What this guide covers
This guide is for business owners, accountants, and finance managers who want to automate their accounts payable workflow and avoid late fees. You will learn how to configure the payment due reminders system, upload invoices to trigger auto-detection, and use the Vendor Payment Command Center to manage your cash flow outlook.
Before you begin
To use the full capabilities of the payment due reminders system and the Billing Details Verification feature, you must be on the Business plan. The Free and Pro plans offer basic reminders, but the automated verification and gap alerts require Business access. Ensure you have your vendor invoices available as PDF files. Scanned PDFs are supported, but image files (JPG, PNG) are not accepted.
Step-by-step instructions
1. Upload your invoices
The foundation of the payment due reminders system is uploading your vendor bills. FilePile extracts due dates from these PDFs to populate your dashboard and command center.
- Log in at filepile.co/login.
- Open Dashboard from the left sidebar.
- Click the Process tab at the top of the Dashboard view.
- Drag PDF files into the upload area or click to choose files from your computer.
- Wait for the processing queue to show a success status for each file.
Note that for recurring services, you simply upload this month's PDF when it arrives. You do not need to manually register these vendors. FilePile auto-detects recurring products after you upload at least two monthly invoices for the same vendor and product.
2. Configure Company details for verification
To ensure the Billing Details Verification system works correctly, you must set up your legal business information. This allows FilePile to compare the bill-to information on your invoices against your official records.
- Click Company details in the left sidebar navigation.
- Enter your legal business name, address, and contact information in the provided fields.
- Click the Save button to store your details.
Saving these details triggers an automatic recheck of any previously flagged invoices. If the mismatch is resolved due to your updated profile, the tasks will clear automatically.
3. Access the Vendor Payment Command Center
The Vendor Payment Command Center provides a high-level view of your payables. It aggregates data from your uploaded invoices to show open bills and total amounts due.
- Click Business HQ in the left sidebar.
- Locate the Vendor Payment Command Center panel within the Business HQ view.
- Review the Open bills section to see the total amount currently due.
- Check the Next-30-day outlook to understand your upcoming cash flow requirements based on uploaded invoice due dates.
This section does not have a separate form to enter payment dates and amounts. It relies entirely on the data extracted from your uploaded PDFs.
4. Manage one-off payments
For recurring products, uploading the invoice acts as your confirmation of payment. However, for one-off vendor bills, you can manually clear them from your list.
- Navigate to the Dashboard.
- Locate the Upcoming vendor payments card.
- Find a one-off invoice in the list that you have paid outside of FilePile.
- Click the Mark paid button next to that specific invoice.
Do not click Mark paid for auto-detected recurring products. For those, simply uploading the current month's invoice is sufficient to update the status.
5. Handle Billing Details Verification
If the Billing Details Verification system detects a mismatch between an invoice and your Company details, it creates a task for review.
- Click the Tasks tab on the Dashboard.
- Select a task related to a billing details mismatch.
- View the PDF on the right side of the screen to compare the bill-to name and address.
- If the invoice is incorrect, click Remove invoice to discard it from your records.
- If the invoice is correct but your company details differ, write an explanation in the text box provided.
- Attach proof images if necessary, ensuring each image has a caption.
- Click Generate document.
FilePile will produce an expense-justification.pdf and file it beside the original invoice.pdf. You can find this file in Browse under the path sorting/{vendor}/Invoices/{month}/{invoice_reference}/.
6. Configure email reminders
To ensure you never miss a due date, configure your email preferences for the payment due reminders system.
- Click Reminders in the left sidebar.
- Review the options for email alerts before due dates.
- Ensure the checkbox for Recurring gap emails is enabled if you are on the Pro or Business plan. These alerts fire when auto-detected products are missing an upload for the current month.
- Adjust settings for plan renewal and usage limits as needed.
- Your preferences are saved automatically.
7. Monitor the Upcoming vendor payments card
The Upcoming vendor payments card on the Dashboard gives you a quick snapshot of immediate action items.
- Open Dashboard from the left sidebar.
- Look for the card titled Upcoming vendor payments.
- The top section lists individual invoices due in the next 30 days, sorted by due date.
- Scroll down to the subsection below to view Recurring products.
- Check the status column to see if a product shows a checkmark (received) or is marked as awaiting (missing upload).
What you should see
After uploading invoices, you should see them appear in the Process queue with a success status. Within the Vendor Payment Command Center, you should see an accurate total of open bills reflecting the due dates extracted from your PDFs. On the Dashboard, the Upcoming vendor payments card should list specific due dates for one-off bills and show a checkmark for recurring products where the current month's invoice has been uploaded. If there is a billing mismatch, you should see a red flag or alert in the Tasks tab, prompting you to review the document.
Tips and common issues
- Recurring product confusion: If you do not see a product in the recurring section, ensure you have uploaded at least two monthly invoices for that specific vendor. FilePile requires this history to auto-detect the pattern.
- Missing gap alerts: If you are not receiving emails about missing recurring invoices, verify you are on the Pro or Business plan and check your Reminders settings to ensure recurring gap notifications are enabled.
- Verification failures: If the Billing Details Verification constantly flags your invoices, double-check your Company details at
/account/company. Even a minor typo in the address or legal name can trigger a mismatch task. - Mark paid limitations: Remember that the Mark paid button is only for one-off bills in the Upcoming vendor payments list. It does not apply to recurring services, which rely on uploads for confirmation.
Why FilePile
FilePile simplifies vendor bill management by automating the most tedious parts of the workflow. Unlike systems that require manual data entry for every single bill, FilePile extracts due dates and vendor information directly from your PDF uploads. The payment due reminders system works intelligently in the background, learning your recurring patterns and alerting you only when necessary, such as when a recurring bill is missing or a due date is approaching. This allows you to focus on running your business rather than chasing paperwork.
Getting started with FilePile
Ready to streamline your accounts payable process? Sign up today to start using the payment due reminders system and take control of your vendor bills.