DBD: Check Processing

Automated payment processing consists of two primary stages:

1. Automatic Invoice Selection: Fast-tracks the process by automatically queuing a batch of invoices based on specific date, vendor, or account criteria.
2. Specific Invoice Selection: Allows you to review, modify, add to, or prune the automated batch before printing physical checks.

Step 1: Automatic Invoice Selection

Accounts Payable > Payment Processing > Automatic Invoice Selection

Use this parameter panel to establish the specific criteria for the invoices you want to select for payment. To ignore a selection filter, simply leave it blank. The system will process the open invoice file and record any item meeting all specified criteria into the temporary Invoice Selection Work File.

Setting the Discount Rule

The first field on this screen controls your cash-management behavior rather than filtering data:

• Take available discounts expiring after: Every selected invoice with an available discount is cross-checked against this date. If the invoice’s discount due date falls on or after this target date, the system considers the discount active and applies it.
• Past-Due Exceptions: If the invoice's discount date precedes this target date, the discount is forfeited—unless that specific vendor profile has been explicitly configured to Always Take Past-Due Discounts.

When the automatic process is complete, you can safely run the program again with a completely different set of criteria to layer additional invoices into your active payment batch.

Step 2: Specific Invoice Selection (Reviewing & Modifying)

Accounts Payable > Payment Processing > Specific Invoice Selection

Use this program to audit or manually adjust the temporary Invoice Selection Work File generated by your automatic runs.

When you launch the program with an active batch in place, the system will generate a prompt asking if you wish to clear the file:

Choose the appropriate action based on your workflow needs:

• Click NO: (Most Common) Advance into the file to manually review the batch, insert specific one-off invoices, or delete auto-selected items you wish to hold back.
• Click YES: Completely wipe the current payment selection file clean to start your criteria selection over from scratch.
• Click CANCEL: Safely exit the modification program without altering the existing batch file.

How to Edit the Payment Selection

If you chose No on the prompt to edit the active batch, enter the desired Vendor Code and Invoice Number to perform one of three actions:

• Add an Invoice: Queue an open invoice that was skipped during the automatic selection run.
• Delete an Invoice: Remove an invoice that was previously selected, holding it back from this check run.
• Modify the Amount: Adjust the specific dollar amount to be paid on a particular invoice (e.g., making a partial payment).

Step 3: Review the Suggested Payment Report

Accounts Payable > Payment Processing > Suggested Payment Report

Before loading check stock into your printer, run this report to audit your cash requirements.

• The report lists all selected invoices grouped by vendor.
• It provides Vendor Totals and Company Totals to show the exact cash required for the batch.
• Review Strategy: If the total cash requirement does not align with your expectations, return to the Automatic or Specific Invoice Selection programs to fine-tune your batch before proceeding.

Step 4: Check Printing

Path: Accounts Payable > Payment Processing > Check Printing

Once your selections are finalized, you are ready to print physical checks. The system automatically populates invoice details onto the check stub.

• Stub Overflow: The check stub lists each individual invoice being paid. If a vendor has more invoices than can fit on a single stub, the program will automatically void the check portion of that page, advance to the next sheet, and continue printing the remittance details. The system automatically logs these overflow checks as Void.
• Alignment and Date Checks: Always verify that the displayed Fiscal Year and Accounting Period match your current target period. Ensure the Starting Check Number in the system matches the exact physical number of the first check face up in your printer tray.

Handling Printer Malfunctions & Jams

If your printer jams, runs out of ink, or experiences a physical check break mid-run, the system allows you to restart printing at a specific vendor. DBd will automatically mark the ruined check numbers as Void in the system so your check registry remains perfectly sequential.

Step 5: Cash Disbursements Journal & Update

Path: Accounts Payable > Payment Processing > Cash Disbursements Journal / Update

The final step in the payment cycle is generating the Cash Disbursements Journal. This report acts as your official audit trail, listing every check written and the specific invoices it covered.

Once you verify the journal report, run the Update command. This automated routine permanently finalizes the batch by executing the following system actions:

• Updates Open Invoices: Records the payment transactions against the vendor records in the Open Invoice File.
• Reduces Vendor Balances: Deducts the paid amounts from the running master vendor balances.
• Populates Bank Reconciliation: Sends an entry straight to the outstanding checks file in the Bank Reconciliation (BREC) system.
• Tracks tax metrics: Accumulates data toward Vendor 1099 figures (if applicable).
• Compiles History: Rolls the payment data into the vendor's master purchasing statistics.
• Logs Monthly Records: Logs entries into the monthly disbursements file.
• Posts to General Ledger: Executes the formal cash-side postings directly to the General Ledger Detail Transaction File.
• Flushes the Batch: Completely clears out the temporary Invoice Selection Work File so the system is ready for your next check run.