The Vendor Payment Command Center on Business HQ summarizes open vendor bills and your cash outlook from invoices you have already uploaded. It is a read-only payables view, not a place to enter payments manually.
What this guide covers
You will open the command center, read the open-bill stats, and understand how recurring subscriptions differ from one-off invoices on the Dashboard.
Before you begin
- Available on Free, Pro, and Business plans.
- Upload vendor PDFs first so due dates and amounts appear here.
- Sign in at /login if you are not already in your workspace.
Step-by-step: open the command center
- Log in at /login.
- Click Business HQ in the left sidebar (or go to /account/business).
- Scroll to the Payment Command Center panel.
- Review Open bills, Total due, and Next 30 days at the top.
- Read the cash-flow list below for upcoming periods and amounts.
Step-by-step: recurring products (upload = done)
- Open Dashboard from the left sidebar (/dashboard).
- Scroll to Upcoming vendor payments (also called Monthly uploads on Pro and Business).
- On Pro and Business plans, find the Recurring products section below the due list.
- After you upload at least two monthly PDFs for the same vendor product, FilePile auto-detects it.
- Each month, upload that vendor's new PDF on the Upload tab when the bill arrives.
- When the PDF is processed, the recurring row shows a checkmark for the current month (for example June 2026). You do not click Mark paid for these services.
Step-by-step: one-off vendor bills
- On Dashboard, check Upcoming vendor payments for individual invoices due in the next 30 days.
- Mark paid is optional. Use it only if you want to clear a one-off bill from the open list after paying outside FilePile.
- Uploading the PDF is still what creates the record. Mark paid does not replace an upload.
What you should see
- Business HQ shows counts and dollar totals based on open invoice due dates.
- Dashboard recurring rows flip from Awaiting {month} to a green checkmark after you upload that month's PDF.
- Stat tiles at the top of Dashboard include Tracked spend and, on Business, Estimated tax.
Tips and common issues
- If recurring products never appear, upload at least two monthly invoices for the same vendor and product.
- Use Edit on a recurring row to adjust the due day; use Remove to stop tracking a detection you do not want.
- Pair uploads with the Email Invoice Inbox on Business HQ so forwarded PDFs queue automatically.
- The command center never asks you to type payment amounts. All figures come from processed PDFs.
Related guides
Tip: For subscriptions, your monthly workflow is upload the PDF, not mark paid.
Frequently asked questions
Does the command center pay my vendors?
No. FilePile never moves money. It reads due dates and amounts from PDFs you uploaded.
Why do totals differ from my bank app?
Bank apps show cleared payments. The command center shows open bills based on invoice due dates until you mark one-off bills paid or upload recurring PDFs.
Can my accountant see this panel?
Invite them with the Accountant role. They can open Business HQ read-only.
Monthly workflow checklist
- Upload new vendor PDFs on the Upload tab.
- Clear any Tasks blocking due dates.
- Open Business HQ and scan Next 30 days.
- Upload recurring subscription PDFs before month-end.
- Export month ZIP from Browse if your bookkeeper needs files.
Plan notes
- Free: command center and Dashboard due lists work; recurring gap emails require Pro.
- Pro/Business: full recurring product checkmarks and reminder emails.
- Business: pair with Spend Budgets to compare totals against caps.
Scenario walkthrough
Imagine it is the 28th of the month. You log in at /login, land on Dashboard (/dashboard), and scan the stat tiles: Tracked spend, Estimated tax (if on Business), Account credit, and Open invoices for your FilePile subscription. You open the Upload tab, add any PDFs that arrived today, then switch to Processing until each row shows completed. You check Ledger for amounts and Browse for folder paths. If Business HQ (/account/business) applies to your plan, you open the relevant panel next. Finally you visit /docs if you need a deeper guide.
Glossary (FilePile terms)
- Dashboard: main workspace at /dashboard with Upload, Processing, Ledger, Tasks, Browse tabs.
- Business HQ: owner tools at /account/business including Payment Command Center, Email Invoice Inbox, Spend Budgets, Approval Workflows, Bank Reconciliation, Tax estimates, Executive P&L, and Accounting export/import.
- Profile: separate business archive under one login; see /account/profiles.
- Ledger: searchable table of processed vendor invoices.
- Tasks: review queue for missing fields or billing mismatches.
Keyboard and navigation habits
Use the left sidebar consistently: Dashboard for daily PDF work, Business HQ for payables and reporting, Reminders at /account/reminders for email preferences, Help center at /docs for articles like this one. The Invoice workspace never uses a tab named Process; uploads always start on Upload.
When to contact support
Contact support if a valid PDF fails after three retries on Processing, if team invites never arrive, if billing charges look incorrect on /account/invoices, or if Business HQ panels stay locked after a confirmed upgrade. Include your account email, active profile name, and screenshot of the error row.
Record-keeping reminder
FilePile sorts and extracts PDFs you provide. It does not replace professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. Keep original vendor emails and bank records alongside your FilePile Browse archive for audit readiness.
Cross-links inside Business HQ
From /account/business, scroll adjacent panels after the command center: Email Invoice Inbox feeds the same open-bill totals when forwards process, and Spend Budgets compares sorted spend against caps you set. Return to Dashboard stat tile Tracked spend to sanity-check monthly totals against the command center headline numbers.
Quick reference card
| Item | Value |
|------|-------|
| Login | /login |
| Register | /register |
| Dashboard | /dashboard |
| Business HQ | /account/business |
| Company | /account/company |
| Reminders | /account/reminders |
| Help | /docs |
| Plans | Free (25/mo), Pro, Business |
| Upload types | PDF only on Dashboard |
| Workspace tabs | Upload, Processing, Ledger, Tasks, Browse |
Keep this table handy when onboarding teammates so nobody searches for a Upload tab that does not exist.