The payment journal is the primary tool for processing vendor payments in Business Central. It supports a variety of payment methods, including checks and ACH payments, and allows organizations to manage payment batches across different scenarios. An unlimited number of payment batches can be created to support different payment processes, banks, users, or payment segregation requirements. For standard check payments, a bank balancing account is typically not assigned to the batch because multiple bank accounts may be used. ACH-specific setup is covered separately in Part 2 of the Payment Journal series.

Understanding important payment journal fields

Several fields play an important role when entering and processing payments:

• Posting Date: The financial date used for posting entries.
• Document Date: The date that appears on the check or payment document.
• Document Type: Typically set to Payment but can also be Refund.
• Document Number: The system-generated payment reference number.
• Account Type: Usually Vendor, or Customer when processing refunds.
• Account Number: Identifies the vendor or customer receiving payment.
• Description: Provides text that appears on the payment document.
• Payment Method Code: Identifies whether the payment is by check or ACH.
• Amount: The payment amount.
• Balance Account Type: Typically set to Bank Account.
• Balance Account Number: Identifies the bank account used for payment.
• Applies-to Document Type: Usually Invoice for vendor invoice payments.
• Applies-to Document Number: Identifies the invoice being paid.
• Bank Payment Type: Determines whether the payment is a computer check, manual check, or electronic payment.
• Check Printed: Indicates whether the check has been printed.
• Dimensions: Optional classifications used for financial reporting.

Creating payment lines with Suggest Vendor Payments

Instead of entering payments manually, users can generate payment lines using the Suggest Vendor Payments feature. To create payment lines:

1. Open the Payment Journal.
2. Select Prepare > Suggest Vendor Payments.
3. Enter the Last Payment Date.
4. Select whether to check other journal batches.
5. Enter the Posting Date.
6. Select the appropriate bank account.
7. Choose the desired Bank Payment Type.
8. Apply optional filters such as vendor or payment method.

Filtering allows organizations to process only the payments they want while helping prevent duplicate payments. Checking other journal batches is especially important because it helps ensure invoices already scheduled for payment elsewhere are not accidentally paid twice.

Combining multiple invoices into a single payment

By default, each invoice generates its own payment line. This means separate invoices will result in separate checks. To produce a single payment for multiple invoices:

1. Use Suggest Vendor Payments.
2. Enable Summarize Per Vendor.
3. Generate the payment lines.

When this option is selected, all eligible invoices for a vendor are combined into a single payment amount. The system then applies that payment across multiple invoices via the Apply Entries window, allowing a single check to close multiple open invoices.

Reviewing applied entries

When a summarized payment is created, invoice information is managed through the Apply Entries page. From the Apply Entries window, users can:

• Review invoices included in the payment.
• Add or remove invoices from the payment.
• Confirm the payment amount matches the selected invoices.
• Control which transactions will be closed when the payment is posted.

This provides flexibility when paying multiple invoices with a single payment.

Printing checks

Once payment lines have been reviewed, checks can be printed directly from the payment journal. To print checks:

1. Select Check > Print Check.
2. Confirm the bank account settings.
3. Review the check number sequence.
4. Choose the desired output option.
5. Generate the check.

Many organizations choose to generate a PDF copy, allowing checks to be stored electronically before printing. After a check is successfully generated, Business Central automatically marks the Check Printed field. Users do not manually update this field. If a check was printed incorrectly, the Void Check option can be used before posting the transaction.

Posting the payment journal

Printing a check does not complete the payment process. After checks have been printed:

1. Review the journal lines.
2. Select Post.
3. Confirm the posting action.

Posting creates the financial entries in the system and removes the payment journal lines from the batch. If the journal is not posted after printing:

• The transaction is not recorded.
• The system does not recognize the payment as complete.
• Future payment processing may be affected.

Posting should always be the final step of the payment process.

Key takeaways

• The payment journal is used to process vendor payments in Business Central.
• Multiple payment batches can be created for different payment scenarios.
• Understanding key journal fields helps ensure accurate payment processing.
• Suggest Vendor Payments automates payment generation.
• Filters help prevent duplicate or unnecessary payments.
• The Summarize Per Vendor option allows multiple invoices to be paid with a single check.
• Apply Entries controls which invoices are included in a payment.
• Checks must be printed before posting.
• Payments are not complete until the journal has been posted.
• Posting creates the financial entries and finalizes the transaction.