Categories / Invoicing/
BILL BELAY: AP payment time 15–20 min → ~1 min across 3,000+ clients
A virtual-assistant and bookkeeping firm cut bill-pay from 15–20 minutes to about 1 minute per bill across 3,000+ clients with BILL + QuickBooks Online.
- Task
- scale nonprofit/CPG client AP/AR without paper checks, scattered approvals, or fraud-prone bank-detail edits
- Result
- bill-pay process cut from ~15–20 minutes to ~1 minute; dual approvals + vendor self-service + audit trails; AI-assisted bill capture/coding; leadership manages invoicing/cash ops in "a couple hours each week" instead of a separate admin team
- Tools
- BILL (AP, AR, Spend & Expense, Accountant Console, ACH/virtual card/international)
- QuickBooks Online two-way sync
- Fathom reporting
- Setup
- bills hit dedicated inbox → AI-assisted digitize/code → role-based approvals (desktop/mobile) → pay ACH by default → two-way sync to QBO → use Accountant Console for multi-client user roles
- add Spend & Expense budgets/receipts for faster month-end
Step-by-step setup guide + copy-paste prompt
Honest note: Approvals and ACH payouts are rules. BILL's capture/coding uses AI — always review before paying.
Prerequisites
- BILL account (AP).
- QuickBooks Online with two-way sync.
- Dual-approval policy decided (who approves over which \$ amount).
Step-by-step setup
Step 1. Get your BILL Inbox address. Vendors email invoices to that address → BILL creates a bill for review.
Step 2. Let AI assist capture/coding, then a human checks category/vendor before approval.
Step 3. Set approval policies. Approvers, thresholds, desktop/mobile approvals.
Step 4. Pay ACH by default (virtual card/international as needed). Prefer vendor self-service bank details over editing them by hand (fraud control).
Step 5. Sync to QuickBooks. Keep QBO sync at least daily and use Sync Now when you need it immediately. Optional: "Sync Only Approved Bills and Vendor Credits" (irreversible — read the warning).
Step 6. Accountant Console (firms). Use role-based access across clients; add Spend & Expense budgets/receipts for faster month-end.
Copy-paste prompt
Draft an approval-policy one-pager for {{firm}}: who approves under $500 / $500–$5,000 / over $5,000, SLA in hours, and what to do when vendor bank details change.Sources
- BILL: BELAY case study. Credit: BELAY leadership (vendor-published).
- Setup paths: BILL Help (Inbox, approvals, QBO sync).
Industries: AI automation for Accounting, Bookkeeping & Tax Firms
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