing records before creating anything new.
Check whether a bill already exists
Intuit advises using Pay bills to close a transaction that was originally entered as a bill. Recording a separate expense instead can leave that bill appearing unpaid. Check for the existing record before choosing your next action.
For a workflow review, put payment status and the existing-record check beside the source file. Where the evidence is unclear, leave the item for the person responsible for the books rather than creating a second record.
Keep a short note with the decision
Write down the reason for the choice in ordinary language. “Supplier invoice still unpaid” tells the next reviewer more than a transaction label on its own.
This is a workflow starting point, not advice on tax treatment, account coding, or accounting policy. Use your organisation’s process and check the linked Intuit documentation for the relevant QuickBooks behaviour.
This is a sample editorial guide. Intuit: differences between bills, checks, and expenses provides related official documentation.
