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# Step 1 : Prepare and validate your payments and payables

**Guidelines for Controllers and Account Owners**

## Navigate to the Prepare Tab

Go to the **Bookkeep > Prepare** tab to review, edit, and validate your payments and payables. This includes adding VAT details, assigning expense accounts, verifying suppliers, and other necessary information.

## Check the Receipts

Ensure all receipts are present and valid.

* **Missing Receipts**:

* Send a reminder to the requester via Slack or email.
* Alternatively, you can upload the receipt yourself.
* **Receipt Status Guide**:

* **Green**: Receipt is valid.
* **Orange**: Receipt is invalid.
* **Red**: Receipt is missing.
* **Grey**: Receipt is declared lost.
* **Blue**: Receipt is missing but not overdue.

## Review Payment Information

When reviewing a payment, verify and update the following as needed:

* Vendor information
* Tax rate
* Payment type
* Expense accounts
* If a payment does not include VAT, select **Exempt**.
* Filling in VAT and expense accounts is mandatory unless you are bookkeeping outside of Spendesk or using a placeholder ("dummy") account.

Once everything is reviewed, click the **Mark as Ready** button to move the payment to the **Export** tab.

**Made a Mistake?**  
If you validated a payment too quickly, you can fix it:

1. Go to the **Export** tab and select **View**.
2. Click on the payment and use the **Resend to Prepare** button to make adjustments.

## Use the "Group By" Function

The **Group By** feature allows you to efficiently update similar payments all at once. Group payments by:

* Expense type
* Supplier
* Expense account
* VAT account

Once grouped, select the payments and click **Edit Transactions** or **Mark as Ready**.

**Important Notes**:

* When editing multiple payments, changes apply to all selected items.
* If a payment reappears in the **Prepare** tab after being marked as ready, it might be because you updated a VAT or expense account. Payments not yet exported will return to **Prepare** to ensure all updates are applied.