Your bill payments questions answered
Find out more about Pay by BILL for making payments, how it works and where to get started with answers to our FAQs.
Overview
Who is BILL?
BILL is a leading provider of cloud-based software that simplifies, digitizes, and automates back-office financial processes for small and mid-sized businesses. Xero has partnered with BILL to deliver Pay by BILL.
What is Pay by BILL?
Pay by BILL enables businesses and their advisors to manage vendor bills and make secure payments by ACH transfer or check directly from Xero.
How does Pay by BILL work?
Simply onboard to BILL within Xero and select the bills you want to pay using Pay by BILL. Follow these steps for help on making a bill payment.
You will only be able to make bill payments within the US using USD. Foreign currency bills are not currently supported.
Pricing and fees
Will there be a cost to pay bills?
During the beta program, you won’t have to pay any additional fees to pay bills using Pay by BILL (beyond what you already pay for your Xero subscription).
Once the beta program concludes, there will be a cost associated to continue using this payment option. Xero will notify you by email towards the end of the beta program with details of the fees and how to opt out if you do not wish to continue using the experience.
Set up
How do I set up Pay by BILL for bill payments?
To start paying bills from Xero simply onboard to BILL within Xero; then, the option to Pay by BILL will be available as an additional payment option.
What information do I need to provide in order to onboard?
In order to onboard to BILL within Xero you will be required to provide information about your business such as business name, address, industry, owner, etc. You will also be required to provide a “protected id” for your business - this could be the tax ID for the business, your EIN, or your SSN depending on the type of business.
In some instances, BILL may require additional supporting documentation about your business. If this occurs you will receive an email from BILL and have 5 days to respond. BILL will advise what additional information you need to provide in order to meet their regulatory requirements.
Why does BILL need this information?
BILL is a licensed money transmitter in the United States, and therefore, needs to perform certain due diligence on its users to remain in line with its legal obligations and sponsoring financial institutions.
What happens if my onboarding KYC/KYB is not successful and fails?
If there are any issues, BILL will notify you via email which will contain details about how to appeal your case with BILL.
How long will the verification process take, when will I be able to use Pay by BILL?
Many businesses are approved instantly. Some customers will need to provide additional information at the time of submitting their first payment; BILL will notify these customers via email and payments will be held until BILL receives the necessary info to validate the business.
I’m not able to add my bank account to BILL, what do I need to do?
Navigate back to here and try again.
How do I opt out of the beta program?
If you no longer wish to be part of the bill payments beta program, please contact Xero Support.
Using Pay by BILL
How do I make payments using Pay by BILL?
For step-by-step information on using Pay by BILL visit Xero Central.
Who is responsible for processing my payments?
Xero has partnered with BILL LLC, a payment institution that is an authorized money transmission service provider. If you sign up for the Pay by BILL feature in Xero, as part of your onboarding, you will be set up as a direct customer of BILL and will agree to be bound by BILL’s General Terms of Service (including BILL’s Acceptable Use Policy and Privacy Notice, together with any other terms and conditions incorporated by reference). As these terms and conditions will apply to your use of the Pay by BILL feature in Xero, it's important for you to read and understand them. BILL’s terms and conditions are in addition to Xero's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy that continue to apply to your use of Xero’s services generally.
What payment methods are available when I use Pay by BILL?
During the beta program you will be able to fund bill payments from your bank account.
Similarly, your vendor will receive their money into their bank account. If you don’t know your vendor’s bank details then BILL will post them a check. If your vendor exists in the BILL vendor network, they may opt to receive their money via ePayment methods such as Digital Wallets, RPPS (Remote Payment and Presentment Service), PayPal, or through a virtual card.
Are there limits on the amount of money I can pay per day using Pay by BILL?
All banks cap the amount you can pay each day. We recommend checking with your bank or financial institution to better understand any limits.
How much can I pay in a single batch of bills?
The number of bills you can select to pay in a batch is limited to 200 bills per batch. However the amount that you can pay in a single batch (or group of batches processed in one day) will be dependent on the payment limits of your bank.
Can I group all my bills owing to a single supplier?
At this stage you’re unable to group bills owing so each supplier receives a single payment and reference for a group of bills.
Can I schedule my bill payments?
At this stage you’re unable to schedule future bill payments.
Do I need to have my vendors in Xero?
Prior to paying your bills, we recommend that you add your vendors (including their bank account details) as Contacts in Xero. This way their details are already in the system when you go to pay them – avoiding the need to update Contacts during the payment flow. Take a look at Xero Central to learn how to add a new vendor as a Contact in Xero.
How do I add vendors in Xero?
Take a look at Xero Central to understand how to add a new vendor as a Contact in Xero. New contacts are automatically added the first time you enter a bill in Xero. However, you’ll need to click into the supplier contact record (either from the bill or searching within your Contacts) in order to add information such as their bank account details and email address.
Will I be able to send remittance advice?
Yes, you can still send remittance advice from a paid bill, and you can also do so from a bank account. However, BILL will automatically issue a remittance advice on your behalf.
What will my vendors see on their bank statement when I make a payment?
For all payments processed, vendors will see the name of your account (your business name) displayed on their bank statement. This will ensure your vendors know that you’ve made a payment to their account.
How do I see the status of my payments?
Once you pay a bill or batch of bills, you will be able to check the status and see an overview of all bill payments made using Pay by BILL in Xero. If any of your bill payments fail, you will receive an email notification with a link to view the status. You can also review the bank account transactions in Xero.
How quickly will I see the statement line in Xero, so I can reconcile it?
Once the batch payment is approved, it will be available to view on the account transaction. The availability of the bank statement line to match and reconcile the batch will depend on the timing of the feed from your selected bank account.
One or more of my payments have failed. Where can I find out more about why this might have happened?
If there is an issue with a payment, Xero will display an error message (at the time the payment has been made). You will also receive an email notification.
Can I pay foreign currency bills?
At this stage foreign currency bill payments aren’t supported. You’ll only be able to make payments for bills within the United States using USD to vendors with a US address.
Can I make other payments such as payroll and expenses?
At this stage you can only make vendor bill payments.
Will I still be able to use payment files?
Yes, Pay by BILL is an additional alternative bill payment option, if you prefer, you can continue to pay bills using payment files.
Partners
Can I use this feature on behalf of my clients?
Coming soon. This feature is yet to be released, at which point, as an accountant or bookkeeper, you’ll be able to prepare and submit bills for payment within Xero, then handover to your client to review and make the payments.
Can I use Pay BILL for my own Practice?
Yes, you can onboard to BILL within Xero and use Pay by BILL to make payments for your own Practice.
Security and access
Is my money and data secure?
We’re committed to the security of your data and provide multiple layers of protection for the personal and financial information you trust to Xero. You can read more about the measures we take to protect and secure data on our security page. Our privacy notice also sets out how we process your own personal data that you enter into Xero – like your name and email address.