Is it legal for a small business to print its own checks?

In general, yes. A check is valid when it contains the required elements, such as the payer, payee, amount, date, signature and bank details. Whether your bank accepts a given printed check is a separate question, so ask your bank about its requirements before you rely on printed checks. For legal specifics, consult an attorney.

What is the cheapest way for a small business to get checks?

It depends on volume. At low volume, a simple subscription plus blank stock or a single order of pre-printed checks can both be inexpensive. Compare the full cost per check, including stock, software, ink or toner, and your time, rather than only the sticker price of one box or one plan.

Do I need special paper to print business checks?

For the most complete result, use blank check stock, usually 3-to-a-page, which has security features and perforations. Some tools can also print on pre-printed stock or plain paper, but plain-paper checks may not be accepted by every bank, so confirm with yours.

How do I prevent check fraud in a small business?

Lock up blank stock, use sequential check numbers, have a second person review payments when possible, reconcile your bank statement monthly, shred spoiled checks, and pay only against documented invoices. Many banks also offer services such as positive pay for added protection, so ask yours what it offers.

Can I use accounting software and a separate check printing tool?

Yes. Many owners keep their books in accounting software and print checks elsewhere, then enter the check details in both places. It adds a manual step, so decide on one place that is the authority for payments and reconcile against the bank each month.

Check Printing for Small Businesses

Check printing for small businesses comes down to one decision: do you buy pre-printed checks from your bank or a check vendor, or do you print each check yourself on your own printer using blank check stock or check printing software? Most small businesses that write checks regularly end up printing their own, because it removes reorder delays and lets one setup cover every payment type.

This page is the overview. It covers the options, what each one really costs, the controls every business needs no matter which option it picks, and where to go next for the specific payments you make.

Do small businesses still need to write checks?

Yes, for many of them. Electronic payments are common, but checks remain the practical answer when a landlord, a contractor, a supplier or a government office does not take cards or bank transfers, or charges a fee that you would rather not pay. Checks also leave a paper trail that some owners prefer for larger or one-off payments.

The volume is usually modest and uneven. You might write four checks one month and forty the next. That unevenness is the reason the way you obtain checks matters: a method that is cheap at high volume can be wasteful at low volume, and the reverse.

What are the ways to get business checks?

There are four realistic routes. They are not mutually exclusive; plenty of businesses use two of them.

Method	How it works	Strong points	Watch out for
Order pre-printed checks from the bank or a check vendor	Your name, address and bank details are printed in advance; you fill in the rest by hand or by printer.	Familiar, accepted everywhere, no printer setup.	Reorder lead time, minimum quantities, and a new order every time bank details or the business address changes.
Accounting software with a check feature	You enter bills and pay them by check from inside the accounting program.	Payments and books stay in one place.	Usually still requires pre-printed or special stock, and the software may be more than you need if checks are occasional.
Dedicated check printing software on blank check stock	You buy blank 3-to-a-page stock and the software prints everything, including the bank line.	One stock for every account, details change instantly, built-in register.	You must handle stock security and printer setup, and you should confirm bank acceptance of MICR output.
Word processor or spreadsheet template	You lay out a check yourself in Word or Excel.	No new software cost.	No automatic amount in words, no register, no check numbering, and easy to make layout errors.

For a detailed look at the first and third routes, see check printing software vs ordering checks from a bank. For the in-house case specifically, read how small businesses can print their own checks.

What does check printing really cost a small business?

Do not compare only the price of the software or the price of a box of checks. Compare the full cost per check over a year. A fair comparison includes these items:

The cost of the checks or stock itself, per check, including shipping.
Any software subscription or license, divided by the checks you write in a typical year.
Printer consumables: toner or ink, and the occasional wasted sheet.
Time. Handwriting forty checks, or re-ordering because the address changed, costs real hours.
The cost of mistakes: spoiled checks, a stop payment fee, or a late payment because you ran out of stock.

Write down your own numbers. If you issue ten checks a month from one account, an inexpensive subscription plus blank stock may still cost less than one reorder of pre-printed checks per year. If you issue several hundred a month, the math shifts toward whatever has the lowest per-check cost and the least handling. Your own volume decides, not a general rule.

What controls should every business have?

Checks are a fraud target, and a small business is exposed because one person often does everything. These habits cost almost nothing and close the most common gaps:

Separate the roles where you can. The person who enters a payment should not be the only person who reviews it. In a one-person business, review the register yourself on a fixed day each week.
Lock up blank stock. Blank check stock is a ready-made fraud tool. Keep it in a locked drawer or cabinet and count the sheets.
Use sequential check numbers and account for every one. A missing number should always have an explanation: voided, spoiled or issued.
Reconcile every month. Match the bank statement to your register line by line, including checks that have not cleared yet.
Shred spoiled checks. A misprint with your account number on it is still sensitive.
Pay only against paperwork. A bill, invoice, contract or time sheet should exist for every check.

Which payments do small businesses print checks for?

Different payments need slightly different details on the check or its stub. Use the guide that matches what you are paying:

Suppliers and service providers: how to print vendor checks, with invoice numbers on the stub.
Independent contractors: how to print contractor checks, including collecting tax forms before you pay.
Employees: how to print payroll checks, which explains why pay calculations stay outside check printing.
Your landlord: how to print rent checks for your business.
General setup for any of the above: how to print business checks.

What should you confirm before you start?

Before the first real check, settle these points. They are quick and prevent most of the problems small businesses run into.

Call or visit your bank and ask whether it accepts checks printed on blank stock with a MICR line, and whether it has any requirements about the stock or the printing method. Acceptance varies by bank, so get the answer from your own.
Choose your stock format. Most small businesses use 3-to-a-page stock because the stubs hold payment detail you will want to keep.
Verify your routing and account numbers against a check you already have or your bank's own records. A single wrong digit sends payments to the wrong place or gets them returned.
Print a test page on plain paper and hold it against a real check in front of a light to confirm the alignment.
Decide where records will live and who can print. A shared spreadsheet that anyone can edit is not a register.

A simple monthly routine for checks

A short, repeatable routine keeps a small operation clean. Pick a day, ideally the same one each week, and do the following.

Gather the bills and invoices that are due and approve the ones you will pay by check.
Print the checks in one session, in check number order, then sign them.
Mail or hand them out the same day, and record anything you gave out in person.
At month end, compare the register with the bank statement, mark cleared checks, and list the outstanding ones.
Investigate any gap in the number sequence and any check outstanding for an unusually long time.
Export or print the register report and file it with the month's records. Your accountant will ask for it. See how to keep a digital record of printed checks for what to include.

Check Writer 123 is a web app, made by the publisher of this site, that prints checks from any browser on blank check stock, pre-printed stock or plain paper. It keeps a searchable register, supports multiple bank accounts and does not mail checks or move money. Because we publish it, weigh our view accordingly and use the free 14-day trial to judge it against your own workflow.

Putting it together

Start from your volume, your payment types and how much hand work you can tolerate. If you write a handful of checks a year, ordering from your bank may be all you need. If checks are a regular part of the month, printing in-house with blank stock usually saves reorder time and gives you one place to record everything. Whichever route you choose, the controls matter more than the tool: locked stock, sequential numbers, a second look before you sign, and a monthly reconciliation.