Vendor Invoice Due Dates
Discovery tracks two due dates for every vendor invoice to help you manage cash flow and catch payment discrepancies early.
The Two Due Dates
Extracted Due Date
The date printed on the vendor's PDF invoice, captured automatically when Discovery extracts the invoice. This is the date the vendor says payment is due.
Calculated Due Date
The date Discovery computes based on the invoice date plus the payment terms from the vendor contract linked to the invoice's services. For example, if the invoice date is March 1 and the vendor contract specifies Net 30 terms, the calculated due date is March 31.
Both dates appear in the Invoice Detail section at the top of a vendor invoice.
Payment Terms by Service
On the Audit page, each line item's service description also shows the payment terms (in days) from the associated vendor contract. This lets you see exactly how the calculated due date was derived for each service on the invoice.
When the Dates Don't Match
If the extracted due date and the calculated due date disagree, the field is highlighted in red — for example, if the vendor's PDF states a different due date than what the contract terms would produce.
When you see a mismatch, you may want to:
- Confirm the correct due date with the vendor
- Review whether the vendor contract payment terms are up to date
Invoices with Multiple Vendor Contracts
When services on an invoice fall under more than one vendor contract, Discovery uses the shortest payment terms across all linked contracts to calculate the due date. A note on the invoice indicates that multiple contracts are associated.
Each contract's individual payment terms are still shown in their respective service descriptions on the Audit page, so you can see the full breakdown.
No Vendor Contract Linked
If no vendor contract is linked to the services on an invoice, Discovery cannot calculate a due date. A prompt will appear on the invoice asking you to add a vendor contract. Once a contract with payment terms is associated, the calculated due date will appear automatically.
Sending Due Dates to QuickBooks Online
By default, Discovery does not include a due date when posting a vendor invoice to QuickBooks Online. When no due date is provided, QuickBooks ignores the payment terms set on the individual vendor and instead applies your company-wide default bill payment terms from your QuickBooks accounting settings. This is why posted bills can all show the same due date (for example, Net 30) no matter what payment terms are set on the vendor in Discovery or in QuickBooks.
To have Discovery send the due date instead, enable Send Vendor Invoice Due Date under Settings → Accounting Integrations. This setting is only available when your accounting system is QuickBooks Online, and it is off by default.
When the setting is enabled, Discovery determines the due date at the moment the invoice is posted:
- The Calculated Due Date is used first — the invoice date plus the payment terms from the linked vendor contract(s)
- If no linked contract has payment terms, the Extracted Due Date from the vendor's PDF invoice is used instead
- If neither date is available, no due date is sent, and QuickBooks applies its default payment terms as before
A few things to note:
- The setting applies to invoices posted after it is turned on. Bills already posted to QBO are not updated.
- This setting does not affect the QuickBooks Desktop integration.
If you have additional questions or need more in depth information, please feel free to send us a message using the help beacon in the lower right-hand corner.