Checks
The Checks screen serves as a way to review invoices that have been submitted for payment and print checks. Checks can also be easily voided or quickly reprinted, if any issues during the printing or payment process occur.
1. In the Purchasing/Accounts Payable menu, click Checks.
2. From the Checks screen, click the New Check Run tab.
3. You can pull invoices by the Batch, Fund, Vendor, or Payment Method by making the applicable selections for the corresponding pull-downs. Combinations may also be selected; for example, if you know the Batch name and the Vendor, you can select both.
4. Click Search.
All invoices associated with the batches, funds, vendors and/or payment methods selected is listed in the Invoices section.
5. Review the Fund, Cycle, Vendor, Vendor #, Batch name, Invoice #, Invoice Date, Due Date, linked PO #, Payment Method, and the Total to decide which invoices should be included in the check run.
Click the Invoice # to open the invoice via Purchasing/Accounts Payable > Invoices > Invoice Lookup tab.
Click the PO # to open the purchase order via Purchasing/Accounts Payable > Purchase Requests/Orders or Internal Purchase Requests/Orders.
6. Click Send Receiving Reminder to send reminders for check runs that include payments ready for purchase orders that have not been fully received.
When Send Receiving Reminder is clicked, the user responsible for receiving the items of the purchase order will be sent a portal alert via the Task List section and a Receive Purchase Order Reminder email.
Blanket invoices display on the New Check Run tab even if they have not been received (and the district has enabled blanket receiving settings). Blanket invoices display as disabled invoices just as all other invoices that have not been received.
7. All invoices are selected by default. Click the check box again in the Pay column to clear the selection of invoices that should not be included in the check run. You can also click Check/Uncheck All to clear the selection of all invoices and make your selections as needed.
8. Select the Close PO check box to close the purchase order when the check run is submitted.
The Close PO check box displays when the profile permission Override Close PO on the New Check Run Screen is enabled via Setup > Profiles > Purchasing/Accounts Payable tab.
When all applicable invoices have been selected to be included in the check run, review the total via the Unfiltered Selected Total and Filtered Selected Total.
The amounts displayed will differ if the Filters feature is used so what displays on the screen as a result of filtering through invoices differs from the invoices selected for payment. I.e. the Unfiltered Selected Total is the total of all invoice selections made, and the Filtered Selected Total is the total of the invoices displayed after using the Filters feature. For more information about using Filters, see Additional Features.
9. Set the Check Settings by entering the Check Run Title in the provided text box.
10. Enter a Check Run Memo in the text box, if needed.
11. The Journal/Check Date defaults to the current date but can be edited as needed.
12. Select the applicable Bank from the pull-down from which the payment is to be made.
13. The Starting Check # auto-populates with the next check in the sequence but can be edited as needed.
The ability to edit the Starting Check # is determined by the profile permission Edit Starting Check Numbers, which can be enabled via Setup > Profiles > Purchasing/Accounts Payable tab.
14. Select the Sort by Facility check box to sort the vendors by their respective facilities, if applicable.
15. Click Submit.
Once submitted, budgets will show affected debits and credits as a result of paid invoices.
Once your check run has been created, it can be viewed from the Check Runs tab. For more information, see Viewing, Printing, and Voiding Checks.
1. In the Purchasing/Accounts Payable menu, click Checks.
2. From the Checks screen, click the Check Runs tab and select the correct Fiscal Year from the pull-down.
The Check Runs section displays all existing check runs created via the New Check Run tab.
The following information is displayed in the Check Runs section: Date, Title, Bank Code, Bank name, Account Code, Payment Count, Document Types, E-Pay, and the Total.
3. Click View to open additional check run information in the View Check Run tab where you can view, print, and void checks.
The View Check Run tab displays the Check Run Summary section, which includes the title, the Bank, the Total, who the check run was Created By, the Created Date, and is broken down by Fund(s) and batches (Batch Title).
The Checks section displays all check created in the check run, which displays the Check #, Account number, the Date, the Vendor #, the Vendor name, the Vendor Address, the Amount, E-Pay, number of Pages, and Notes.
4. To view, print, or void checks, select the applicable checks using the Select check boxes. Click Select All to select all the checks listed. All checks are selected by default; therefore, you can click Deselect All to clear all selections and make your own selections.
5. Select the type of Check Form that should be used in printing checks set up via Setup > Check Form Setup from the corresponding pull-down. The Check Range number(s) are listed.
6. Once your selections have been made, click Print Selected As Check. To generate checks as a PDF file, click Print Selected As File Copy.
In order to generate a File Copy, the profile permission Print File Copies must be enabled via Setup > Profiles > Purchasing/Accounts Payable tab. In order to generate checks and file copies, your profile must also be selected from the Allowed Profiles pull-down via Setup > Check Form Setup.
To print or generate a PDF file one check at a time, click the Print and File Copy buttons located next to the applicable check.
a. If you clicked Check, a print preview displays. To print, click the printer icon located in the upper right corner of the screen. Click the down arrow to download the image as a PDF file.
When a check run is printed for the first time, Focus stores the signature ID as of the time of the run to ensure that signature is pulled for all future runs. This ensures that the signature that was valid at the time of the check run is always pulled for that run. Note: This functionality doesn’t apply to check runs from previous fiscal years.
Focus retains information on checks written prior to vendor address or name changes updated via Purchasing/Accounts Payable > Vendors/Customers. I.e., if a vendor’s information is updated and a check that was generated before the change date, the check can be printed or reprinted with the vendor’s original information.
7. Click Positive Pay to prepare a text file which is sent to the bank informing them of incoming check information; this feature helps prevent check fraud.
8. Click Void Selected to void the selected checks or click Void in the Void column next to the applicable check to void one check at a time.
a. To void the selected checks, complete the displayed pop-up window by entering the Reason for the void(s).
b. If you are voiding a check from a previous fiscal year, you have the option to Reissue Check by selecting the corresponding check box. When the Reissue Check check box is selected, the following will occur:
- Create Journals
- Journal Source
- Void AP Balance Only Check
- Debit to cash
- Credit to Accounts Payable
- Journal Source
- A replacement invoice/batch is created
- The invoice/batch will be available in new check runs
- Invoice/Batch to be called Reissue Check XXXX
- There are no committed journals for the replacement invoice
c. Select the Void Invoices check box to void the invoices as well as the check(s).
d. If you select Void Invoices, you can also select the Edit Invoices check box to void the check, then edit the invoices.
e. If you select Void Invoices, you can also make changes to the original purchase order by selecting the Re-open Purchase Orders check box.
f. If you are voiding a check from previous fiscal years, you have the option to Create reversal journal entries by selecting the corresponding check box. Note: When Create reversal journal entries is selected, an “AP Void Check Encumbered” journal entry is not created.
g. Click Void Check to apply changes or click Cancel to return to the View Check Run tab with no changes made.
You are required to Create reverse journal entries prior to voiding a check for a previous fiscal year.
Voiding previous fiscal year checks without voiding invoices does not mark the invoice as unpaid, which prevents the check from appearing on invoice rollover via Setup > AP invoices.
When voiding checks that include the void of the invoice, Focus does not use the invoice date to determine the journal date. There is no impact to a previous FY when voiding checks/invoices.
Voiding end of year checks has no impact on previous fiscal year; i.e. a check written in the current fiscal year but expended in previous fiscal year cannot be voided.
The journal source “Void AP Warrant GL Balance Only" ensures that Focus does not update the journal table for collected or expended when reverse journals are created upon voiding checks.
If you have only voided the check and haven't voided invoices, edited invoices, or re-opened purchase orders, you have the option to Reverse the check void from the View Check Run tab by clicking the corresponding button in the Void column. Clicking Reverse will remove all traces of the voided check.
If voided, you will see the Void date and the Reason entered in te Notes column.
The Grand Total of all listed checks is displayed along with the total number of pages, and the Selected Total, which reflects the total of the checks selected as well as the selected page totals.
9. Click the Open Check Report link to open Purchasing / Accounts Payable > Check Report.
10. Click the Open Invoice Report link to open Purchasing / Accounts Payable > Invoice Report.
11. As indicated in the Files section, drag files directly into the box to attach documents or click the Select button to browse for files. Click the Scan File button to download Dynamsoft. This is a one-time download that allows you to attach files directly from your scanner. In doing so, you will bypass saving the file to your computer first.
12. To add a comment, type the comment in the provided text box. Then, click the Post button.
Files and comments can also be added and viewed from the Check Runs tab by clicking the Files & Comments button next to the applicable check run.
Clicking the Files & Comments buttons open a pop-up window where you can view and add additional files and comments. When finished, click the white X to close the window and return to the Check Runs tab.
If payment have been made manually, they will display as Manual Payment in the E-Pay column; this column also displays whether the payment was Standard ACH.
Manual payments are non-paper checks that are tied to vendors via Purchasing/Accounts Payable > Vendors/Customers > Payment Method. Vendors receive a wire transfere type of payment or a "ghost credit card" payment, which is recorded in the system as a "dummy" check called a manual payment. The - (minus sign) in front of the check number indicates a manual check.
The ACH/Manual tab allows users to review and run an ACH file for direct deposits. This tab displays payments for vendors that have been designated for direct deposit; it also shows current and previous ACH deposits. This tab also allows users to view manual check runs and email vendors, as needed.
Checks allows zero dollar AP checks to be processed. To view the check run, click the ACH/Manual tab, select Manual, from the Type pull-down, and select Zero Amount Documents Only from the Amount pull-down.
1. In the Purchasing/Accounts Payable menu, click Checks.
2. From the Checks screen, click the ACH/Manual tab.
3. Select the correct Fiscal Year from the pull-down.
4. Select the Type of transactions you'd like to pull into the report from the corresponding pull-down. options include ACH, Manual, and Both.
5. Select the Amount type from the pull-down such as Non-Zero Amount Documents Only, Zero Amount Documents Only, or All Documents.
The ACH/Manual section displays payments for vendors that have been designated for direct deposit as well as current and previous ACH deposits if ACH is selected from the Type pull-down.
All manual check runs are displays as well, depending on the Type of checks selected in the previous step.
The following information is displayed in the ACH section: Date, Check Run, Type, Bank name, Bank Code, Account Code, and the Total.
5. Click the Download button to save the ACH/Manual file that will be sent to the bank. Send the ACH/Manual PDF file to the bank either via fax, email, or methods agreed upon with the bank.
a. Upon clicking the Download button, a pop-up window displays. Enter the effective date and click OK to download the file. You can also click Cancel to cancel the download and return to the ACH tab. The bank will then initiate the direct deposit on the arranged date.
6. Once sent, you can click Mark Returned to mark an ACH item as returned by the bank, so that you or other users can void and reissue.
a. In the pop-up window, click Mark As Returned.
![[FOCUS-41774] Bank ACH Rejections For Payables - JIRA](https://media.screensteps.com/image_assets/assets/008/102/997/original/7e166c83-68b7-497a-915e-69ba2a84392c.png)
You also have the ability to mark single checks as returned in the event of a line item bank rejection from the View Check Run tab.
a. Click Check Runs tab.
b. Click View.
c. In the ACH section, click Mark Returned.
a. Click Mark As Returned.
7. Click Email Vendors to send an email to all applicable vendors informing them that the direct or manual deposit is selected to be sent on the entered date.
a. The Send ACH Email to Vendors pop-up window displays. Review the default message and make any necessary edits. The Available variables are listed at the bottom of the screen. Once the message has been reviewed and/or edited, click Send to send the email. You can also click the white X to close the pop-up window without sending emails.
Additional bank tabs may displays if your district utilizes P-Card Payments. The applicable tab displays payments for vendors that have been designated for payment by P-Card, along with current and previous payments.
1. In the Purchasing/Accounts Payable menu, click Checks.
2. From the Checks screen, click the applicable bank tab, such as Regions.
The following information is displayed in the applicable bank section: Date, Check Run, Bank name, Bank Code, Account Code, and the Total.
3. Click the Download button to save the file that will be sent to the bank. Send the file to the bank either via fax, email, or methods agreed upon with the bank; the bank will then initiate the direct payment on the arranged date.
Use the Filter text box to begin typing the Batch/Fund/Vendor name of number in order to filter through and move matches to the top of the list for easy selection.
Click the Exact check box to filter data to match exactly what you enter in the filter.
Click Check all to select all options listed. Click Clear to clear all selections made and start over.
If there are multiple pages of data, click the Prev and Next buttons to sift through pages. You can also enter a number in the Page text box to jump to a page.
Click the Excel icon in the Export section to export the table of data to an Excel spreadsheet, which can then be saved to your computer.
Click the Printer icon to print the table of data.
Click the Filters button to filter data and apply filter rules.
a. To add more than one filter to a column, click on the green plus sign.
b. To delete an added filter, click on the red minus sign.
c. Select the gray arrow for additional filtering rules.
For more information on how to use the Filters feature, see the Filters document.
You can also sort data by clicking on any of the headers. Click once for ascending results; click twice for descending results.
At any point while on the Checks screen, you have the ability to search for checks by typing the check number in the Look up check # text box and pressing the Enter key. You can add the applicable bank as an additional filter from the for bank pull-down.
The check opens in a new tab as displayed in the image below.
