Adding bills to Melio centralizes your accounts payable, ensuring you never miss a due date while keeping the accounting software you use organized and up to date.
There are several ways to get your bills into Melio. You can create a bill manually, import a bill from a connected app, upload a bill file or a bill spreadsheet, or forward bills via email.
The following guide details how to create a bill manually and contains the following sections:
- Start the bill creation
- Enter basic bill details
- Add line items and accounting details:
- Schedule the payment
Start the bill creation
1 - Sign in to your Melio account.
2 - In the left sidebar, select Pay.
3 - Select the Bills tab.
4 - Select Create bill.
Enter basic bill details
5 - In the Create bill page, enter the Vendor business name. You can add an existing vendor or add a new vendor.
Alternatively, you can attach an invoice by clicking Select or drop a file to upload an invoice image or file from your device.
We will automatically pull the invoice details and create a new bill. You can then review the automatically scanned details and make any necessary edits before proceeding to Step 12 of this guide.
Melio accepts PDF, JPEG, JPG, and PNG files up to 10MB. Upload one invoice per file. Use Replace to upload a different file or Cancel to remove it entirely.
6 - Next, add the Bill Amount and select the currency.
7 - (Optional) Enter the Invoice number.
8 - (Optional) Choose a Payment frequency: one-time or recurring payment.
9 - Select the Invoice date and the Due date. The default due date will be set to today.
10 - (Optional) Enter a Note to self to track what the bill is for.
Add line items and accounting details
You can add line items to break down the bill total into specific products, services, quantities, and unit prices.
11 - Enter the first line item description and amount. To add additional line items, select + Add another line.
You can combine all line items into one line on this bill and future bills from this vendor by toggling on Combine items.
Automatic scanning and data entry for users synced with QuickBooks Online and Xero
QuickBooks Online
If you are synced with QuickBooks Online, Melio will automatically capture line items and pre-fill the Category, Class, and Location (where applicable). This happens after you upload a bill and select a vendor name.
- QuickBooks category: Melio pre-fills line item categories for you. You can edit these at any time; Melio will learn from your changes and apply them automatically next time.
- Class and Location (Boost & Unlimited plans): These fields are automatically selected based on the scan or entered information. You can change them manually if needed.
We use an AI technology to assign bill details based on the uploaded bill file and your billing history.
- When it works: The auto-fill feature activates immediately after you upload a bill file and select a vendor name.
- How it learns: If you manually change a field that Melio filled in (e.g, category), the system remembers this change. You don't need to change it manually every time.
- Vendor-specific: These preferences are saved for each vendor separately. If you make a change for Vendor A, it will not affect how bills are read for Vendor B.
Xero
If you are synced with Xero, we will automatically capture the GL category (GL account) field and pre-fill it in Melio account field. This happens after you upload a bill and select a vendor name.
We use an AI technology to assign bill details based on the uploaded bill file and your billing history.
- When it works: The auto-fill feature activates immediately after you upload a bill file and select a Vendor Name.
- How it learns: If you manually change a field that Melio filled, the system remembers this change. You don't need to change it manually every time.
- Vendor-specific: These preferences are saved for each vendor separately. If you make a change for Vendor A, it will not affect how bills are read for Vendor B.
Schedule the payment
12 - Once all details are correct, click Continue to pay to schedule the payment immediately.
13 - Alternatively, click Save and close to save the bill draft for a future payment.
That’s it! You successfully created a bill.