Online bill paying was supposed to make life easier, but for some people, it’s just one more thing to lose track of. Some of my bills are auto-paid, but some still need me to make the online payment. Here is how I organize online bill paying.
Should You Turn Off Paper Bills to Organize Online Bill Paying?
Paper bills are still my trigger to make a payment before some deadline. Without these, I’m hopeless. So if you were hoping to get rid of all the paper in your life, but you find that you are still missing deadlines, you might actually want to turn back on some paper bills.
You can schedule a payment for some date in advance. In fact, I don’t know any systems where you can’t do that. So, when my paper bills arrive, I do my best to get to the computer that day and schedule a payment, even if I don’t want to pay it just yet.
For this bill below, I am scheduling a payment today (1/19) that will actually get paid on 2/1, which is about a week in advance of when it is due. It’s smart to leave about 5 days travel time for your money. Even though it’s an electronic payment, it still takes a few days to transfer the money from bank to bank or business, and you don’t want to get charged late fees.
Electronic payments do not equal instant payments. #Organize online bill payments to clear the bank a few days in advance.
[ctt template=”4″ link=”E3bQj” via=”yes” ]Electronic payments do not equal instant payments. #Organize online bill payments to clear the bank a few days in advance. @DarlaDeMorrow[/ctt]
What’s the Most Important Step to Organize Online Bill Paying?
This next step is the one most people think is genius. I write the details of the payment on the paper bill, including that painfully long confirmation number. I’ll note whether I sent a paper check, made a payment online from checking or from a credit card, the amount of any partial payment, and then file by month, not by category. It makes filing easier, and if I need to check later, I can verify the payment.
The little notes are even more helpful if you run a small business.
Easy peasy, and it takes less than 2 minutes. Online banking convenience and organization for the modern world.
When I schedule a payment in advance, I make a note in the Reference area of my QuickBooks bill – “scheduled”. That way I know I did it and I don’t create an additional transaction by mistake. (I only did that once and I learned quickly!)