Introduction

You can void any check written through the system or posted as a prepaid check. To do this, the check must not have been cleared through the bank account reconciliation process.

When you void a check, you have the option to recreate the invoice or not recreate it. When the check is voided, the supporting AP invoices are not really gone; they are supplemented with reversing invoices, with both the void check and reversing invoices reflected in the transaction history. To describe this further, when the check that has invoice 1432 is voided, a negative invoice is created with invoice # V1432. If you request that the invoice(s) paid be recreated when you void the check, these invoices recreated will be unpaid and be displayed on any unpaid invoice report. These new invoice(s) will append an 'R' at the beginning of the invoice number (e.g. paid inv# 1432 will be recreated as unpaid inv# R1432). The original invoices that were Paid with the original check still remain on the system, but will now be displayed with a 'V' appended to the beginning of the invoice#s (e.g. paid inv# 1432 will now display as a paid credit with inv# V1432).

If a check issued in a prior financial period is voided in the current financial period and the bank statement for the prior financial period has not been reconciled, the current reconciliation will be out of balance. A message will be displayed like:

Check paid: Dec 2008. Bankbook reconciled: Feb 2009. Be careful.

This message is displayed because the reconciliation will expect the check to appear on the uncleared checks list as it is part of the ending bank balance. If this occurs, you should put the cleared check back on the reconciliation via the reconciliation NOTES, or you can unclear the check via the Post Bank Transactions process in the banking module (Bank Accounts/Transaction Information/Post Transactions).

If you contact the bank to put a stop payment or void a check, make sure you give them the transaction number and not the actual check number. The transaction number is included in the MICR numbers at the bottom of the check, and is different than the actual check number. The transaction number is identified in the screen that you use to void or place a stop payment on the check.

What Happens When the Check is Voided

When a check is voided the following happens:

1. The vendor record is updated to reflect the voiding of the invoices.
2. A new check record is created with a negative value.
3. All invoices paid are given a new invoice number by placing a 'V' at the beginning of the old invoice number, and attached to the voided check record. These invoices are assigned negative values and recorded as paid.
4. New, unpaid invoices are created with new invoice numbers by placing an 'R' at the beginning of the old invoice number.
5. The client's bank account is updated to indicate a VOID CHECK credit entry to offset the original debit.