Start from the account, not the payee
A business check is only as valid as the account behind it. In OwnChecks you add that account on the PC: the name that should print, the address, the bank name and city, the routing number, and the account number. Use the next unused check number, not 1001, if you are already halfway through a box of stock. Overlapping numbers are how two payments get confused.
Add only accounts you are authorized to sign. A bookkeeper who prepares checks for an owner still needs the owner’s authority. The software will print whatever numbers you type. It does not call the bank to ask.
If you have an operating account and a separate account for a property or a job, add both. Switching accounts before you print is cheaper than voiding a check drawn on the wrong one.
Payees, memos, and the face of the check
Add the payees you write more than once. The name on the check should match the name the vendor deposits under. A memo can hold an invoice number, a job, or a month of rent. That memo is what you will search for later.
The logo and the signature are images on the PC. Put the logo where it does not collide with the amount, and put the signature on the signature line. On blank stock you can also change the small labels, or leave a label blank so it does not print. On pre-printed stock, turn off anything the paper already shows.
Read the amount twice. The figures and the words need to match. A check that says $1,250 in the box and a different number in the legal line is a problem you created, not a printer problem.
Print settings that keep the line in the band
Choose the layout that matches the paper: blank stock, or a pre-printed preset. Print a free test page to check alignment before the first live vendor. Scaling must be 100 percent. Headers and footers from the browser or the print driver will shove the MICR line down. The install notes and the in-app print steps say the same thing.
The trial prints VOID / TRIAL across the check. Leave that on until alignment is done. Then ask the bank. Print a free test page to check alignment. Confirm acceptance with your bank before you rely on a check. A test page does not prove bank acceptance. OwnChecks is not affiliated with any bank, and it does not move money.
MICR toner is recommended only when you are printing the MICR line. Pre-printed business checks skip that. The blank stock guide is the longer paper-specific version.
File the check in the register
When the check looks right, record it. The register holds the number, the payee, the amount, and the memo. You can void a spoiled check so the number is not reused by accident, edit a row, export CSV for the bookkeeper, and download a backup. Your checks, payees and register stay on your PC. Nothing is uploaded. The register is not the bank statement. Reconcile it yourself.
There is no QuickBooks push behind this. If the books live in an accounting program, the CSV is the handoff. If the books live in a notebook, the register is a cleaner notebook. It is not a second set of official books.
Activate when you are ready to print without the watermark. $50 is the first Windows computer. Each extra computer is $15. Later versions are included for as long as we sell it.
Buy OwnChecks
$50 for your first computer. Add more for $15 each, up to 10 per buyer (per purchase email). When the steps fit, $50 for your first computer. Add more for $15 each, up to 10 per buyer (per purchase email). Future versions are included for as long as we sell it.
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Refunds within 48 hours of purchase by contacting support@ownchecks.com. After 48 hours, all sales are final. Try the free trial first. Checks print with a VOID watermark until you activate.
Related
Questions
Whose name goes on the check?
The business or account name you enter, for an account you own or are authorized to sign on. The software does not verify that authority with the bank.
Can I track which invoice a check paid?
Put the invoice or job in the memo. The register can be searched and exported to CSV. It is not an accounts-payable system.
Will the bank accept it?
Print a free test page to check alignment. Confirm acceptance with your bank before you rely on a check. A test page does not prove bank acceptance. OwnChecks is not affiliated with any bank, and it does not move money.