Thanks for coming back to us, @kennedy442.

Yes, you're right, you can apply either a journal entry or a credit memo to your open bills. However, if you’ll use a journal entry, it will be for recording purposes only. It will not be considered as an expense. The affected accounts are your bank and the Accounts Payable (AP). While, if you’ll use a credit memo, it means that there’s no actual payments made.

To ensure that your payments are recorded and applied accurately, here’s how:

1. Login to your QuickBooks Online account.

2. Go to Expenses from the menu tab.

3. Locate the bill you want to pay.

4. Under the Action column, click Make a Payment.

5. In the Bill Payment page, review the auto-populated information displayed.

6. Click Save and Close.

Here‘s the other way to pay your bill:

1. Go to the +New button.

2. Choose Pay Bills.

3. Select the vendor.

4. Once you’ve chosen the vendor, all the open transactions created for him or her will be listed on the right corner of the screen.

5. Choose the transactions you want to include.

6. Enter all the necessary information.

7. Click Save and Close.

Let me share these articles on how to record a refund or apply a credit memo: 

• Create and apply credit memos or delayed credits in QuickBooks Online

• Record a customer refund in QuickBooks Online

Keep me posted on how this turns out on your end. I’m always here to help you out.