How to record handwritten checks in QuickBooks Online

Check form or Expense form?

Both forms reduce your bank balance and record the expense, so either will reconcile. The Check form is better for checks: it has a Check no. field, it can hold checks for printing, and it records the transaction as type Check, which makes check reports and register searches cleaner.

The Expense form is designed for card payments, cash and other methods. You can still record a check there by setting Payment method to Check and typing the number in Ref no., but the transaction type is Expense. If your team uses both forms for checks, searches by check number get messy. Pick one, and the Check form is the natural choice.

Whichever form you use, the bank account, amount and check number are what reconciliation depends on. The payee and expense account matter for your reports and for 1099 tracking, so take the extra few seconds to pick the right vendor rather than a catch-all payee.

How to record a handwritten check

1. Select + New (labelled + Create in some layouts) and choose Check.
2. Choose the payee. If they are new, add them from the payee field.
3. Choose the bank account the check was drawn on.
4. Set the payment date to the date written on the check.
5. Enter the number from the check in Check no.
6. Leave Print later unticked. That box is only for checks QuickBooks will print.
7. In the category or item details, choose the expense account and enter the amount. Split across lines if the check covers several things.
8. Optional: attach a photo or scan of the check in Attachments, so the image sits with the transaction.
9. Select Save and close.

Why Print later must stay off

When Print later is ticked, the Check no. field changes to To print and the check goes into the print queue. QuickBooks assigns a number only when the check is printed. A handwritten check left in that state shows no number in the register, sits in the print queue, and may later be printed by mistake or given a different number.

If you find one, open it, untick Print later, type the real check number, and save. If the number field is greyed out, untick Print later first.

To catch these in bulk, open the print queue from the expense transactions list (Print checks) before each check run. Anything in the queue that was actually written by hand should be taken out of the queue the same way, before someone prints it on check stock.

Paying a bill with a handwritten check

If you start on the Check form and the payee has open bills, QuickBooks may show them in a side panel so you can add them to the check. Adding the bill there also closes it.

1. Do not create a new Check for a bill already entered in QuickBooks. That records the expense twice and leaves the bill open.
2. Go to Pay bills (under Expenses or Expenses and Bills, or from + New).
3. Choose the bank account and payment date, and tick the bill you paid.
4. Make sure Print later is off, then enter the handwritten check number.
5. Save. The bill is closed and the payment appears in the register as a bill payment with your check number.

Keeping check numbers straight

• QuickBooks suggests the next number after the last one used on that account. If you mix printed and handwritten checks, the suggestion can be wrong. Type the number on the paper check every time.
• Turn on the duplicate check number warning in Settings, Account and settings, Advanced, Other preferences. It warns you before you save a number that is already used.
• Use separate number ranges for printed check stock and your handwritten checkbook, so the two never collide.
• Record the check the day you write it, not when it clears. Entering checks only from the bank feed loses the date written and makes outstanding checks invisible.

Recording a spoiled or voided paper check

1. Create a Check with the payee (or a placeholder payee such as Void), the bank account, the date and the check number from the spoiled check.
2. Enter any amount and account so the form will save, then select Save.
3. Open the check again, select More at the bottom of the form, then Void, and confirm.
4. The check now shows in the register with its number and a zero amount, so the gap in your sequence is explained for anyone reviewing the books.

When the handwritten check clears

When the check shows up in Bank transactions, match it to the check you recorded. Do not add it. Matching marks your check as cleared and avoids a duplicate. At month-end, tick it in the reconcile window if it is not already ticked, and finish the reconciliation.

If you forgot to record a handwritten check and it has already arrived in the bank feed, you have two choices. You can create the Check now with the correct date written, payee and number, then match the bank item to it. Or you can add the bank item and edit the payee, account and check number before you confirm. The first keeps the original date written; the second is faster but uses the clearing date.

Clearing hundreds of checks at once

Handwritten checks are the hardest to reconcile at volume, because the bank description often says little more than CHECK and a number. Kyriq reads the bank statement PDF you upload, or check images in PDF, JPG or PNG, and extracts the checks, including handwritten amounts and payees, with a confidence score so you can see which readings to verify.

It then compares each check with your QuickBooks Online register, groups exact matches for bulk approval and flags duplicates and discrepancies in Needs Attention. After an authorized user approves, Kyriq clears the approved matches in the reconciliation. The trial covers 14 days or 250 checks, no card needed.