Writing a check: A beginner’s guide

Even though we are in a digital world, where everything is digital, we often come across situations where the only option of payment is through a check, like paying rent to your old landlord, home cleaning services, yard care companies. Check payment is still the easiest way to move money between accounts when doing annual funding of a retirement account.

So, paper checks are still an effective and inexpensive way to move money through accounts, but it is less common to write it every day or it is normal that you have never done it before.

How to write a check?

Writing a check is easy and let us do a brief walkthrough on how it is done. Any typical paper check contains the following marked field. Just follow the step-by-step details following the image given below. You can do these steps in any order but make sure you follow all the steps.

1. Date

It is always in the top right-hand corner of the check. In most cases, you’ll use today’s date, which helps you and the recipient keep accurate records. It is okay to postdate the check but be careful that it will not always work the way you think.

2. Pay to the order of

In this section write the name of the person or organization you are paying. You may have to ask “Who do I make the check out to? Make sure what you enter here is correct according to the recipient's records.

3. The “$” box

In this box write the amount to be paid in numeric. Start writing as far over to the left side of the box as possible. If you are paying $10.52, the “1” should be right up against the left-hand border of the dollar box and draw a line after writing the last digit or write the number so large that it’s hard to add any numbers to prevent fraud.

4. Amount in words

In this section, just write the same amount in words that you entered in the above '$' box.

5. Authorized Signature

Put your signature in this section, the same way you wrote it when you opened your bank account. There may be multiple signatories if the account is Joint.

6. Memo line

This section is optional and will not affect how banks process your check. It is for personal purposes where you can indicate the reason why you wrote this check.

After writing the check

Make sure to keep a record of the payment. This can prevent you from paying twice. Your account will still show the funds as available until the check got cashed by the payee bank. So it’s a good idea to note your payment in the check register located at the front of the checkbook or any other place while writing the check itself.

Before writing the check

Now that you got a brief idea about writing a check and what are the things to be taken care of before writing a check, just ask yourself, Is this the thing that you need to do? It’s a time-consuming and hefty job to write a check and keep a record of it compared to its digital alternatives.

Any easy options for writing a check?

The easy alternative to writing a check is to move to digital platforms. Electronic checks or “eChecks” are gaining popularity among the public as it is easy to manage and audit. Many fin-tech platforms provide you the easy-to-manage solutions for almost all the brick-and-mortar financial needs and provide enhanced features like bill payment, check payment, eCheck payment, customized check printing, checks by mail, checks by e-mail, and ACH payments. Online Check Writer is one among them which is gaining popularity due to its all-in-one features. Just signup and enjoy all these features from anywhere in the world.

Closing thought

Always make sure you have enough funds in your account before initiating a check payment, whether it is with a manual paper check or eCheck. Your check may “bounce” and create problems including fine and legal issues. When you write a check make sure it is used in its intended way. Always remember while using paper checks that frauds or thieves can hit any time and can make trouble for you once the check is lost or stolen. Try to write fewer checks and use other safer alternatives that are fast and reliable.