Overview
SoftLedger can print checks for your AP payments, whether you're paying one bill with a single manual payment or settling several bills at once with a batch payment. Either way, the flow is the same: create the payment, confirm the details that will appear on the check, approve, and print.
Note: SoftLedger's check format is designed for QuickBooks-compatible check stock. You can order compatible stock here.
Step 1: Create the payment
Checks print from payments, so start by paying your bill(s) with the Manual payment method (see the Pay Bills guide for the full walkthrough).
Single payment — pay one bill from Cash Management > Pay Bills. This creates one payment, which prints as one check.
Batch payment — select multiple bills on the Pay Bills screen by checking their rows, then create the payment with the Manual method. Bills for the same vendor are combined into a single payment — meaning one check for the combined total. If your selection spans multiple vendors, a check can not be printed from the batch payment.
Step 2: Confirm the check details
Navigate to Cash Management > Pay Bills > AP Payments/Batch Payments and select the edit button on the payment. These fields directly affect the printed check:
Field | On the check |
Payment Date | The date printed on the check (also the transaction date of the payment journal entry) |
Address | Choose any of the vendor's addresses — this prints on the check |
Check Number | For record keeping only — copy it from the physical check you'll print on. It is not printed |
Amount | The amount printed, in numbers and written out in words. Editing it here updates the payment journal entry and the bill payment amount |
Memo | Optional text printed at the bottom of the check |
For a batch payment, the amount is the payment's total across all bills it covers — the individual bills aren't listed on the check, so the Memo field is a good place to reference the invoice numbers being paid.
Note: You can keep updating the payment until it's approved.
Step 3: Approve the payment
A user with permission approves the payment. Once approved, the payment can no longer be edited — if something is wrong after approval, void the payment and create a new one.
Step 4: Preview and print
After approval, the Print Check button appears on the payment. You can click the check icon from the payment detail view, or from the actions button at far right in the table.
The print screen shows exactly what will land on your check stock — everything inside the black border is what prints:
Vendor's Check Name (if no check name is set on the vendor, the vendor's name is used)
Payment date
Payment amount
Payment amount written in words
The address you selected
The memo
First time printing on check stock?
It is best practice to do a dry run:
Print the check on plain white paper.
Hold the printed page in front of your check stock with a bright light behind it.
Confirm the fields line up.
If they don't, adjust your printer margin settings and try again.
Once everything lines up, note your printer settings for next time and print directly onto the check stock.
Good to know
Print for batch payments when single vendor. If a batch payment has payments across more than one vendor, the print check option is not allowed.
One check per payment. A batch payment covering ten bills prints one check for the total.
The check number is yours to manage. SoftLedger records it against the payment but doesn't print it — your check stock is pre-numbered, so enter the number from the physical check you use.
Voided payments and reprints. If a printed check is wrong, void the payment and recreate it — the new payment gets a fresh Print Check flow, and you can record the replacement check number on it.
Questions about printing checks or paying bills? Reach out through the chat bubble or at support@softledger.com — happy to help.