You can print checks without QuickBooks by using a separate check printing tool or template, then recording the same payment in QuickBooks by hand with the same check number, date, payee and amount. QuickBooks stays your books, and the other tool prints the paper. The one rule is to enter each check in both places once, so your register and your books match when you reconcile.
Why would you print checks without QuickBooks?
People give a few common reasons, and they are worth sorting out because the best approach depends on which one is yours.
- Your bookkeeper uses QuickBooks, but you write checks from a different computer or location where it is not installed.
- You only occasionally write checks and do not want to enter them into your books before printing.
- You want a different layout, logo, stub or paper setup than the one you are using.
- You do not want everyone who prints checks to have access to your books.
- You are moving away from QuickBooks, or you do not use it for payables at all.
- You want to print the same check in a browser on any device without extra software.
None of these requires abandoning QuickBooks. They only mean the check itself is produced somewhere else.
What are the ways to print checks without QuickBooks?
| Option | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| A web-based check printing tool | Printing on blank, pre-printed or plain paper from any computer | Entering each check twice; no sync with your books |
| Desktop check printing software | Heavy users who want an installed program | Operating system compatibility and updates |
| A word processor or spreadsheet template | Occasional checks | No MICR font by default, no automatic amount in words, no register |
| Ordering printed checks from your bank | Businesses that want no printing at all | Reorder delays and changes to account details |
If you are starting from a spreadsheet, how to print checks from Excel covers that route. For a comparison of tools by category, see best check printing software for small business.
How do you keep QuickBooks for the books and print elsewhere?
The workflow is simple, but it has to be done the same way every time. Here is the version most owners settle on.
- Decide which system gets the check number. The easiest rule is that the check printing tool assigns the number, and you copy that number into QuickBooks.
- Set the starting check number in your printing tool to the next number after your last QuickBooks check, so the two sequences agree.
- Print the check from your printing tool, after a test print on plain paper.
- Immediately enter the same payment in QuickBooks as a check or expense payment, using the same payee, date, amount, check number and category or account.
- Put the invoice number or reference in the memo in both places.
- If you pay a bill that already exists in QuickBooks, record the payment against that bill so it is marked paid and not entered twice.
- For voided or reprinted checks, make the same change in both places. A voided check should show as voided in both records.
Doing step 4 on the same day as printing is the habit that matters. Waiting until month end is how checks end up missing from the books.
Which system holds which information?
| Information | Check printing tool | QuickBooks |
|---|---|---|
| Check number | Assigned when printed | Entered to match |
| Payee and address | Saved payee list | Vendor record |
| Amount and amount in words | Printed on the check | Amount only |
| Invoice detail on stub | Printed on the check stub | Bill detail |
| Category and tax treatment | Not tracked | Your chart of accounts |
| Bank reconciliation | Not performed | Done against the statement |
The idea is that the printing tool is the source for what is on the paper, and QuickBooks is the source for accounting. The check number is the thread that ties the two.
How do you reconcile when checks are printed outside QuickBooks?
Reconciling works the same way as it always does, as long as every printed check has also been entered in QuickBooks. When the bank statement arrives, work through it in two passes.
- Match each cleared check on the statement to a QuickBooks entry by check number and amount, and mark it cleared.
- Run your printing tool's register report and compare it with the QuickBooks list of checks for the month. Every number in one should be in the other.
- Investigate any difference: a check printed but not entered, entered but not printed, or entered with the wrong amount.
- List the checks that have not cleared. These are your outstanding checks, and they explain the gap between the bank balance and your books.
- Make sure no check number is missing without a note. A voided check should be recorded as voided, not omitted.
Doing a quick register-to-books comparison every week or two catches mistakes while you still remember what you were doing. For ways to keep and back up the register side, see how to keep a digital record of printed checks.
What can go wrong, and how do you avoid it?
- Double entry mistakes: typing an amount differently in the two places. Copy the amount, or read it back after entering.
- Number drift: printing a check outside QuickBooks and forgetting to advance the QuickBooks number. Check the next number in both systems before each run.
- Duplicate bills: paying a bill in your printing tool and then paying it again in QuickBooks. Always record against the open bill.
- Spoiled checks that never get recorded as voided. Keep the voided sheet and record it.
- Missing payees: a payee in one system but spelled differently in the other, which breaks vendor totals.
Check Writer 123 does not integrate with QuickBooks or any accounting software: there is no import or sync, so you enter each check in your books yourself. It runs in a browser on Windows, Mac and Chromebook with any printer and offers a 14-day free trial with no card needed, which is enough to run a few checks through the workflow above.
Putting it together
Keep QuickBooks for what it does, which is keeping the books, and use a separate tool when you just need the check itself. Agree on one rule for who assigns the check number, enter every check in both places on the day it is printed, and reconcile against the statement monthly. If you do not use any accounting software at all, see how to print checks without accounting software for a spreadsheet-based version of the same routine.