Writing checks

What this does

Money Out → Checks records money leaving a checking account: a paper check, but also an ACH payment, a debit, or an online bill-pay, since all of them are a bank withdrawal with a payee and a category. Saving posts the expense and the bank credit in one entry, and the check appears in the account's register immediately.

Before you start

check.create. An active checking account (savings accounts can't write checks) and the vendor in the vendor list; + New in the vendor picker creates one without leaving the form. Have the expense account in mind, or create it inline the same way.

Steps

Single mode is the default.

1. Pick the Bank Account. The Check # fills with the account's next number; type over it for a hand-written check or leave it for an electronic payment.
2. Date and Pay To (vendor). Picking a vendor fills the memo and the remit-to address from the last check to them, and, if you've paid them before, the expense account they usually get. A vendor with open bills shows an Open Bills table underneath.
3. Amount is the total. Either enter expense lines (Account, Amount, Description, and Billable? when the cost belongs on a customer's job) until they add up, or tick bills in the Open Bills table; the Bill Payment Total counts toward the check. A check can mix both.
4. Memo prints on the check. The address block prints in the window.
5. Save & New for the next check, Save & Close to go back to Banking, or Save & Print to open the printable check in a new tab.

Batch mode is a grid for a stack of checks to different vendors: one row each with check number, date, vendor, account, memo, and amount. Save posts every row.

Memorize on a saved check turns it into a monthly reminder; see Memorized transactions.

The sidebar on the right lists the account's checks for the last 90 days; search by payee, reference, or amount, widen the range, or Load older to page back. Click a row to open it. A row marked Void has been reversed.

Void on an open check posts a reversing entry dated the check's own date and marks it Void. Only the Owner can void a check (check.void), and it can't be undone. To fix an amount, category, payee, or date instead, use Edit from the account register; see Editing and voiding posted transactions.

What happens in the books

One journal entry: Dr each expense line's account / Cr the bank account, dated the check date. A line that pays a bill debits Accounts Payable instead of an expense (the expense was booked when the bill was approved), records a bill payment, and reduces the bill's balance; a bill that reaches zero is marked paid. Bills still awaiting approval aren't offered; approve them first.

Common problems

"Check amount must be greater than zero." No lines and no bills ticked, or the amounts are zero.

The check number is wrong. Type the right one before saving. After saving, the number is edited from the register's Edit dialog.

I need to reissue a lost check. Void the original, then write a new one with the new number. Don't edit the number on the old one; the bank saw the old number.

The payment was actually from savings. The Checks screen only writes from checking. Record it as a transfer to checking followed by the check, or as a manual journal entry against the savings account.