Managing Accounts Payable requires clear visibility into open invoices, vendor balances, and upcoming obligations. While standard reports provide valuable information, they may include unnecessary columns or organize data in a way that does not align with how your team works.

Sage 100 Business Insights Explorer views provide a flexible alternative. By customizing the Vendor Open Invoices View, users can create an AP aging report that groups invoices by vendor, displays totals, and includes only the information they need. The customized view can be saved for future use or exported to Excel for additional analysis. This month’s tip walks through the steps to build, customize, save, and reuse an AP aging view that supports faster reporting and better visibility into outstanding payables.

Tip summary: Customize the Vendor Open Invoices View for better AP visibility

The Vendor Open Invoices View in Sage 100 allows users to organize outstanding payable information without building a new report. You can remove unnecessary columns, rearrange the remaining information, group invoices by vendor, calculate vendor totals, and export the results to Excel.

Once the view is configured, you can save the settings as either a private or public view. This makes it easy to return to the same layout whenever you need to review outstanding invoices or vendor balances.

Tip steps: How to create an AP aging view in Sage 100 Explorer

Step 1: Open the Vendor Open Invoices View

Navigate to:

Modules > Accounts Payable > Explore > Vendor Open Invoices View

This opens the Explorer view containing your outstanding vendor invoice information.

Step 2: Remove unnecessary columns

To simplify the view:

1. Open the Edit drop-down menu.
2. Select Column Settings.
3. Clear the checkboxes next to any columns you do not want displayed.
4. Click OK.

Removing unused fields makes the view easier to read and keeps the focus on the information your team uses most often.

Step 3: Rearrange the columns

Customize the order of the remaining columns by selecting a column header and dragging it to the desired location.

For example, you may want to place the vendor name, invoice number, invoice date, due date, and balance near the beginning of the view.

Step 4: Group open invoices by vendor

To organize the invoice lines by vendor:

1. Select the Vendor column header.
2. Drag it into the area labeled Drag a column header here to group by that column.

The view will now organize open invoices under their corresponding vendors.

Step 5: Add vendor totals

To display totals for each vendor:

1. Open the Tools drop-down menu.
2. Select Group Summary Footer.
3. Confirm that Always Visible is selected.

Light blue summary boxes will appear in the footer for each vendor group wherever Sage 100 can calculate a value.

To add a total:

1. Right-click the summary box beneath the column you want to total.
2. Select SUM.

For example, adding a sum beneath the invoice balance column will display the total outstanding balance for each vendor.

Step 6: Expand or collapse vendor details

Use the small minus or plus box beside each vendor group to collapse or expand the invoice details.

This allows you to review vendor totals at a glance and expand individual vendors only when more detail is needed.

Step 7: Export the view to Excel

To work with the information outside Sage 100:

1. Open the File drop-down menu.
2. Select Export Options.
3. Choose Excel.

The exported spreadsheet can be used for additional sorting, analysis, review, or distribution.

Step 8: Save your customized view

Once the Explorer view is arranged the way you want:

1. Navigate to File > Save Setting.
2. Enter a name for the customized view.
3. Choose whether the setting should be Private or Public.
4. Click OK.

A private setting is available only to the individual user, while a public setting can be made available to other authorized users.

Step 9: Reopen the saved view

To access the customized view later:

1. Return to Modules > Accounts Payable > Explore > Vendor Open Invoices View.
2. Open the Setting drop-down menu.
3. Select the saved setting.

Your customized columns, grouping, and totals will appear without needing to rebuild the view.

Why this tip matters

A customized AP aging view gives Accounts Payable teams a faster, more focused way to review outstanding invoices and vendor balances. Grouping transactions by vendor and adding summary totals can simplify account reviews, support cash planning, and reduce the time spent manipulating standard reports or spreadsheets.

Contact our Sage experts today if you need help customizing Business Insights Explorer views, improving Accounts Payable reporting, or identifying other ways to optimize Sage 100. And be sure to return next month for another Sage 100 Tip of the Month.