Bank Check Printing Formats

What is it and what is it for?

When you print a check, AdmCloud doesn't print a full page with lines and boxes: it prints only the text (date, beneficiary name, amount, amount in words, notes, etc.) on top of the physical check paper that your bank already printed, with its boxes, lines and account data. The Bank Check Printing Format is the template that tells AdmCloud exactly which coordinate (X, Y) on the sheet each piece of data should land on, and with what font size and family, so the text falls inside the correct boxes.

Each format is designed visually on a canvas that simulates your check sheet: you click on any element (for example, the amount) and move it with the keyboard arrows until it lines up with the real position of that box on your printed paper. The result is saved as a named format, which you later select when configuring a bank account.

You can create as many formats as the different check designs your company uses (for example, one per bank or per checkbook type), and reuse the same format across several bank accounts that share the same paper design.

How to use it

1. Create a new format. Go to Bank Check Printing Formats and use the Add button. Give it a Name that identifies the design (for example, the bank's name or the checkbook type).
2. Set the sheet size. Enter the Width and Height of the check in pixels; the design canvas resizes automatically to that size.
3. Position each field with the mouse and the keyboard. Click on the day, month, year, beneficiary, amount, amount in words or notes inside the canvas (the selected element is highlighted in red) and move it with the keyboard arrows until it's in the right spot. You can also type the exact Coordinate X and Coordinate Y directly if you already know the values.
4. Adjust the date if your check prints it in separate boxes. While the day, month or year is selected you can set the Whitespaces Between Date Characters, useful when each digit needs to fall inside its own box.
5. Turn on any optional fields you need (see "Key capabilities" below): notes, second date, second amount, copy, and security asterisks around the beneficiary or the amount in words. Each one you enable appears on the canvas so you can position it just like the rest.
6. Adjust the font. Choose the Font Family and Font Size that best fits the space available on your paper.
7. Restore the default values if you need to start over. The Default values button resets every element back to its original factory position.
8. Save the format. Using the Save button. After saving, you can go back and Edit it, or use Duplicate to create a copy as a starting point for a similar design.
9. Assign it to a bank account. On the bank account's record (Accounting › Accounts), select this format in the "Check Format" field. From then on, every time you print a check from that account, AdmCloud will use this design.

Key capabilities

• Visual, coordinate-based (X, Y) design on a canvas that simulates your check paper, with click-to-select and keyboard arrows to move each element with precision.
• Configurable width and height (in pixels) to match the real size of your check.
• Configurable font family and size, chosen from a list of safe fonts available on the server.
• Configurable spacing between the day, month and year characters, for checks with individual date boxes per digit.
• Optional notes field, with automatic line wrapping when the text is longer than the available width.
• Optional second date and second amount, useful for stubs or vouchers that repeat those fields.
• Optional copy of the check (for example, for the stub or the company's file), with its own independently adjustable top margin.
• Optional security asterisks around the beneficiary name and the amount in words (for example, "*** JOHN DOE ***"), to make it harder to add characters before or after.
• Duplicate an existing format as a starting point for a similar variant.
• A format can be assigned to one or several bank accounts; every account using it prints with the same design.

Key fields

Validations when saving

• Name required: a format cannot be saved without a name.
• Unique name: you cannot create a format with a name already used by another existing format.
• Cannot delete a format assigned to a bank account: if one or more bank accounts have this format selected, the system blocks the deletion and shows you the code and name of those accounts; you must first assign them a different format or clear it.

Availability, plan and permissions

• This feature requires the Standard plan or higher (Basic and Start do not include check printing).
• On the Enterprise plan, it additionally requires the Accounting module to be enabled for your company. If you don't see this option in the menu, your plan or company doesn't have this combination enabled.
• Access to add, edit or delete formats is controlled by the "Bank Checks Printing Formats" permission, assignable per user or user group in Security.
• For a format to take effect when printing, it must be assigned in the "Check Format" field of the corresponding bank account.

Tips and common mistakes