Batch bill payments let you pay multiple bills at once in Relay's Bill Pay, across one or more payees, in a single guided workflow. Typically a 5-minute task.
What you need before you start
A Relay account with Bill Pay enabled
Bills already created or uploaded in the Bill Pay Inbox
A funding account with enough balance to cover the total
Permission to submit payments, or approval routing already configured for your team
What is a batch bill payment in Relay?
A batch bill payment is a single workflow that lets you review and submit multiple bills at the same time. Each bill still generates a separate payment to its vendor, so vendor records, memos, and accounting sync stay one-to-one.
Who can use batch bill payments?
Batch bill payments are available on every subscription tier: the Starter Plan, Grow Plan, and Scale Plan. Team members need permission to submit payments, and any approval rules you have configured still apply on a per-bill basis.
How do I pay multiple bills at once?
Select the bills you want, review each payment, then submit them together from the Payment Details page.
Log in to your Relay account.
Go to the Payments tab, then open Bills.
Apply filters to narrow the list by status, payee, or due date.
Select the checkbox next to each bill you want to pay. Bills can be for the same payee or for different payees.
Click Pay bills.
On the Payment Details page, expand each payment card to review the bill. Bills for the same payee are grouped under one card.
For each bill, set the funding account, amount, currency, payment method, payment date, and an optional memo.
Continue to the Review page.
Confirm the total and the per-bill breakdown, then click Submit.
Track status in the Bills section. Each bill updates independently as it processes.
How do I review bill details before submitting?
Expand any payment card on the Payment Details page to see the underlying invoice information and line items. When several bills sit under one payee, click into a specific bill to open its attachments and confirm you're paying the right invoice.
What happens after I submit a batch payment?
Each bill in the batch processes as its own payment to the vendor. You can see individual statuses in the Bills section, and each bill flips to Paid separately once it clears.
How do batch bill payments sync with QuickBooks Online or Xero?
Bills sync to QuickBooks Online or Xero on a per-bill basis. Each bill updates to Paid in your accounting software as its individual payment clears, so reconciliation stays tied to the specific invoice rather than to the batch.
What are the best practices for batch bill payments?
Set up payment approvals for high-value transactions so a second reviewer signs off before the payment goes out
Run a batch on a regular cadence (weekly works well for most small businesses) so cash outflows stay predictable
Keep vendor communication consistent about when you pay, so vendors know what to expect
Use descriptive memos on each bill to make bank reconciliation faster later
Common issues
A bill you meant to pay was not selected. Unselected bills stay in the Bills tab and are available for the next batch.
A bill is stuck in Pending Approval. Check your approval rules in Payment Approvals. The bill will move once the required approver signs off.
The batch total looks off. Return to the Payment Details page and expand each card to check the amount, currency, and payment method for every bill.
A payment did not sync to QuickBooks Online or Xero. Confirm the accounting integration is still connected and that the specific bill has a linked vendor record. See Bill Pay Integration Troubleshooting Guide.
You need to cancel a submitted payment. Cancellation depends on the payment method and status. See Cancelling an ACH payment or Cancelling a check payment for the specifics.
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