This section discusses checks that will never be cashed. There are two types of checks that will never clear the bank. We will discuss unusable checks first.
Unusable checks will exist for only those Costpoint customers who use checks with the check number preprinted. Users with blank laser checks (with check numbers NOT preprinted) will never have a problem with unusable checks. If a blank laser check (without preprinted check numbers) becomes unusable, just destroy it.
A check is considered unusable if your Costpoint system has never recognized it as a check and the unused check will never be used in the future. Unusable checks are the result of damage or user error that occurs to the check before the check has been recorded in Costpoint. At the close of printing checks, a dialog box appears that says, "Checks have been printed, but not yet recorded. Select the OK pushbutton to record Checks into Check History and unposted Cash Disbursements. Select Cancel to halt the Print/Void Checks process. If the Checks need to be reprinted, select Cancel and you will be returned to the Print/Void Checks screen."
If you select the OK pushbutton, the checks and their corresponding numbers will be added to Costpoint data tables as valid checks. If you choose Cancel, Costpoint will not know that those checks (and their corresponding check numbers, vendors, and currency amounts) were printed. Perhaps you used the incorrect starting check number, which did not match the pre-printed number on the check, and you chose to cancel the run. Perhaps many payments were made that you had not intended to make, and you chose to cancel the run. If only a few of the checks are unusable, you may want to accept the entire check run, then void those checks that cannot be used.
There are other ways that checks become unusable, e.g., when a check is used as a test check for printer alignment, when a check has been written on, or when a check is rendered unusable for any other reason.
When a check becomes unusable, please enter the pre-printed check number into the Record Unusable Checks screen.
The second type of check that will never clear the bank is a voided check. To be voided, a check must first be an existing check, a check that was printed and accepted. You may need to void a check because it was lost or destroyed in the mail, was issued for an incorrect amount, or was issued to the incorrect vendor.
If a check is lost in the mail, you need to void it so that another check can be issued. (You should also ask your bank for a "Stop Payment.") Select the "Void Checks" option in the Select Print Option group box in the Print/Void Checks screen. Enter the date on which the check should be voided in the Void Date field, and enter the check number and original check date in the Check Number Information group box. The system will then flag the check as void and reset the status of the check's vouchers to "Hold." You need to re-select the vouchers for payment (approval may be necessary) and issue a replacement check using the Print/Void Checks screen.
If a check was issued to a vendor for too little money, you have two options to correct the situation.
You can adjust by issuing a manual check for the difference. You must still enter an A/P voucher for the amount of the difference into Costpoint Accounts Payable.
You can also adjust for underpayment by voiding the original check; select the "Void Checks" option in the Select Print Option group box in the Print/Void Checks screen. Enter the date the check should be voided in the Void Date field, and enter the check number and original check date in the Check Number Information group box. The system will then flag the check as void and reset the status of the check's vouchers to "Hold."
You have another two options at this point. You can enter an A/P voucher for the difference and print a new check for the combined total, or you can issue a correcting voucher for the amount of the original check, enter an A/P voucher for the entire amount that should have originally been used, and then print the check. When you post the correcting voucher, you can select it for payment with the original voucher(s) and the system will clear them from the open A/P files when you print the next check run. When the system finds a set of vouchers for a vendor that will result in a zero check, it changes the status of the vouchers to "Paid" and gives them a check number, although nothing is printed, and considers the items closed.
If a check was issued to a vendor for too much money, you must void the check, enter a correcting voucher, and issue a check for the corrected amount.
Void the original check by selecting the "Void Checks" option in the Print/Void Checks screen. Enter the date the check should be voided in the Void Date field, and enter the check number and original check date in the Check Number Information group box. The system will then flag the check as void and reset the status of the check's vouchers to "Hold."
You have two more options at this point; you can enter a correcting A/P voucher for the difference between the correct amount and the incorrect check's amount. Then print a new check for the net total.
If you do not adjust for the difference, you can issue a correcting voucher for the entire amount of the original check, then enter an A/P voucher for the entire amount that should have originally been used and print the check. When you post the correcting voucher, you can select it for payment with the original voucher(s) and the system will clear them from the open A/P files when you print the next check run. When the system finds a set of vouchers for a vendor that will result in a zero check, it changes the status of the vouchers to "Paid" and gives them a check number, although nothing is printed, and considers them closed.
Use the Print/Void Checks screen to void the original check. If the check needs to be voided because it was issued too early, you need do nothing more at this time. The vouchers are reset to a status of "Hold" when the check is voided and are then available to be paid. When the vouchers become due, you can process them in the normal fashion with the rest of the vouchers to be included in that check run.
If the check should not have been issued because the expenses should never have been incurred or the incorrect vendor was put on the voucher, prepare correcting vouchers for the amount of the original voucher(s). When you post the correcting vouchers, you can select them for payment with the original vouchers and the system will clear them from the open A/P files when you print the next check run. If the system finds a set of vouchers for a vendor that will result in a zero check, it changes the status of the vouchers to "Paid" and gives them a check number, although nothing is printed, and considers them to be closed.