I set up bill pay in Quicken, but it does not work ...

Question

what am I doing incorrectly?

I went through the deposits of two small transactions to show I own the bank account in question.

Then I go into the register for that bank account and select "Send" and proceed to enter a vendor to pay.

Then, when I initiate the update for that account, I see the item to send the payment for that vendor.

Yet, after the update finishes, the status in the register for that transaction is still "Send."

So, I try the update again.  Again, I see the item to send the payment for that vendor, as if the prior update attempt had never occurred.

OK, this is bill paying for me.

I want it to be reliable.

What am I doing incorrectly?

bookcase · Answer

Does it show that the account is connected via Direct Connect, Express Connect or Express Connect+

Connection Method: Direct Connect

Quicken Bill manager: No

Bank Bill Pay: Yes

Curious, when I submit a Send Online payment request, I see it as ready to be uploaded to the bank in the One Step Update screen.  But it does not get sent, and the status in the register remains at "Send."

Another curiosity, the payee is not listed in the Online Payee List under the bank, but under Show All Online Payees.

My next step will be to contact the bank's customer service to make sure I properly enabled online payments via Quicken.

Thanks for your assistance.

Boatnmaniac · Answer

As @UKR mentioned, there are 2 different Bill Pay methods in Quicken Classic.  The set up and management of them is different for each one.

Direct Connect Bank Bill Pay:  Quicken Classic communicates directly with the bank using the Direct Connect connection method.  There is no 3rd party involved in the process.  Quicken never charges anything for this service but some banks do.

Quicken Bill Manager:  This is a 3rd party service that Quicken offers users for Quick Pay and Check Pay payments.  Depending on the Quicken Classic subscription level, there are a limited number of payments included in the subscription cost.  Additional payments can be made for an additional fee.

The ability to troubleshoot this issue largely depends on knowing which bill payment process but there are two things that come to mind that might be causing this issue:

If you have not already done so, make sure that your bank online account is already enabled for bill pay,  Many banks require the customer to enable bill pay in their online account(s) before the bank will permit bill payments to be made.  (Note: This is a general requirement of many banks for bill payments in general.  It is not specific to any 3rd party app or service.)

In the checking account Account Register in Quicken:  Upper right Gear icon > Edit Account Details > Online Services tab.  Does it show that the account is connected via Direct Connect, Express Connect or Express Connect+?   Then toward the bottom of that tab in the Online Bill Payment box:

* If it shows Direct Connect:  Make sure you have enabled Bank Bill Pay.
* If it shows Express Web or Express Web Connect+:  Make sure you have enabled Quicken Bill Manager.  
* DO NOT have both Bank Bill Pay and Quicken Bill enabled.

bookcase · Answer

Is "that bank account" connected to the bank using Direct Connect?

Yes.