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Some vendors charge a processing fee when you pay a bill by credit card, so the card charge is larger than the bill. This guide settles the bill at its face value and books the fee to its own expense account. The single card charge then matches both records in Bank Match. The examples on this page use a 4,275.00billpaidwithacardchargeof4,275.00 bill paid with a card charge of 4,392.56. That charge includes a $117.56 processing fee.

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Before you start

You need a few records and accounts in place before you record a card payment with a processing fee:
  • The vendor bill is posted and approved, so it shows as an open transaction for the vendor. See bill management.
  • Your chart of accounts has a Credit Card type account for the card you paid with.
  • Your chart of accounts has an expense account for processing fees, for example Credit Card Processing Fees.
  • To match the charge afterward, the card is connected to a bank feed and you can match transactions in Bank Match.

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Choose a method

Vendor payments in DualEntry have no fee or bank charge field, so you record a card processing fee on a separate record. The payment amount always equals the total applied to open transactions, which means you can’t enter 4,392.56onapaymentthatapplies4,392.56 on a payment that applies 4,275.00. Method 1 is the simpler one and is recommended for most teams. Method 2 suits teams that record card fees through journal entries. Both methods keep the fee out of accounts payable and settle the bill at the amount the vendor invoiced. The fee lands in its own expense account, so you can report card fees separately from spend with the vendor.
Don’t add the $117.56 fee as a line on the vendor bill. That inflates the payable to the vendor and misstates spend with them. Also don’t book the fee on a direct expense line coded to accounts payable. A direct expense can’t be applied to a bill, so the bill stays open.

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Method 1: Vendor payment plus direct expense

Method 1 settles the bill with a vendor payment for the bill amount and books the fee as a separate direct expense on the same card. A direct expense is a payment recorded straight from a bank or credit card account, without a bill.

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1. Pay the bill from the credit card

  1. Go to Money Out → Vendor Payments and create a new payment. You can also open the bill and choose Record payment.
  2. Select the Company and Vendor.
  3. In Bank or credit card account, select the credit card.
  4. Under Open Transactions, enter 4,275.00 in the bill’s Applied Amount.
  5. Set the date to the date of the card charge and save the payment.
The payment debits accounts payable and credits the credit card account for 4,275.00.Thebill′samountduedropsto4,275.00. The bill's amount due drops to 0.00.

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2. Record the fee as a direct expense

  1. Go to Money Out → Direct Expenses and create a new direct expense.
  2. Select the Company and a Vendor. The vendor field is required. Use the vendor that charged the fee, or your card processor if that is how you track fees.
  3. In Bank or credit card account, select the same credit card you used in step 1.
  4. On the Expenses tab, add one line for $117.56 to your processing fee expense account.
  5. Use the same date as the vendor payment and save.
The direct expense debits the fee expense account and credits the credit card account for $117.56.

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3. Match the card charge to both records

Bank Match pairs transactions from your bank and card feeds with the DualEntry records they settle. One card transaction can match several records.
  1. Go to Bank Match and open the To Match tab.
  2. Select the $4,392.56 card transaction.
  3. Select both the vendor payment (4,275.00)andthedirectexpense(4,275.00) and the direct expense (117.56).
  4. Confirm that Difference in the summary bar reads $0.00.
  5. Choose Match.
The match moves to the Matched tab as one group. For details on multi-leg matching, see how to match transactions.

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Method 2: Journal entry applied to the bill

Method 2 records the whole card charge in one journal entry. A vendor payment then applies that entry against the bill to close it.

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1. Create the journal entry

Go to Transactions → Journal Entries and create an entry dated on the card charge date with the lines in the table below. On the accounts payable line, set the Customer/Vendor column to the bill’s vendor. Without the vendor, the line can’t be applied to the bill. Journal entry lines for the example charge: Post the entry. Only posted journal entries can be applied to a bill.

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2. Apply the journal entry to the bill

  1. Go to Money Out → Vendor Payments and create a new payment.
  2. Select the same Company and Vendor. In Bank or credit card account, select the credit card.
  3. Under Open Transactions, apply 4,275.00 to the bill. Then apply the journal entry line, which shows as -4,275.00.
  4. Confirm that the payment’s Applied Amount is $0.00.
  5. Set a date on or after the journal entry date.
  6. Save the payment.
The bill’s amount due drops to $0.00. The fee expense and the card liability come from the journal entry.

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3. Match the card charge

  1. In Bank Match, on the To Match tab, match the $4,392.56 card transaction to the journal entry’s credit card line.
  2. The 0.00vendorpaymentleavesa+0.00 vendor payment leaves a +4,275.00 and a -$4,275.00 entry on the card account. Select both, with no bank transaction selected, and choose Clear offsetting transactions.

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Verify the result

After you complete either method, check these balances to confirm the card payment and fee posted correctly:
  • Bill: amount due is $0.00 and the bill shows as paid.
  • Processing fee expense account: shows a $117.56 debit.
  • Credit card account: shows a net $4,392.56 credit for the charge.
  • Bank Match: the $4,392.56 card transaction is on the Matched tab.

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Troubleshooting

The table below lists common problems when you record a card payment with a processing fee.
Last modified on September 24, 2026