Using the Print/Post Checks window

This window opens after you choose Print/Post Checks from the Process Payroll map.

On this window, you can:

  • Review the employees to be paid in this check run.
  • Print and reprint checks and direct deposit advices.
  • Approve the posting of printed checks.

Before you start

  • Print and verify the Pre-Check Register for the checks you want to print and post. If necessary, make corrections and run Calculate Payroll again.
  • Set up the printer and load your check and advice stock.

Important! If you have multiple users processing payroll in Sage HRMS Payroll, always calculate payroll just prior to printing and posting checks. By calculating payroll, you can verify if another payroll processor's work is overlapping in payroll calculation. If an employee belongs to two payroll processors' payrolls (or selection lists), that employee's paycheck is not included in both payroll runs but instead be overridden by the most recent payroll calculation. See About Calculate Payroll Messages (Erase/Merge/Cancel) for more information.

If your company uses Employee Level Security and you are generating checks, a payroll supervisormanager or a person with access to all employees should print and review the Pre-Check Register. If you have only selection-list access to employees, you may not be able to see all the employees for whom checks will be printed.

To Print Checks

  1. Open Payroll > Tasks > Process Payroll > Print/Post Checks.
  2. In the Print and Post Checks through Pay Period End Date field, click the calendar icon to select a date, or type the date and press Tab on your keyboard.
    • If the system does not find checks to print based on the specifications, a message notifies you.
    • If checks are found to print, complete the remaining fields on the window.

    Tip: Always use a selection list when calculating payroll and in the Calculation Sequence when using Print/Post Checks. This reduces errors and ensures the sequence is followed when checks are printed by the system, and it provides visibility to Sage HRMS Payroll users if other payroll processors are working simultaneously.

  3. Select the Calculation Sequence corresponding to the payroll you calculated and want to complete.
  4. Select the Bank used to fund the payroll you are processing.
  5. Select the Level of Detail desired, include a Message to print on the checks if necessary, select the Sort By method of your choice, and choose whether or not to Print SSN/SIN on the checks.

    Note: SSN/SIN numbers printed on checks are masked, so only the last part of the number appears (for example, ***-**-1234***-***-123).

  6. Click Print/Post. The Print Checks window opens.
    1. Verify that the check stock code, next check number, and check/advice forms listed are correct. This default information is stored on the Check Stocks tab of the bank record in Payroll Setup > Bank Services > Banks.
    2. Type the number of leading checks to use, if any. Although nothing is printed on the leading checks, the system assigns check numbers for the blank forms, to keep the audit trail correct.

      For example, if you always skip the first check form and start printing on the second, the first check form is called a leading check and you enter 1 as the number of leading checks. The system increases the number of the next check to print by the number of leading forms you enter.

    3. If you want to first print an alignment check, click the Align button.

      An alignment check prints X’s in place of numbers and letters on a check form, so you can see that the check forms are mounted properly in the printer. Alignment checks are always printed to your printer, no matter which print destination you have selected for your company. Make sure your printer is ready before you click Align.

      After an alignment check is printed, the Next Check Number is increased by one.

    4. Click the Print button. If you are printing a combination of checks and advices, the program reminds you to insert the appropriate check stock in the printer before proceeding.
    5. When printing is finished, you are asked if the checks were printed correctly:
      • If you choose Yes and you are not printing advices, the check information is immediately posted and the Print Checks window closes. After posting, you cannot edit the payment entry or reprint the check. If necessary, you can delete it, which voids the check.
      • If you choose Yes and you are printing advices after checks, you are reminded to insert the advice stock in the printer. After printing has finished, you are asked if the advices were printed correctly. If you choose Yes, the check information is posted and the Print Checks window closes.
      • If you choose No and you want to reprint now, you need to change the status of the checks (or advices) back to Not Printed in one of two ways:
        1. Double-click in the Check Status column, or click the Select Reprint Range button and fill in the Select Reprint Range dialog box.
          1. Click the Select Reprint Range button in the Print Checks window if checks or advices were not correctly printed the first time.
          2. Type or select the starting and ending numbers of the range to reprint, then click OK.
        2. If you choose No and you cannot reprint now, click Close. You receive a message asking if you want to cancel the check run (thereby voiding all printed checks).
          • Choose No to reprint the checks at a later time with the check numbers that have already been assigned.
          • Choose Yes to cancel the print run and void the current check numbers.
  7. When you have finished printing checks, click Close.

After printing and posting

  • Print the Payroll Register report from Transaction Reports.
  • Print the Earnings and Hours report from Transaction Reports.

Additional information

In addition to printing payroll checks, this window also posts payroll transactions to your payroll records and (optionally) creates a batch of General Ledger transactions resulting from payroll processing.

  • When you post (approve) payroll checks, the system generates a posting sequence number, which is stored. All transactions posted during the same session share the same posting sequence number, which prints on the Payroll Register.
  • You can include posting sequence numbers in the information sent to the general ledger if you choose Posting Sequence on the Payroll G/L Integration window. (The calculation sequence number is generated when you run Calculate Payroll. You can choose Calculation Sequence on the Payroll G/L Integration window.)