Setup

Onboarding tips and tricks document – click here.

When adding a new company, you’ll see that you get two choices to complete the setup process. If time is of the essence, you can select Quick Start and just connect to your QuickBooks company and your bank account – which is all you really need to get started paying bills. The other option is Complete Setup which guides you through the Quick Start steps, plus allows you to add users in their appropriate roles, set your workflow preference, begin the vendor onboarding process, and set a couple of other options. This ensures Circulus is setup optimally for your company.

ID Verification

As part of our standard security protocols, you will perform a quick identity verification done with Experian. Please keep in mind that this identity verification is not a credit check. For more information regarding this, please check out the Account Security tab on our FAQs page or contact Experian support at 1-888-397-3742. This process will only take a few minutes and will help confirm your identity as well as prevent fraudulent activities conducted in your name without your knowledge.

Connect QuickBooks

Here you will connect your Circulus account to your corresponding QuickBooks account. Start by selecting whether you utilize QuickBooks Online or Desktop then follow the steps below depending on your version.

Online Desktop
  1. Click the QuickBooks Online button
  2. Log in to your QuickBooks account from the Intuit window that appears
  3. Select the Authorize button
Please feel free to contact us directly at 1.844.982.4557 and one of our customer success agents would be more than happy to walk you through the setup process.

However, if you are more of a DIY person, follow the on-screen instructions and use this  instruction supplement to setup up your QuickBooks Desktop and Circulus connection.

After you connect you will select your default settings for how your data is synchronized. These may always be changed in the future by going to AdminSync Settings.

Sync Circulus Data (Only applicable for users with QuickBooks Online accounts)

  • Manually – you will be required to perform a sync so that data is transferred between your Circulus and QuickBooks accounts
  • Automatically & Manually – an automatic sync will be performed nightly, and you will also have the ability to sync at any point in time by navigating to AdminSync History and selecting the Sync Now button.

Select an Account for Uncategorized Expenses

Select an uncategorized expense account from your Chart of Accounts which has synced from QuickBooks. This will only come into play if you elect to utilize the Circulus data entry services.

When vendor details do not match QuickBooks

Select whether the Vendor Details in Circulus or QuickBooks should be considered the master data, should any sync conflicts arise.

  • Use Circulus as Master Data – Recommended if you enter most of your vendor information in Circulus
  • Use QuickBooks as Master Data – Recommended if you enter most of your vendor information in QuickBooks
  • Show as Conflict – Recommended if vendor information is updated in both accounts

Setup Bank

In this step, you will simply provide your bank information for the account that you wish to pay bills from.

Before setting up your bank account, you will be required to provide your tax ID. Please ensure that you select the appropriate tax-ID Type (EIN / SSN).

Click here to find out more about which Tax ID you should provide.

You can also add additional accounts later if desired. In approximately one business day, you should receive 3 micro-transactions (2 debits and an offsetting credit, all under $1.00) which will need to be verified in your Circulus account to begin paying bills. For more info on the bank verification process, click here.

Add Users & Workflow

These steps pretty much go hand in hand. You can add any additional users that will be using Circulus in their appropriate roles. To learn more about workflow, roles, permissions and users, click here. You can add users later as well.  If you add users in roles such as Approver and Reviewer, the setup that appears on the Workflow step will reflect the workflow that aligns with the user roles in use. You can change the workflow by clicking a step to turn it on or off. These settings can also be modified later in Company Settings (Admin menu)

Invite Vendors

This screen allows you to do a few things. First, before you send your email invitations, you can add your company logo to your emails. This is completely optional, but uploading your company logo will replace the Circulus logo and we believe this helps streamline payee email communications. System-generated emails to payees include:

  • Invitation to Register for electronic Payments
  • Unique Passcode for electronic Payments
  • Notification of Bank Account Verification (Success/Failure)
  • Payment Notification
  • Notification Uncashed Check(s)

Once complete, you can select vendors to send an email invitation to, and you get the option of a one-time email or a recurring (every 10 days) rmail that continues until they have entered their info. The process for vendors is pretty simple: they get two emails simultaneously. One contains a link to Circulus that expires within 48 hours and the other contains a passcode that they enter for security purposes. Once they enter this along with their bank info (ACH routing number and account number) all they have to do is save and exit. This is the extent of your vendors’ access to Circulus, so if changes are needed going forward they will need to contact you to assist them. We do not have the ability to view or alter ANY bank account information in Circulus. We have more info regarding payees on our FAQs page.

Communication Preferences

Here you can set the default Account Notifications for your company. All users inherit these settings as well, but each can set their own preferences in their profile.

Bill Inbox

The last step in the setup process allows you to create a unique email address that you (or anyone) can use to send bill invoices to. The system defaults to your company name + @mail.circulustech.io. For example, if your company name is “ABC Plumbing” your default bill inbox ID would be “abcplumbing@mail.circulustech.io.” You can use anything you like for the company name portion, provided it’s available.

If you have any questions regarding these settings, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 1.844.982.4557 and we will be more than happy to help.

Managing Payees and Users

Add a New User

To add a user to your company account, navigate to AdminUsers List and fill out the fields at the top of the page.

If this individual is new to Circulus, they will receive an email informing them that they have been added to your company account and to create their password. If this individual already has login information for a company account, they will simply receive an email informing them that they have been added to your account.

Edit User Permissions

There are various user permissions within Circulus which can be edited at a holistic level. To view/edit these permission levels, simply navigate to AdminUser Permissions

For more info on Workflow, Roles, Permissions and Users, click here.

Adding, Deactivating, and Reactivating Vendors

  • Vendors can be added at the bill details level by selecting Add Vendor from the drop-down menu, or by navigating to Vendors > Add Vendor.
  • To deactivate a vendor, go to Vendors > Search Vendors and locate the vendor you wish to deactivate. From the action drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the table results, select Deactivate.
  • To reactivate a vendor, go to Vendors > Search Vendors and select the Advanced Search option by the top search bar, and check the box: Include Inactive Vendors in List. From the action drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the table results, select Activate.

Setup a Payee bank account

A payee bank account may be added by either inviting the payee to register their bank account within the Circulus platform, or having an admin user in the company add the payee’s account details should they be provided to you.

To invite a payee to register their bank account, simply navigate to the Payee tab, and search by the type of payee you are inviting. You may then choose from the list of payees you wish to invite to receive ACH payments and select the Invite option from the action drop-down.

For more information on Payees and Users, check out the Payees & Users tab on our FAQs page.

Bills, Expenses and Payments

Add a Bill/Expense

You may also add a bill or expense through the Circulus desktop app with or without an image, or with an image through the Circulus mobile app (Please keep in mind that you may always come back to add an image later in the document details of the desktop app). Any unpaid bills already created in your QuickBooks account will sync to Circulus so that you do not need to re-enter them.

Simply select the Add Bills or Add Expenses selection from the navigation bar.

Review or Approve Bill/Expense

Bills or expenses assigned to approvers will appear under the Bills assigned to me or Expenses assigned to me option on the To-Do List of their dashboard. To approve or mark the bill as reviewed, simply select the document number link in blue from the table on the page, and select the Review or Approve buttons at the bottom of the page.

Any bills or expenses open for approval by any user will appear under the Open bills requiring approval or Open Expenses requiring approval option on the To-Do List of their dashboard.

Pay a Bill/Expense

Navigate to either Bills Pay Bills or ExpensesPay Expenses to select your payment method and process date and click Pay.

You will have the option to pay these documents by selecting an existing bank account, marking the bill as paid outside of the platform, or electing to pay them via QuickBooks Check.

The QuickBooks Check option will sync over a check to be printed from your QuickBooks account for the selected bill(s)/expense(s), and mark the bill/expense as paid in Circulus.

 

Virtual Card Payments

  1. What is a virtual card payment?
    A virtual card (vCard) payment is a single-use credit card payment that is issued as a payment to a vendor. A unique virtual credit card number is sent via email every time a payment is issued to the vendor. The vendor will then process the vCard payment just like a regular credit card transaction to collect the funds.  
     
  2. How would the vCard program benefit the vendor?
    Some of the most common benefits are:                                   

    1. Eliminates waiting for checks – An email is sent securely with the vCard information.
    2. Improves controls – No Lost or stolen checks.
    3. Minimizes payment delays – Prompt vCard settlement.
    4. Provides detailed remittance – Lists all invoices paid together with the vCard payment.   
        
  3. How can a vendor participate in the vCard program?  
    Vendors that are willing to accept VISA credit card payments AND have a merchant account, point-of-sale system, or any credit card processing mechanism can simply enroll online via the FIS Integrated Payables vendor portal site. The “Vendor ID” assigned to the vendor must be uploaded to the FIS Integrated Payables system before the vendor starts the enrollment process.  
     
  4. What are the steps involved for a vendor to enroll on the vCard program?
    The online self-registration process for the vendor only takes about 5-10 minutes to complete. After the vendor has been added to the Integrated Payables database, a unique registration code will be assigned to the vendor. The vendor should be provided the registration code and the enrollment instructions below:                                           

    1. Go to https://www.fisintegratedpayables.com/payments
    2. Click “Subscribe” to create an account.
    3. Enter the Registration Code: {XXXXXXX}.
    4. Verify the vendor information.
    5. Create an online user account.

    For assistance, please contact the FIS vendor support team at agp.jax.vendorenrollment@fisglobal.comagp.com or 877-330-4950.

  5. How does the vendor receive the vCard payment?
    Enrolled vendors on the vCard program will receive an automated email notification from the FIS Integrated Payables system every time a vCard payment is issued to the vendor. The email notification will provide the virtual credit card information and the remittance details.
      
  6. What does the vendor need to do to process the vCard payment?
    The vendor will need to retrieve the vCard information (i.e., credit card number, CVC security code, payment amount, and expiration date) in the payment notification email or from the FIS Integrated Payables vendor portal site and process the vCard payment just like a regular credit card transaction to collect the funds.
       
  7. How much time does a vendor have to process a vCard payment?
    Enrolled vendors will have up until the end of the following month to accept and process the vCard payment. If the vendor fails to process the vCard, the expired vCard can no longer be submitted for authorization and will require a new payment to be issued. For example, if the vCard payment date is on 05/11/2020, the card will expire on 06/30/2020.
      
  8. Will a vendor incur a fee for processing a vCard payment?
    The standard Interchange fee for processing credit card payment will apply. There is no additional fee involved for your vendor to participate in the vCard program. You vendor are responsible for paying the interchange fee to their card processor.   
  9. What should I do when a vCard payment needs to be stopped?
    The vCard payment can easily be blocked in the system. To stop the vCard payment, simply locate the desired vCard payment from the Search Payments page and select the “Void Payment” option from the Action dropdown. The vCard payment status will update to “Void vCard Pending” and then the vCard payment will be moved to “Cancelled” upon confirmation in the system.  

    However, if your vendor processes the vCard payment before the payment is voided in Circulus, the payment will revert to “Processed”. At this point you will need to contact your vendor to request a refund, for this action cannot be taken in Circulus.

  10. How long does it take to receive money back after I successfully block a vCard payment?
    It will take 5-7 business days to receive the vCard funds back.  
     
  11. What happens if a vCard payment expires before a vendor processes it?
    The Payment Status of an expired vCard will automatically update to “Void vCard Pending” and then the vCard payment will be moved to “Cancelled” upon confirmation in the system. Remember, enrolled vendors will have up until the end of the following month to accept and process the vCard payment.
      
  12. What are some common reasons a vCard payment could be declined?
    1. The vendor did not process the vCard payment for the “exact” amount.
    2. The vCard payment has expired.
    3. The vCard has been previously processed and posted. Verify the vendor information.
    4. The vendor entered the incorrect CVC security code.
    5. The payment amount to the vendor exceeded the dollar limit for a single transaction on the vendor’s card processing system.
        
  13. What should I do when a vendor is unable to process a vCard payment as a single transaction? 
    Ask the vendor to contact the FIS’s vendor support team for assistance at agp.jax.vendorenrollment@fisglobal.com or 877-330-4950. FIS will change the payment settings to support multiple authorizations and payments.   
  14. What should I do when a vendor is unable to locate the email notification on the vCard payment?
    Contact the FIS vendor support team for assistance at agp.jax.vendorenrollment@fisglobal.com or 877-330-4950. FIS will research the payment and provide supporting transaction details to the vendor.        
  15. What can I do when a vendor says they did not receive a vCard payment that has been posted?
    Contact the FIS vendor support team for assistance at agp.jax.vendorenrollment@fisglobal.com or 877-330-4950. FIS will research the payment and provide supporting transaction details to the vendor.  
     
  16. What should I do when a vendor requests that the payment notifications to be sent to multiple individuals?  
    Notify FIS’s vendor support team for assistance at agp.jax.vendorenrollment@fisglobal.com or 877-330-4950. FIS will contact the vendor to assist them in adding their employees to the primary user account.   
  17. Are there possible exceptions to managing the vCard payments?
    Similar to check and ACH payments, your AP team might encounter some exceptions caused by the vendor’s actions:                   

    1. The vendor does not take the full payment amount and leaves a balance on the vCard.
    2. The vendor applies a credit to the vCard.
    3. The vendor withdraws from the program due to a change in the vendor’s policy.
    4. The vCard payment expires and may require you to reissue payment.

Delete/Restore a Bill/Expense

To delete a bill/expense, you can find specific bill number by going to Bills > Search Bills or Expenses > Search Expenses. In the populated list, select the bill(s)/expense(s) you want to delete and go to the far right of the table to select Delete from the action drop-down menu. This action will remove the bill from the workflow entirely.

To restore a bill/expense, navigate to Bills > Search Bills or Expenses Search Expenses and select the document number link. Once on the document details page, scroll to the bottom and click Restore.

Reject a Bill/Expense

Users that have the Reject permission enabled may reject a bill or expense from either the Pay Bills/Expense page or the Approve Bills/Expense page.

When a user rejects a document, a note must be added. The document is then sent back to the Enter Bill/Expense Data pages.

Add/Apply a vendor credit to a Bill

Any bill that has a credit or discounted/returned amount is handled as a vendor credit. Adding a vendor credit follows the same process as adding a bill under Vendor Credits > Add Vendor Credits

Vendor credits can be applied underneath the Payment Amount column of the Pay Bills page, clicking on the green $ symbol, and entering in the dollar amount to be applied in the pop-up window displayed.

Void/Cancel a Payment

To cancel a payment that is not yet in progress, navigate to Payments > Scheduled Payments and select the corresponding payment(s) you wish to cancel. Scroll to the bottom of the page to select the Cancel button. The Bill(s)/Expense(s) related to any canceled payment will automatically be moved to the Pay Bills or Pay Expenses section of your account.

To void a payment that is already in progress, navigate to Payments > Search Payments to find and locate the payment you wish to void. From the action drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the table, select Void. You will then be presented with the following options to choose from:

  1. Return/refund – This option will void the payment and return the funds to the original bank account from which you paid the bill(s)/expense(s), and move the bill(s)/expense(s) back to the Pay Bills page.
  2. Void and re-issue via ACH– This option will void the current payment in progress, and re-issue it to the default bank account (Need to link to another article in the support portal for this) on file for this Payee.
  3. Void and re-issue via Check – This option will void the current payment in progress, and re-issue it to the Payee in the form of a check with the corresponding address on file.

Bill Inbox

Your Circulus email address to send in bills for data entry can be found under AdminCompany Settings under the General Settings section. Send bill images to this email address for data entry by you and your team, or you may elect to send bills in for data entry by Ciruclus at $0.99/bill. Learn more

You may also change the Circulus data entry services option under the same section mentioned above if you do not wish to utilize data entry services.

For any additional questions regarding this topic, please contact us at 1.844.982.4557 or contact@circulus.io.

Managing Your Subscription

Circulus Trial

Great news — your 30-day trial of Circulus is free with no credit card required! The trial allows for 3 users, 15 complimentary ACH payments, 15 complimentary check payments and for complimentary data entry on 15 bills. Usage of any services does not roll over once the trial period has ended, so please make certain to time your complimentary services for bill payments within the 30 days.

Upgrade/Downgrade Circulus Subscription

After your free trial of Circulus has expired you will be given the option to select from one of four subscription plans.

This subscription plan can be changed at any point in time by an Admin user. To adjust your Circulus subscription plan, simply navigate to AdminBilling Details and select the subscription plan that best fits your needs. Please consider any necessary users in your account when downgrading.

Current Usage Balance

To view your recent transaction balance, navigate to AdminBilling Details and select the Current Usage tab under the main navigation bar.

History of Invoices

By navigating to Admin > Billing Details and selecting Billing History from the second navigation bar, a table will be displayed listing past invoices and amounts.

If you have any questions about billing, please contact us at 1.844.982-4557 or contact@circulus.io.

Paying Your Circulus Bill

Once subscribed, Circulus will auto draft the default bank account that has been selected from the My Bank Accounts page. Circulus will bill you for both the subscription and transaction charges at the end of every monthly billing period.

Cancel Subscription

We hope that you will never need to cancel your subscription. However, in the event that you may need to do so, we highly recommend contacting us at 1.844.982.4557 or contact@circulus.io.

In the event of canceling your account, we will email your final bill for any outstanding balances. Your account data will be stored for 90 days after cancellation. Please contact us in the event that you wish to download your Circulus data.