Recording Checks

Even though we are in the age of debit and online transactions, businesses still write a lot of checks, usually made out to individuals and small businesses. My recommendation is to order check forms that have duplicates. Most banks these days make you request that your bank statement include an image of your checks. They do not send you the actual check back. Banks will offer copies online. Some of them charge for this service and others may offer it free for up to 90 days, but after this period, you have to pay for a copy of the check. So save yourself future trouble and have duplicate check copies. This is especially true in these days of bank consolidations. Washington Mutual for example, which was bought by Chase Bank, is charging $7.00 per bank statement or check copy requested, which is ridiculous.

Most bookkeeping software offers you the option to print checks from the software. However many businesses don’t use this and still use bank checks then go on Quickbooks and record the checks. Generally this will require that you set up a list of vendors that you use, and then choose an expense account.

You can either set up the vendors as you write checks, or if you have a list of vendors that you use and want to set them up all at once, you can do that as well.

Next, tips to set up vendors.

By Alamo Bookkeeping Associates San Antonio