How Much Did I Pay That Vendor? Here's the Fastest Way to Find Out in QuickBooks

Home builders often find themselves asking, “How much have I paid this vendor this year?” While QuickBooks offers a lot of data, getting a clear answer isn’t always intuitive. If you’re trying to understand how much you’ve paid a subcontractor or vendor, Jon Markee, your Builder CPA, breaks down a simple and accurate way to find this information—without confusing totals or spreadsheet cleanup.

Why the Vendor Profile Can Be Misleading

When you go directly to a vendor’s profile in QuickBooks, you’ll likely see a mix of bills, bill payments, and checks. At first glance, adding these up seems logical—but it won’t give you an accurate total.Why? Because QuickBooks offsets bills (positives) with payments (negatives), leaving you with a confusing number that doesn’t reflect the true cost of doing business with that vendor.

The Spreadsheet Workaround (And Why You Don’t Need It)

Some users try to solve this by exporting the vendor list to a spreadsheet and manually deleting checks or bill payments. This can work—but it’s time-consuming and prone to errors. Thankfully, there’s a better solution built right into QuickBooks.

The Smart Way: Use the “Expenses by Vendor Summary” Report

Instead of sifting through vendor records or spreadsheets, head over to Reports in QuickBooks and search for "Expenses by Vendor Summary."This report provides a clean, aggregated view of your true costs—whether you paid by check, credit card, or through bill payments. It consolidates everything into a single number per vendor, giving you a clear answer fast.

Filter for Better Accuracy

You can:

• Adjust the date range (e.g., last year, this quarter, all dates)

• Use Ctrl+F to search for a specific vendor in the report

• Click Customize Report to filter by vendor

Once filtered, the report will show your actual cost to that vendor, without the confusion of offsetting entries. You can even click into the vendor’s line to view individual transactions and their details.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve ever wondered how much you paid a subcontractor or supplier this year, QuickBooks has a built-in tool to help—you just have to know where to look. The Expenses by Vendor Summary report saves you time, eliminates confusion, and helps you make informed financial decisions.

For more QuickBooks tips tailored to home builders, check out our latest videos or drop a comment with your questions.

– Jon Markee, Your Builder CPA