> ## Knowledge Base Index > Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.booksgpt.ai/sitemap.xml > Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further. > Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash). # Write and print checks A check is a payment out of your bank account, like a transfer. BooksGPT records it the moment you write it, so your bank balance in the books counts the money while the check is in the mail. When it clears, you match the bank line to it, so nothing is counted twice. ${youtube}[Watch: How to write and print checks for your small business in BooksGPT](zZJpb6UIbnA) You print onto laser check paper for your US bank account. It carries the bank's details and check numbers; BooksGPT prints the date, payee, address, amount and memo. || Writing and printing checks needs an owner or bookkeeper. ## Find checks Checks has no row in the sidebar. Any of these opens it: - Click **Go to…** at the top of the page and type **Checks**. - Click the **+** button at the top right, then **Check**. - In **[Transactions](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/transactions)**, click **Add transaction**, then **Write check**. **Print checks** is in the **···** menu at the top of that page. - On a bank account's register, use the **Write check** and **Print checks** icons. ## Write a check for an expense 1. On the Checks page, click **Write check**. 2. Choose the **Bank account** and the **Date**. 3. Leave **No.** blank. BooksGPT numbers the check when it prints. 4. Under **Pay to the order of**, choose the vendor. For someone who is not a vendor, click **Not a vendor? Type a name**. 5. Fill in a line for each expense: **Category**, **Description** and **Amount**. Click **Add line** for more. 6. Add a **Memo** if you like, then click **Add to print queue**, or **Print now** to print it straight away. ![Write check for Hillside Landscaping on Business Checking, one Subcontractors line of $350.00](https://booksgpt.ai/help/checks/write-check.png) - A vendor's open bills are listed under the check. Tick one to pay it with this check instead. - No mailing address for the vendor? Click **Add address**, or **Hand-delivered** to print without one. ## Pay bills by check 1. Open **All pages** in the left sidebar, then click **Purchases** and **[Bills](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/bills)**. 2. Tick the bills to pay, then click **Pay by check** in the bar that appears. 3. Choose the bank account and the date. 4. Each vendor gets one check; voucher paper lists its bills on the stub. For a separate check per bill, switch that vendor to **Per bill**. 5. Click **Add to print queue** or **Print now**. ![Pay by check: one check to Northgate Lumber Supply for two bills, one to Summit Electric](https://booksgpt.ai/help/checks/pay-by-check.png) To pay one bill, open it, click **Record payment** and choose **Check** under **Paid by**. ## Record a check you wrote by hand Type the paper check's number in **No.** (**Check no.** on a bill) and the date written on it, then click **Record check**. BooksGPT records it and never prints it. In Pay by check, click **Written by hand** to number each check. ## Set up your check paper Do this once for each bank account, before your first print. 1. On the Checks page, click **Print checks**, then the sliders icon (**Check paper**) at its top. 2. Choose **Voucher** (one check a page, with two stubs below it) or **Standard** (three checks a page). 3. Untick **Company name and address** if your checks already have it printed. 4. Click **Print sample page**, print it on plain paper and hold it over a check against a window. 5. If the print sits off the boxes, type how far to move it under **Across** and **Down**, in inches (like +0.04). Print samples until it lines up, then click **Save**. ## Print checks 1. On the Checks page, click **Print checks** and choose the bank account. 2. Make sure **First check in printer** is the number printed on the top sheet in your printer. 3. On standard paper with a partly used top sheet, choose how many **Checks left on the top sheet**. 4. Tick the checks to print. Each shows the number it will take. 5. Click **Preview** to look first, then **Print 3 checks**. Print the file at actual size (100%). ![Print checks with 1043 as the first check in the printer and three checks numbered 1043 to 1045](https://booksgpt.ai/help/checks/print-checks.png) ## Tell BooksGPT what printed Once the file opens, BooksGPT asks how it went: - **All 3 printed**: every check came out right. - **Nothing printed**: the printer never started, so no number is used. - **Some didn't**: mark each sheet **Printed**, **Spoiled** (torn, jammed or misprinted, so its number is voided) or **Unused** (it never went through). Spoiled and unused checks go back in the queue to print again. Click **Finish**. **Not yet** leaves the print run open, and BooksGPT asks again later. ![After printing, with Some didn't chosen and check 1044 marked Spoiled](https://booksgpt.ai/help/checks/after-print.png) ## What happens in your books - When you save a check, the bank account goes down by its amount at once, before it prints. - A check for expenses records each line on its category. - A check for bills records a payment on each bill, so you owe that vendor less. - The check shows in the bank register with its number, and under **Outstanding** on the Checks page until it clears. ## When the check clears When the bank line arrives, **Review inbox** names the check you wrote beside it. Click **Match** to tie the two together. If Banking lists the line under possible duplicates instead, click **Link** beside the check there. A check that never printed, or was voided, is never offered. ## Void, reprint or copy a check Click a check on the Checks page to open it. - **Void** reverses the money and reopens any bills it paid. Tick **Write a new check for the same amount** to replace it. A check dated in a closed month is voided on the first open day. - **Reprint** voids the old number and sends the check back to the queue for a new one. - **Print a copy** (on a cleared check) prints a copy marked not negotiable. - To void an unused sheet of check paper, open Print checks, click **···**, then **Void a blank check number…**. ||| Voiding or reprinting in BooksGPT does not stop the paper check. If the old check was mailed, ask your bank to stop payment. ## Print a different name on a vendor's checks On the vendor, click **Edit**, then **Payments**, and fill in **Name on checks**. Blank prints their name. ## Ask Copilot Copilot can write a check, pay bills by check, and void or reprint one. Each arrives as a card, and nothing changes until you click **Approve**. Printing still happens in Print checks. ## If something goes wrong - **The print sits off the boxes.** Print at actual size (100%), not fit to page. Then adjust **Across** and **Down** in **Check paper**. - **A check jammed or printed wrong.** Mark it **Spoiled** when BooksGPT asks what printed. Already finished? Open the check and click **Reprint**. - **The bank already shows the check.** If one Review inbox line names its number, BooksGPT can record the check and hold that line for you to match. If anything needs your answer or a fix first, it says so.