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M
MB_W
June 18, 2024
Question

Date to in QuickBooks to record check

  • June 18, 2024
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

Trying to set up prior year transactions in QuickBooks. Will be using cash accounting. If i physically wrote a check in January in anticipation of paying for services to be performed in February, then held the check in a drawer for a month until the February services were completed and then mailed the check, should the check date in QuickBooks be January when the check was physically written (but not sent) or February (when the check was sent)?

1 reply

JoesemM
JoesemM
June 18, 2024

You can use the date when the check was sent, MB_W. I'll be glad to provide additional details about it.

 

In cash accounting, it's crucial to record the date when the check was received, not when it was written. In QuickBooks, it's important to consider the date the check is received (in February) as that's when the income becomes available. This approach guarantees that your records reliably represent the actual cash flow in your business.

 

Also, I'll share these resources that will guide you in managing your checks and handling your bookkeeping process in QuickBooks:

 

 

I'll leave this article on setting up print settings for QuickBooks: Configure your print settings for printing checks in QuickBooks Online.

 

If you have any further questions or concerns about your checks, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. I'm always here to help.

M
MB_WAuthor
June 18, 2024

Thanks for your response. I want to make sure i was clear in my question, though. These are checks that I am writing to pay my vendors, not checks that i'm receiving. So, it's not about my income, but rather my expenditures. Everything i have read online seems to say a QuickBooks transaction that I record for a check payment should have the date of the check when it was written. It seems to me that the date should be the date that the check is "sent" (mailed or hand-delivered). If (for convenience sake) some checks were written ahead of time (say, a month earlier) and just kept in a drawer to hand deliver or mail when the work was done a month later, it seemed to me that the check transaction in QuickBooks should show the date that the check was "released" from my control to the vendor, not the date a month ago when i wrote the check and put it in a drawer for a month. Is that correct? 

I
IrishNinoJ
June 18, 2024

I appreciate you for coming back and clarifying your concern, MB_W. I'm here to join this conversation and address your questions.

 

Yes, you're right. The date on the check should be the same as the date it is sent or hand-delivered.

 

Cash accounting records revenue when money is received and expenses when money is paid out. It doesn’t record payables and receivables like accrual accounting does. Instead, transactions are simply recorded as revenue or expenses on a business’s books.

 

In addition, You may check out this article if you encounter situations wherein you need to record bounced checks and new customer payments in QuickBooks Online: Enter a returned or bounced check using write check.

 

If you have further questions regarding cash accounting or any QuickBooks-related concerns, feel free to reach out again here in the Community. We're here to assist you 24/7.

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