Print a bill payment stub directly from the Check Register or Bill Payment screen

In QuickBooks Online, you can print a payment stub for a bill you've paid by going to the Check Register (if you paid by check) or the Bill Payment screen (if you paid by other methods). The stub shows what bill was paid, the amount, the date, and your account details — useful for your records or to send to the vendor as proof of payment.

The fastest route depends on how you paid. If you wrote a check, open Banking > Banking (or Checking), find the check in the register, and click it to open the transaction. If you paid the bill directly without a check — through ACH, credit card, or another method — go to Expenses > Bills, find the bill, and look for the payment record attached to it.

Once you have the payment open on screen, look for a Print button or a three-dot menu icon. Click it, and QuickBooks will show you print options. You can print to your physical printer, save as a PDF, or email the stub directly to the vendor if their email is on file.

Key Takeaways

  • Bill payment stubs are found in the Check Register (for checks) or attached to the bill record itself (for ACH, credit card, or other payments).
  • Open the payment, click the Print button or menu, and choose whether to print, save as PDF, or email the stub.
  • The stub includes the bill amount, payment date, payment method, and your company details — what the vendor needs to match the payment to their records.
  • If you cannot find a Print option, the payment may not have been fully recorded; check that the bill status shows "Paid" before printing.

Finding the payment in the Check Register

If you paid the bill by writing a check, the payment lives in your Check Register. Go to Banking in the left menu, then click Banking again (or Checking if that's your account name). You'll see a list of all transactions in that account, sorted by date.

Scroll to find the check you wrote for the bill. You can search by vendor name, check number, or amount to speed this up. Click the check to open it. The check details screen will show the vendor name, amount, date, and memo line. At the top right, you should see a Print button or a menu icon (three dots). Click it to print or save the check stub.

Finding the payment attached to a bill record

If you paid the bill through a method other than a check — ACH transfer, credit card, or bank transfer — the payment is recorded on the bill itself. Go to Expenses > Bills and find the bill in the list. Click it to open the full bill record.

Scroll down to the bottom of the bill. You'll see a section labeled Payment history or Payments. This shows every payment made against that bill, including the date, amount, and method. Click the payment row to open it, or look for a Print icon next to the payment. If you see a three-dot menu, click it for more options including Print.

What information appears on the stub

A bill payment stub in QuickBooks Online includes your company name and address, the vendor's name, the bill amount, the payment amount (which may be partial if you paid part of the bill), the payment date, and the payment method. It also shows your account number or check number, depending on how you paid.

The stub does not include itemized details of what was on the original bill — only that a payment was made against it. If the vendor needs to see what they were paid for, they'll need the original invoice, not the payment stub. The stub is proof that money left your account on a specific date.

Printing to PDF instead of paper

If you want to save the stub as a file instead of printing it to paper, click the Print button and select Save as PDF from your printer options. Your computer will ask you where to save the file. Name it something you'll recognize later — for example, "Vendor Name - Payment Stub - Date" — and save it to a folder where you keep financial records.

Saving as PDF is useful if you need to email the stub to the vendor, attach it to an accounting file, or keep a digital copy for your records. The PDF will look identical to the printed version.

Emailing the stub directly to the vendor

Some versions of QuickBooks Online let you email the payment stub directly without printing it first. When you open the payment and click Print, look for an Email option in the menu. If it's there, click it, and QuickBooks will open an email window with the stub attached.

Enter the vendor's email address (or it may auto-fill if you've saved it in the vendor record), add a message if you want, and send. This is faster than printing and scanning, and it gives the vendor an when ready record that you've paid.

Troubleshooting: Payment won't print or no Print button appears

If you open a payment and don't see a Print button, the payment may not be fully recorded in QuickBooks. Check that the bill status shows Paid at the top of the screen. If it shows Open or Unpaid, the payment hasn't been linked to the bill yet. Go back to the Check Register or Payment screen and confirm the payment was saved.

Another common issue: you're looking at a bill, not the payment. Remember that bills and payments are separate records. Open the bill, scroll to the Payment history section, and click the payment itself — not the bill. Once you're on the payment record, the Print button should appear.

If you're still not seeing a Print option, try refreshing the page or logging out and back in. QuickBooks sometimes needs a refresh to show all buttons. If the problem persists, the payment may have been recorded in a way that doesn't support printing (for example, a manual journal entry instead of a formal payment). In that case, you can take a screenshot of the transaction and use that as your proof of payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I print a stub for a partial payment on a bill?

Yes. If you paid part of a bill and plan to pay the rest later, QuickBooks will print a stub showing only the amount you paid on that date. The bill itself will still show as partially unpaid. Print the stub for your records; it documents that payment was made on that date for that amount.

What if the vendor's email isn't in QuickBooks — can I still email the stub?

You can print the stub as a PDF and email it yourself, or you can add the vendor's email to their record in QuickBooks and then use the Email option. To add the email, go to Expenses > Vendors, click the vendor, and fill in their email address in the Contact Information section.

Does the payment stub show what the bill was for?

No. The stub shows that a payment was made, but not the line items or description of what was on the original bill. If the vendor needs to see what they were paid for, send them the original bill or invoice along with the payment stub.

Can I print stubs for multiple payments at once?

QuickBooks Online doesn't have a batch print feature for payment stubs. You'll need to print each one individually by opening the payment and clicking Print. If you need stubs for many payments, printing to PDF and saving them in a folder is faster than printing to paper one at a time.