Check Stock & Check Printing
Physical checks come in numbered books, and auditors expect every number accounted for. REDA Financials manages that accounting for you: load the check stock's number range on the bank account, and every check payment gets the next number automatically — sequentially, uniquely, permanently.
Access you'll need. Configuring check stock requires the Accounting Admin v2 or Accounting Controller v2 permission set. The Accounts Payable v2, Accounts Receivable v2, and Read Only v2 sets can view the account but not change it.
Loading check stock
On the bank account: Starting Check Number and Ending Check Number (the book's range — Meridian loaded 5001–6000), Next Check Number (the next unused one), and a Check Stock Description for the physical stock. That's the whole setup.
| Field | What it holds | Meridian's value |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Check Number | The first number in the loaded book | 5001 |
| Ending Check Number | The last number in the book — the exhaustion line | 6000 |
| Next Check Number | The next unused number; advances automatically with every check posted. When the book runs out, it goes blank — the signal that new stock is needed | 5001 on day one, then wherever the checks have reached |
| Check Stock Description | A label for the physical stock in the drawer | Whatever identifies the book on the shelf |
How numbers are assigned
At payment posting
When a Cash Disbursement with payment method Check posts, it takes the account's Next Check Number, and the counter advances — safely, even when a payment run posts many checks at once (numbers assign sequentially, no duplicates, no gaps).
Once assigned, forever assigned
"Check Number cannot be changed once assigned." — and it's unique per bank account. Voiding the payment does not recycle the number (the physical check was spoiled; the audit trail says so), and a numbered payment can't be deleted, only voided.
When the book runs out
Past the Ending number, assignment stops and the forms tell you plainly: "Check stock exhausted. Load new stock on the Bank Account." Load the new book's range and payments resume.
The rules that keep check numbers honest
Every guard, verbatim, with what to do when you meet it:
| The message | What it means / what to do |
|---|---|
| "Check Number is required for check payments." | A check payment can't post unnumbered. It also appears when the stock has run dry (Next Check Number blank) — load the new book's range and post again. |
| "Check stock exhausted. Load new stock on the Bank Account." | The payment form's plain-language version of the same event. Update Starting/Ending/Next on the account. |
| "Check Number must be unique per Bank Account. This number is already in use." | Two payments can't share a number on one account — the duplicate is refused, protecting the sequence auditors will walk. |
| "Check Number cannot be changed once assigned." | Assigned means permanent. A wrong physical check is handled by voiding the payment, never by renumbering it. |
| "Cannot delete a Cash Disbursement with a check number assigned. Use Void instead." | A numbered payment is part of the sequence's story — it may be voided (documented), never erased. |
| "Failed to assign check number: {0}" / "Failed to advance check stock on bank account: {0}" | The rare mechanical failure during posting — the message carries the underlying reason; resolve it and post again. |
Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake | Why it hurts | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Loading a range that overlaps the previous book | The uniqueness guard starts rejecting numbers mid-run — payments stall while someone untangles which book is real | New book, new range, starting after the old Ending number |
| "Fixing" a wrong check by editing its number | Refused ("Check Number cannot be changed once assigned.") — and if it weren't, the printed paper and the books would disagree forever | Void the payment (the number stays consumed, documented) and issue a fresh one |
| Deleting a spoiled check's payment to tidy up | Refused — a numbered payment erased would leave a hole auditors must chase | Void. The sequence stays complete: every number maps to a real or documented-void check |
| Running a large payment run on the last few numbers | The run numbers checks until the book ends, then the remainder fails to number — a half-numbered batch to clean up | Check Next vs Ending before big runs; load the new book first if it's close |
Checks and the bank statement
The check number is matching gold: statement lines carry the bank's check number, payments carry yours, and auto-match's first pass pairs them exactly. Checks that haven't cleared yet appear as Outstanding Checks on the reconciliation — the classic timing difference, handled automatically.
Where to go next
- Creating a Cash Disbursement — where checks are born.
- Batch Payment Run — many checks, one batch.
- Understanding Reconciliation — where they clear.
Frequently asked questions
Void the payment (the number stays consumed, correctly — the physical check is destroyed) and issue a new payment, which takes the next number. The sequence stays truthful: every number maps to a check that exists or is documented void.
Where no stock is loaded, the number field is yours (uniqueness still enforced). With stock configured, assignment is automatic — that's the point.
The account tracks one live range at a time. Load book A; when exhausted, load book B's range. Parallel books on one account defeat sequential integrity — if you genuinely need parallel streams, they usually belong to separate bank accounts.
No — assignment locks the bank account's counter while numbers are handed out, so simultaneous postings queue up and each takes the next number in sequence. That's also what keeps a batch payment run gap-free and duplicate-free.
Same event, different form: the invoice-payment form offers a manual number when the account's stock has run out. Either type the number from the new physical book — uniqueness is still enforced — or load the new range on the bank account first, which is the tidier fix.
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