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What are the Bill Pay Tabs in Relay?

UpdatedAugust 11, 2026

The Bills tab in Relay uses six status tabs (Needs Review, Unpaid, Pending Payments, In Progress, Paid, All) to organize bills so you can find, review, and pay them without scrolling one long list.

Who this is for

  • Business owners managing accounts payable inside Relay

  • Bookkeepers or team members with Bill Pay permissions

  • Anyone importing bills from QuickBooks Online or Xero, uploading manually, or forwarding bills via email

How Bill Pay tabs work

  • Every bill lives in one tab at a time based on its current status

  • Bills move through tabs automatically as you review, approve, and pay them

  • Smart Cards at the top of the page show totals for outstanding, overdue, and status breakdowns

  • Filters, search, and sort work the same way inside every tab

  • Status updates sync back to QuickBooks Online or Xero once a payment settles

How do I find the Bills tab in Relay?

Go to Payments > Bills in your Relay account. All six tabs sit at the top of the Bills table, and the tab you last viewed is remembered when you return.

What does each Bill Pay tab show?

Each tab groups bills at a specific stage of the accounts payable workflow.

  • Needs Review. Bills you created manually or forwarded via email that still need a vendor, category, or other required detail before they can be paid.

  • Unpaid. Bills imported from QuickBooks Online or Xero that are outstanding, including bills awaiting approval and bills ready for immediate payment.

  • Pending Payments. Bills that are cleared for payment or scheduled for a future date, including bills waiting on a final approval step. You can initiate payments individually or in a batch from this tab.

  • In Progress. Bills where a payment has been initiated but not yet settled. Relay updates status automatically once funds transfer.

  • Paid. Bills that are fully paid and settled across ACH, wire, and check. Relay syncs this status to connected accounting software.

  • All. A comprehensive view of every bill regardless of status, useful for historical search and audits.

How do the Smart Cards and filters help me find a bill?

Smart Cards and filters narrow the Bills table so you only see the bills that match what you are working on right now.

  • Smart Cards display summary totals such as total outstanding, overdue, and status breakdowns. Click any card to filter the table instantly.

  • Search locates bills by vendor name, memo, or bill number.

  • Advanced filters narrow results by date, amount, status, or payment method.

  • Sort by any column header. Bills default to due-date sort, so overdue and upcoming items surface first.

How does Bill Pay status sync with QuickBooks Online and Xero?

Relay updates the connected accounting platform automatically once a bill is paid, so your ledger stays reconciled without manual entry.

  • Xero: Bills in the In Progress or Paid tabs appear as Paid in Xero.

  • QuickBooks Online: Bills continue to show as Unpaid in QuickBooks until Relay finishes processing the payment, then update to Paid.

  • Payment details (amount, date, method) sync alongside the status change.

What's included and what isn't

Included:

  • All bills you create in Relay or import from QuickBooks Online or Xero

  • ACH, wire, and check payments initiated from the Bills tab

  • Automatic status sync back to connected accounting software

Not included:

  • Card payments and other transactions outside the Bill Pay workflow (view those in your account transaction history)

  • Bills paid outside Relay (those must be marked paid in your accounting software separately)

Talk to our Customer Experience team

If this article did not fully answer your question, our Customer Experience team is here to help.

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Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC.