# A weekly routine

Start > Your first month · Guide · https://vendordue.com/docs/weekly-routine

**In short:** Once a week, about ten minutes: read Needs you on Overview, answer what waits in Needs attention and Messages, then pay what's in To pay. Once a month, after your pay day, download the month for your books.

Who: Admin. Where: Overview.

VendorDue does most of its work without you: it reads each order as it comes in, works out each vendor's share, and lands payouts on your pay days. What it can't do is decide for you, or pay. A short look once a week keeps both from piling up.

## Every week

1. **Open **Overview** and read Needs you.**
   It lists what's waiting on you right now, each with a link to it. When it says **Nothing**, every vendor has a consignor rate and no sale waits on a decision.
2. **Answer **Activity > Needs attention**.**
   Each item says what happened and the one thing it needs, like setting a vendor's consignor rate or adding what an item cost you. A sale that waits here isn't paid until you answer it.
3. **Read **Messages**.**
   Vendors write about a sale or a payout, pinned to it, so you can open the exact line they mean.
4. **Pay what's in **Payouts > To pay**.**
   Start with **Overdue** and **Today**. A vendor who asked to be paid early shows their ask on their row.
5. **If you pay by check, open **Payouts > Checks**.**
   A check waiting too long asks you a question there: was it picked up, or cashed?

The dot beside Activity's title tells you the same at a glance from any page: it turns amber when something waits on a decision, and its tooltip says how many.

> **Recommended:** Pick a fixed day, like Monday morning. If you pay on set days, the day after your pay day is a good one: everything that landed is in To pay, and you can pay it all at once.

## Every month

After your monthly pay day, give your books what they need:

- ****Reports**** shows the month: what you kept, what vendors earned, and each vendor's sales.
- **The accounting export** in **Payouts > History** gives your accountant every payout and payment as a file.
- **Owed to you**, under **Payouts > To pay**, lists any bills vendors haven't paid you, like booth rent they owe.

See [Month-end](https://vendordue.com/docs/month-end) for the whole list.

## When you're away

Nothing goes wrong if you skip a week. Payouts still land on their days and wait in To pay, marked with how long they've waited. Sales still come in and are worked out. What waits on you just waits a little longer, and so do your vendors.

If someone covers for you, they need to be an Admin to pay vendors or answer Needs attention. A Viewer can read everything but change nothing. See [Admin and Viewer](https://vendordue.com/docs/admin-and-viewer).

## Common questions

**How often should I check VendorDue?** Once a week is enough for most shops, and on the day after each pay day. Needs you on Overview tells you whether anything is waiting.

**What happens if I don't look for a while?** Nothing breaks. Payouts land and wait in To pay, and sales are still worked out. Anything that needs your decision waits until you answer it.

**Will VendorDue tell me when something needs me?** Yes. Needs you on Overview, the bell and the dot beside Activity all show it, and you get an email when money lands in To pay or a vendor asks to be paid.

Checked against VendorDue on 2026-10-06.