Cheques and Other Payment Instruments

Use Accounting > Payment Instruments to track received or issued instruments through their lifecycle. Recording an instrument is not proof that funds cleared.

Before you start

Prepare the contact and appropriate bank account. Check amount, currency, issue/due dates and the actual instrument reference. Use this screen only for financial events you are authorized to record.

Create an instrument

1. Choose New instrument.
2. Select the supported type and Received or Issued direction.
3. Choose the contact and, where relevant, bank account.
4. Enter instrument number, positive amount, currency, due date and optional issue date.
5. Add drawer name/bank and notes where applicable.
6. Save and inspect the list entry and initial status.

Record lifecycle events

• Deposit: record presenting the instrument to the intended account.
• Clear: select the bank account and confirm only after actual settlement.
• Endorse: select the recipient contact when transferring the instrument.
• Bounce: record a failed settlement using the available action.
• Cancel: use the permitted cancellation action and confirmation.

Actions appear according to current status and direction. A deposited cheque is not the same as a cleared cheque. Do not try every action to discover which one will succeed.

Verify and troubleshoot

After an action, reload status and inspect treasury/linked balances. If an action is unavailable, check the current lifecycle state. If the account list is empty, configure Treasury first. If rejected, inspect currency, contact, period and required fields. After a network error, inspect the instrument before repeating a settlement action.

See Treasury, Bank Reconciliation and Receipts & Payments.