The quick answer
The Apply subtab on Transactions > Payables > Pay Single Vendor lists the vendor's open, posted bills that fit the payment. The A/P Account and Currency on the payment are the first two filters to check. If the bill still isn't there, open it: an Approval Status of Pending Approval means it hasn't posted to accounts payable. Approve it on Transactions > Payables > Approve Bills (or edit the bill and set Approval Status to Approved), then go back to Pay Single Vendor and pay it.
NetSuite doesn't tell you why a bill was left off the payment. It just says No records to show. So check the causes in the same order every time: A/P account, currency, approval status, then Payment Hold and anything the bill is already tied to. This walkthrough follows that order for one bill, from the empty Apply subtab to Paid In Full. The person and company names in the screenshots are fictional example data.
Before you start
The example is Alex Morgan at Example Supply Co. paying Harbor Point Fasteners. Two bills are on file:
- HPF-55790 for 1,180.00, approved earlier
- HPF-55817 for 2,460.00, dated 10/09/2026, which nobody has approved yet
Both post to 2010 Accounts Payable : Accounts Payable - Trade. The payment is drawn on 1010 Cash : Operating Checking in US Dollar.
To follow along you need the Payables feature and a role with Bills, Find Transaction, Vendor Bill Approval and Pay Bills, plus access to the vendor's subsidiary and both accounts. The example uses Administrator. It assumes standard vendor bill approval: bills carry an Approval Status field and wait on the Approve Bills page. HPF-55817 was saved as Pending Approval. Whether new bills start that way depends on the Default Vendor Bill Status accounting preference or on a workflow, script or import that sets Approval Status. If your account approves bills with a custom workflow, the screens differ, but the payment rule is the same: a bill shows up for payment only once it's Approved.
01. See the empty Apply subtab
Go to Transactions > Payables > Pay Single Vendor and pick Harbor Point Fasteners in Payee. Leave A/P Account at its default, 2000 Accounts Payable, and Account at 1010 Cash : Operating Checking.
The Apply subtab says No records to show, even though two bills are on file.
Don't read too much into Balance here. It sits under Account and shows the balance of the bank account you're paying from, not what you owe Harbor Point. It won't change when you switch A/P accounts.
02. Check the A/P account and currency
Change A/P Account to 2010 Accounts Payable : Accounts Payable - Trade, the account Harbor Point's bills post to. A bill's Account field tells you which one it used.
The Apply subtab now lists HPF-55790 for 1,180.00. The A/P account was hiding that bill. HPF-55817 for 2,460.00 is still missing.
Currency is US Dollar, the same as both bills, so currency isn't the problem. A bill in another currency only shows up on a payment in that currency, which the vendor has to be set up to use. Click Cancel without saving.
03. Open the bill and read its status
Open HPF-55817 from Transactions > Payables > Enter Bills > List (or the vendor's Transactions subtab). The badge next to the title reads Pending Approval, and so does Approval Status. Account is 2010, Currency is US Dollar and Payment Hold is clear, so none of those is the cause. There's no Approve button on the bill; with standard approval there isn't one.
Open the GL Impact subtab. It shows a $2,460.00 credit to 2010 and a $2,460.00 debit to 6150 Shop Supplies, both with Posting No. The bill exists, but it hasn't hit accounts payable. That's why Pay Single Vendor can't see it.
04. Approve the bill
Go to Transactions > Payables > Approve Bills. It lists bills waiting for approval with Date, Order #, Vendor, Memo, Order Total and Currency. Order # shows the bill's reference number. Pick Harbor Point Fasteners in Vendor, then check the HPF-55817 row. Amount at the top changes to 2,460.00. If the bill isn't listed, check the Date, From and To filters.
Click Submit. NetSuite returns to the Home page with Bill successfully Approved.
Reopen HPF-55817. The badge now reads Open and Approval Status is Approved. On GL Impact, both lines show Posting Yes. Open means approved and still unpaid.
To approve a single bill without this page, click Edit on the bill, change Approval Status to Approved and click Save. Approve Bills only approves. If a pending bill shouldn't be paid at all, Cancel Bill on the bill removes it from the queue.
05. Pay it from Pay Single Vendor
Go back to Transactions > Payables > Pay Single Vendor. Select Harbor Point Fasteners and set A/P Account to 2010 Accounts Payable : Accounts Payable - Trade. Keep Account at 1010, Currency at US Dollar and Date at 10/14/2026. The Apply subtab now lists both HPF-55790 (1,180.00) and HPF-55817 (2,460.00).
Check Apply on the HPF-55817 row only. Payment fills with 2,460.00, and the header Amount becomes 2,460.00. Click Save.
06. Confirm it's Paid In Full
Open HPF-55817 again. The badge reads Paid In Full because the payment covered all 2,460.00. A smaller payment would have left it Open with the rest due.
On the Related Records subtab, Payments lists the bill payment for 2,460.00. In the example its number is 4318; yours will be whatever your account assigns.
HPF-55790 is still Open for 1,180.00 because it wasn't on this payment. Paid In Full is NetSuite's record that the bill is settled. It doesn't tell you the vendor has the money: printing the check, sending the EFT file and the bank clearing it all happen separately.
Common questions
Why isn't my vendor bill showing on Pay Single Vendor?
Start with the payment's A/P Account and Currency. The Apply subtab only lists bills on the A/P account and in the currency you picked. If those match, open the bill. A bill with Approval Status Pending Approval isn't payable until someone approves it.
Does a pending bill post to A/P or count in the vendor's balance?
No. A Pending Approval bill has no posted GL impact. Its GL Impact lines show Posting No, so it isn't in accounts payable, the vendor's balance or A/P aging. It posts when it's approved.
Where is the Approve button on a vendor bill?
With standard approval there isn't one. Approve bills on Transactions > Payables > Approve Bills, or edit the bill and change Approval Status. Approve and Reject buttons on the bill come from a custom approval workflow.
How do I approve just one bill?
Either check its row on Approve Bills and click Submit, or click Edit on the bill, set Approval Status to Approved and click Save. Both leave the bill Open with GL lines that post.
What does Balance show on Pay Single Vendor?
The balance of the bank account in Account, the one the payment comes out of. It isn't what you owe the vendor, so it doesn't change when you switch A/P accounts and it can't tell you which bills are missing.
Why are new vendor bills saved as Pending Approval?
Usually because the Default Vendor Bill Status accounting preference is set to Pending Approval, which holds bills until someone with Vendor Bill Approval releases them. A workflow, script or import can also set Approval Status when the bill is created.
The bill is approved and still missing. What else should I check?
Check Payment Hold on the bill, whether it's already paid or selected on another payment or payment batch, and whether your role can see its subsidiary. On the bulk Pay Bills page, the date filters can also leave it out.
What's the difference between Approval Status and Open or Paid In Full?
Approval Status says whether the bill has been approved. Open and Paid In Full are the bill's payment status: Open means it's approved with money still due, and Paid In Full means payments cover the whole amount. This guide's bill went Pending Approval, then Open, then Paid In Full.