The Ledger : checks

Need to Record Handwritten Checks?

Jennifer Maroney — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:13:00 GMT

If you handwrite a check to a vendor, how do you record the payment and reflect the invoice as paid? Record a manual check. The manual check allows you to enter the payment and select the invoice(s) paid by the handwritten check.

Before you can record a manual check, you need to make sure your bank is configured to allow them. In Banks, click Edit account details under General tasks. On the Bank Account screen, select the Payments tab. In the Transaction Type column, locate Manual Check for AP. Mark the Allow? checkbox and select the appropriate Numbering option from the drop-down list. Depending on the Numbering option selected, you may also need to enter a Next Number, which is the starting number. Click Save and Close and you're ready to enter your handwritten check.

To record the check:

In Banks, select the appropriate bank.
Under Payment Tasks, click Create a manual Accounts Payable check.
Select the vendor name.
Enter the invoice and check information.
Select the Invoices tab.
Mark the Pay? checkbox for the invoice(s) paid by the manual check.
Select File, Record and Close from the menu bar.

That's it you're done. Happy check writing! Talk to you soon.

To Void or Purge...That is the Question

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:33:00 GMT

It's inevitable, no matter how careful you are, at some point you'll have to correct a check. The question is should you void or purge. What's the difference? Well, voiding cancels the check, leaving it available to view in the bank register. Purging, on the other hand, removes the check from the system as if it was never entered. Now that you understand the differences, check out these guidelines to help you determine which course of action to take:

Void a check when:
- The physical check is ruined.
- The physical check is not ruined, but is incorrect and needs to be reprinted. For example, the check was written to the wrong vendor or for the wrong amount, or it was returned by the vendor to request a replacement check.
- You don't want to use the actual check, but you want to show the check as used in the check register. For example, if the check number is out of range and will not be used, or if your internal policies and procedures mandate it.
Do not void a check when:
- The address is incorrect or did not print. The check can still be used without a window envelope.
- The check is recorded as the wrong number in the register, but the check is not ruined. In this case, renumber the checks.
- Only the post date or post status is incorrect, and the check is unposted, change the post status or post date.
Purge a check when:
- The check is recorded in the register and you need to reuse the check number. For example, you printed the check to blank paper. In this instance you should void and purge the check.
- Only the post date is incorrect and the check is posted. Void and purge the check and enter it again with the correct post date.
- You need to remove the check number from the register.
Do not purge a check when:
- You want the check to show as used in the check register.
- Your internal policies and procedures forbid purging checks.

Talk to you soon!

Payroll Post Notes: One-Time Calculations

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:03:00 GMT

Every couple of months we see a spike in calls about how to create a one-time check. OK so the question is not "How do I print a one-time check," it usually has to do with paying employees a bonus, reimbursement for expenses, or paying them for a calculation error. Whatever the reason, the process is always the same.

First, create the new pay type in Configuration. The rate selected and the number of pay types needed depends on the reason for the check. Here are a few scenarios for an employee bonus:

If all employees will receive the same amount, select Fixed amount and enter the total amount.
If all employees will receive the same percentage of pay, select Percentage of gross and enter the appropriate percentage.
If different groups of employees will receive a specific amount, create a different pay type for each group.
If all employees will receive different amounts, select Fixed amount and enter the total amount that most of the employees will receive. When adding the pay type to the employee records using Create Group Assignments, you can manually update each employee amount on the Assignment Grid tab.

On the Schedule tab of the pay type, mark the Pay only in periods with specific end dates option. If the one-time calculation's pay date falls on the same date as the regular payroll calculation, the software will calculate both pay types together. If the other scheduled pay(s) are already calculated, only the one-time pay will be calculated.

Now you're ready to add the pay type to employee records. There are two options depending on the number of employees. If you only have a dozen or so employees, I'd recommend manually adding the pay type, but if you have a large number of employees, save yourself time by using Create Group Assignments.

Okay, you made it through the hard part. At this point all you have to do is create calculations and print the checks or EFTs; a process I am sure you are all familiar with . If you would like step-by-step instructions, take a look at KB solution BB244550.

Talk to you soon!

Need to Void a Check?

Jennifer Maroney — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:19:00 GMT

This is a quickie but goodie for all of you that need or may need to void a check. There are an unlimited number of reasons why you may need to void a check, including the check stock was not in the printer, the printer was not turned on, the checks printed to the incorrect printer, the check stock jammed in the printer, or the check information is incorrect. Even if you don't print checks, you may still need to void a check if you reconcile the bank accounts or process payroll.

Ok, so that's enough chatting since this was supposed to be a quickie. The process to void the check falls into two scenarios: errors discovered immediately and errors discovered later.

For errors discovered immediately, void the checks or void and purge the checks from the Payment Printing Status screen; this is also known as the check printing summary screen. If the printed checks are correct, but the check numbers do not match the checks in the bank register, you can renumber the checks instead of voiding and reprinting them.

The majority of the time, you'll find the errors at a later date. In this case, void and purge the checks from the Banks page. If the check is reconciled, you will need to create a bank adjustment to make the correction (BB91608) since reconciled items cannot be edited or voided.

Talk to you soon!

The Ledger Lowdown: Refunds for Clients

Jennifer Maroney — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:46:00 GMT

This one is dedicated to you Accounts Receivable users out there. If your organization could find itself in a position where a refund for a service, product, or whatever is needed, you should keep reading. The key to this process resides in Accounts Payable. If you have AP, you can set the bank to create a refund check from AR. I should say it is not as simple as it sounds the first time since there is some setup involved, but the next time will be easy as pie.

The first thing you need to do is set up your AP bank to allow refunds. Here how:

Open Edit account details for the Accounts Payable bank.
Select the Payments tab.
Mark the Allow? checkbox in the Accounts Receivable Refund Check and Accounts Payable One-Time Check rows.
Save and close the Bank account screen.

Now that you have the bank ready to accept a refund from AR, you need to create the refund billing item in AR Configuration or Records. This is the same process as creating any other product or billing item. Here are the steps in case you are rusty or new:

In Records or Configuration, click Products and Billing Items.
Select File, New, New Refund Item from the menu bar.
Enter the appropriate information for the refund.
Mark the Allow user to create a Refund Check to be paid through Accounts Payable checkbox.
Save and Close the Refund Item.

After creating the item, you're ready to add the refund billing item to the client record and create the refund check. Here's how:

In Records, click Refunds.
Click Add a New Refund.
Enter the appropriate information.
On the Refund tab, click Create Refund Check.
Select the Accounts Payable bank from the Bank account drop-down list.
Select the client or Other from the Print Check to drop-down list.
Click OK.
The Add a One-Time Check screen will appear.
If Other was selected, enter the payee information, including the payee name.
Click Print Later and Close to print the check with the next check run or Print Now to print the check immediately. Note: Make sure the correct check stock is in the printer before you click Print Now.
Save and close the refund.

That's it, you're done! Well, unless you selected to print the check later and you are responsible for printing checks . Talk to you soon!

Make it All Line Up!!

Jennifer Maroney — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:03:00 GMT

Printing checks is an integral part of any organization and they should look professional. It almost seems a waste to order pretty checks just to have them print slightly off, which would drive me mad (I'm a stickler for little things like that). There is no need to settle for checks that don't print in the pre-printed fields; instead, adjust the alignment. When you go through the process to adjust the alignment, make sure you save the the new settings so it's right every time Saving your alignment settings will not only save you time, but money since there's no wasted check stock!

Here's how to adjust the alignment:

In Banks, select the appropriate bank.
Click Edit account details.
Select the Payments tab.
Select the appropriate row for the Transaction Type to be adjusted.
Click Edit Payment Options.
Mark the Check Alignment option.
Enter the appropriate adjustments, and click OK.
Click Save and Close.

To test your check alignment:

In Banks, select the appropriate bank.
Click Print checks and record bank drafts.
Select the Format tab.
Click Print Test Alignment Check.

Oh, I also wanted to mention that we only support pre-printed forms ordered through Blackbaud (forms.blackbaud.com). If you are not able to get your Blackbaud forms to align correctly, let us know by creating a case on Case Central. Third-party forms may work with our software, but we can't guarantee them.

Enjoy your perfectly aligned checks! Talk to you soon!

Check Number in Use Errors?

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:49:00 GMT

You check printing day is going great. Everything balances so you click Create Now and then it happens... Error: Invalid starting check number. AARGGHHH! Even though the error states the starting check number is invalid you know the number is, so what now. When you go to print the checks, the system verifies all numbers in the range are available for use. If any check in the range has already been used you will receive the error message.

OK, so now you know why you get the error, let's find the problem check or checks. To do this, you can either create a query for the check numbers or filter the bank register for the range of checks to be used. These options will only display the numbers that are actually in use.

With the check number in hand, let's get rid of the error. There are a few different options:

If the check was printed incorrectly or out of order, void and purge the check.
If the check was printed incorrectly or out of order, renumber the check.
If the check was printed correctly or you cannot void the check, change the starting check number.

After voiding, renumbering, or changing the starting check number, go ahead and click Create Now. Your checks should print error free; just make sure the correct check stock is in the printer .

Talk to you soon!

The Ledger Lowdown: Customize Checks and Stubs

Jennifer Maroney — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:01:00 GMT

If you want to add additional information to your AP check or check stub, stick around; I have some great tips for you. You have a few options for adding info; you can select predefined options, such as the vendor tax ID number and invoice distribution, add a custom note for all vendors and employees, or create personal notes. This is a lot to cover, so I will make sure each option is separated for ease of scanning to find the option that will work best for you. Let’s get started.

The first thing we can start with is adding information to the check stub (not the check). The process will be a bit different depending on the info you want to add so I will split this section into general info, distributions, and custom notes.

General info on the check stub:

In Banks, select the appropriate bank from the drop-down list, and click Edit Account Details.
Select the Payments tab.
Highlight the appropriate payment method and click Edit Payment Options.
Highlight Check Stub Information and mark the appropriate checkbox(es) for the available fields.
Highlight Notes.
Mark the Print Note on Check Stub checkbox.
Mark the Print the option and select the appropriate options from the drop-down list.
Note: If you select Note from Vendor, it will print whatever is in the Print this note on checks for this vendor box on the bottom of the Vendor record's Notes tab.
Save and close the bank account.

Distributions on the check stub:

In Banks, select the appropriate bank from the drop-down list, and click Edit Account Details.
Select the Payments tab.
Highlight the appropriate payment method and click Edit Payment Options.
Highlight Print Format.
Select Additional Document Check Printing from the Print format drop-down list.
Mark the Show distribution for these characteristics checkbox.
Mark the appropriate characteristic checkbox(es).
Click OK and save and close the bank account.

Note: Only the first line of the account distribution prints on checks when distributing to multiple accounts. Check out BB61490 for more information.

Custom notes on the check stub:

In Banks, select the appropriate bank from the drop-down list, and click Edit Account Details.
Select the Payments tab.
Highlight the appropriate payment method and click Edit Payment Options.
Highlight Notes.
Mark the Print Note on Check Stub checkbox.
Mark the Print this note option and enter the note. Keep in mind that this not will print on all check stubs.
Click OK and save and close the bank account.

OK, now let's talk about adding information to the check (not the stub). As the above process varied, so does this one; I can't make it too easy for you guys . I'll split this one into general info and custom notes.

General info on the check:

In Banks, select the appropriate bank from the drop-down list, and click Edit Account Details.
Select the Payments tab.
Highlight the appropriate payment method and click Edit Payment Options.
Highlight Notes.
Mark the Print Note on Check checkbox.
Mark the Print the option and select the appropriate options from the drop-down list.
Note: If you select Note from Vendor, it will print whatever is in the Print this note on checks for this vendor box on the bottom of the Vendor record's Notes tab.
Click OK and save and close the bank account.

Custom notes on the check:

In Banks, select the appropriate bank from the drop-down list, and click Edit Account Details.
Select the Payments tab.
Highlight the appropriate payment method and click Edit Payment Options.
Highlight Notes.
Mark the Print Note on Check checkbox.
Mark the Print this note option and enter the note. Keep in mind that this not will print on all checks.
Click OK and save and close the bank account.

Talk to you soon!

Payroll Post Notes: Only Print Used Attendance Codes

Jennifer Maroney — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:06:00 GMT

This feature is great for those of you that have several attendance codes on employee records not in use that appear when printing checks or EFT notices. I'll give you one guess on this one...give up?

Beginning with the release of The Financial Edge version 7.77, you will have the option to only print attendance that has a balance! No more wasted additional documents listing attendance codes with zero balances! An attendance code with a zero balance is an attendance code with no activity and that has not been used.

After you update to the new version, follow these steps to stop attendance with no activity from printing on checks and EFTs:

In Banks, select the Payroll bank, and click Edit Account Details.
Select the Payments tab, highlight Payroll Computer checks, and click Edit Payment Details.
On the Default Payment Options for Payroll Computer Check screen, highlight Attendance Information.
Unmark the Show attendance with no activity checkbox.
Click OK.
Follow the same steps for EFT.
Save and close the bank account information.

The trees, and your budget, will thank you for unmarking the box . Talk to you soon!

The Ledger Lowdown: Pay What Invoice?

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:10:00 GMT

Most of the time paying invoices is a simple process: select the invoices to pay and click Print Now; just make sure check stock is in the printer . What do you do if an invoice is not listed for payment? You know the invoice is out there because it's on your list of invoices to pay or your boss is breathing down your neck waiting to be handed the check. Not to worry, you have The Ledger Lowdown as your secret weapon. Follow each of the steps below until the invoice is available to pay.

In Banks, verify the correct bank is selected
Click Print checks and record bank drafts, and note the date entered for the 'Invoice due date on or before' field. This date defaults to the current date.
Select the Filters tab and verify that there are no filters that would exclude the invoice(s) in question.
Open the vendor's record and verify the Status is not On Hold.
Open the invoice in question.
1. Verify the Hold payment checkbox is unmarked.
2. Verify the Payment method is Check.
3. Verify the Date due falls on or before the date chosen when paying checks.
4. Verify the invoice Status is Approved (if requiring approval before payment).
5. Change the status of the invoice from Pending to Approved.
Select the Payments/Credits tab and verify that the invoice has not already been paid, either by a printed check or a recorded manual check. Also verify that the bank account selected as the 'Payments from bank account' is the same bank from which the invoice is to be paid.
In Banks, Edit account details and select the Payments tab. Verify that the payment method checkbox on the invoice is marked Allow in the bank details.
Exit and sign out and then log back in.

Hope this helps. Talk to you soon!

The Ledger Lowdown: Reuse Check Numbers

Jennifer Maroney — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:10:00 GMT

A common headache we all get from time to time stems from printing checks. Maybe you go through the process of printing checks to later realize that the check stock was not in the printer. Perhaps the checks show in the bank register but the checks did not actually print. Whatever your reason don't waste check stock; instead, reuse the check numbers.

The first thing, if you have not done so already, is to void the check or range of checks. You can void checks by clicking Void selected payments under Administrative tasks in Banks. Then define the check information and click Void Now.

The next step, purging, is key to being able to reuse the check numbers. This process removes the check from the bank register and frees the check number to be used again. Purging a check, however, will not automatically change the starting check number. To purge checks, go to Banks, Administration and click Purge voided transactions. Then define the appropriate options and click Purge Now.

Since the starting check number is still incorrect, you need to change the starting check number back to the first check number voided. This can be updated on the Payment tab in edit account details for the bank.

That's it, your ready to re-print checks. Happy check printing!

Talk to you soon!