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How to Use the Bills Inbox in Relay

UpdatedAugust 11, 2026

The Bills Inbox is a unique forwarding email address on your Relay account that turns any invoice you email in into a draft bill automatically.

What you need before you start

  • A Relay account with Bill Pay access

  • The correct role and permissions for Bill Pay (team members without Bill Pay permissions cannot access the Bills Inbox)

  • USD-denominated invoices in PDF, JPG, or PNG format, each under 25 MB

What is the Bills Inbox?

The Bills Inbox is a unique forwarding email address assigned to your Relay account that automatically creates a draft bill from any invoice sent to it. When a vendor, team member, or accountant emails an invoice to the address, Relay attaches the document, extracts the invoice details, and files a draft bill for your review.

Bill Pay currently supports USD-denominated bills only.

Where do I find my Bills Inbox email address?

Your Bills Inbox address lives inside the Bill Pay section of your Relay account. To find it:

  1. Sign in to your Relay account.

  2. Go to Payments > Bills.

  3. Click + Add Bills.

  4. Copy the forwarding email address shown.

How do I send bills to the Bills Inbox?

Forward the invoice to your Bills Inbox address, or share the address with vendors and team members so they can email invoices directly. Relay accepts PDF, JPG, and PNG files up to 25 MB each. Send one bill per email so the system can process each invoice cleanly.

Once an email arrives, Relay:

  • Creates a new draft bill in the Draft tab

  • Attaches the emailed document to the bill

  • Extracts vendor name, amount, invoice number, due date, and other fields where available

  • Sends a notification when the draft is ready for review

How do I review and complete a draft bill?

Open the Draft tab in Bill Pay, select the bill Relay created from your email, and confirm the extracted details before scheduling payment. If any field is missing or the system could not read the document, complete those fields manually before you approve the bill.

What file formats and sizes does the Bills Inbox accept?

The Bills Inbox accepts three file formats up to 25 MB each:

  • PDF

  • JPG

  • PNG

Send one file per email for the fastest processing.

Best practices for the Bills Inbox

  • Share the Bills Inbox address only with vendors and team members you trust.

  • Ask vendors to send one invoice per email so each bill lands as its own draft.

  • Verify vendor name, amount, and due date on every draft before approving.

  • Keep original invoices archived separately if your bookkeeping workflow requires it.

Common issues

  • The bill did not appear in my Draft tab. Check that the invoice was sent as an attachment, not embedded inline, and that the file type is PDF, JPG, or PNG. Emails without a supported attachment are ignored.

  • The vendor or amount extracted is wrong. Open the draft and correct the field manually before approving. The original document stays attached for your records.

  • The attachment was rejected. The file may be over 25 MB, or the format may not be supported. Compress the PDF or convert the image and resend.

  • I did not receive a notification. Notification preferences live under your profile settings. Confirm that bill notifications are turned on.

  • The invoice is in a foreign currency. Bill Pay supports USD only. Convert the invoice or send an international wire outside of Bill Pay for non-USD vendors.

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.