How To Write & Print Checks in QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online displays an input screen to create a new check. The exact fields shown on the screen will vary based on your selections in our tutorial on How To Set Up Advanced Settings in QuickBooks Online. The image below shows the check input screen that we used for creating a sample check for this tutorial.

Create check screen in QuickBooks Online

Some of the important fields you need to complete include:

A. Payee: Select the vendor you’re paying from the drop-down box. If the check is to a new vendor, click Add new at the top of the drop-down list and set up the new vendor as shown in How To Set Up Vendors in QuickBooks Online. After selecting a vendor, the billing address should populate automatically.

B. Bank Account: Select the bank account from which you are writing a check.

C. Payment date: Enter the date the check will be issued.

D. Category: Payments must be assigned to either a Category or an Item (J). If you wish to assign the payment to a category, select it here. If you select a category, you must complete the description field through the Customer/Project field.

E. Description: Provide a description of the payment.

F. Amount: Enter the amount of the payment to assign to this category. By default, QuickBooks will enter the entire payment amount. However, the total check amount can be split between multiple categories and items if you wish.

G. Billable: Place a checkmark here if the amount charged to this category will be billed to a customer. However, the preferred method of recording expenses billable to customers is to use items instead of categories as shown in How To Set Up the Products and Services List in QuickBooks Online.

H. Tax: Place a checkmark here if you’re required to charge the customer sales tax when billing them this expense.

I. Customer/Project: Select the customer and project, if applicable, to which you want to bill this expense. If it is a new customer or project, click Add new at the top of the drop-down box and add the customer or project as shown in How To Set Up Customers in QuickBooks Online.

J. Product/Service: This is where you can choose to assign the payment to a product or service item instead of a category. If you need to create a new product or service item, select Add new at the top of the drop-down box and create the item as shown in How To Set Up the Products and Services List in QuickBooks Online. Once you select an item, the fields for Rate, Billable, Markup %, Tax, and Class will populate automatically.

K. Qty: Enter the quantity of the item being purchased. This is especially important for inventory items. Once you enter the quantity, the amount will be calculated as rate times quantity.

L. Customer/Project: Choose the customer and project to bill for this item. This field is required if there is a checkmark in Billable.

Once all the fields are completed, click the Save and Close button.

You have two options for printing the check:

1. Print later: You can choose to print the check later by placing a checkmark in the Print later field located under the check number. Printing later is convenient if you are creating multiple checks.

Click Print later to print the check at a later time

2. Print now: To print the check immediately, click Print check in the bottom menu bar of the input screen.

Select Print check to print the check immediately

When you click Print check, QuickBooks will bring up the print queue window that shows the current check plus any other checks you have selected previously to print later. Place a checkmark next to all checks that you wish to print and click the green Preview and print button at the bottom of the window.

Select the check you want to print and click Preview and print

When everything is set properly and your printer is ready to go, click the Print button on the preview window (not shown).

After you print the checks, you’ll be asked if your checks are printed correctly. If they are, select Yes, they all printed correctly, and then click Done.

Otherwise, select Some checks need reprinting, starting with check or No, keep all checks in the Print Checks list. QuickBooks will then return the checks that didn’t print correctly to your print queue. This saves you the time-consuming task of changing the check number manually and reprinting any checks.

Select Yes, they all printed correctly and click Done

If you choose to print later, you can print your checks from the Print Checks screen. Click on the + New button on your dashboard, and then click Print checks.

Navigate to print checks in QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks will bring up the same print queue window shown above; and from here, you can continue as you did in the previous steps.