FAQ: Vendor Balance (Summary & Detail) Report

Questions and answers

Q: Why does a vendor appear with a zero balance on this report? A: A vendor with zero balance has no outstanding transactions—either you have paid all their bills, or you have never made a purchase from them. If you expect to see them, check that their transactions fall within your date filter range.

Q: How often should I run this report? A: That depends on your business. Many companies run it weekly or at month-end to check payment obligations and cash flow planning. You can run it as often as you like; there is no limit.

Q: Can I see a historical balance from a previous month or year? A: Yes. When running the report, set the As of date filter to the date you want (e.g., June 30, 2025) and the report will show balances as they were on that date.

Q: What if I see a negative balance for a vendor? Does that mean the vendor owes me money? A: Yes, the opposite of normal. A negative balance means you have a credit with the vendor: either you prepaid them, or they issued a credit note to you. This credit can reduce your next payment. The vendor does not owe you money unless you plan to request a refund.

Q: My vendor is showing a balance of 100,000 AFN, but I think I only owe 50,000 AFN. Why? A: Switch to Detail view to see all transactions. The 100,000 AFN might include recent bills you haven't manually reviewed, or there may be an unapplied credit note or adjustment. The detail view will show exactly what makes up that balance.

Q: Can I filter the report to show only vendors I owe money to (positive balance)? A: Many report interfaces offer a Balance type filter. Select "Creditors" or "Positive balance" to show only vendors with amounts due. If your system does not have this filter, you can download the report to Excel and filter it there.

Q: What's the difference between Summary and Detail view? A: Summary shows one row per vendor with their total balance. Detail breaks down every transaction (each bill, payment, credit) that contributed to that balance. Use Summary for a quick scan, and Detail for auditing or verification.

Q: If I don't filter by date, what date does the report use? A: The default is today's date. The report shows all balances as they stand right now. If you want a historical snapshot, set the "As of date" filter explicitly.