Recording and clearing checks

A check a household hands you is money received, not money the club has yet. It counts as paid only once it clears at the bank. So a check has three steps: you record it when it arrives, you mark it cleared when the money reaches the bank, or you mark it returned if it bounces.

Record a check from its invoice (Payments section, Record check) or from the household's page (the Invoices list, Record check beside an unpaid invoice). Enter the check number, the amount and, if it came in on an earlier day, the date you received it. On the invoice page the check number is required; on the household page it is optional, but adding it makes the check easy to find later.

Once recorded, the check shows on the invoice as Received with its date, not yet cleared. While it waits:

• the invoice shows as payment in progress; for dues, the renewal shows Payment processing; a household already past due stays on Past due but can't be charged another late fee or terminated;

• the household gets none of the club's automatic dues reminders and no late fee, and autopay does not charge them for that invoice. An email or workflow you send to "Has open invoice" still includes them;

• the household's own invoice page tells them the club has their check, and either that it will show as paid once it clears or, when it covers only part of the invoice, what is still due, which they can pay online straight away;

• no receipt goes out yet.

A treasurer or admin can still apply a credit or add an adjustment (such as a waiver) to the invoice while a check is waiting. The amount is limited to what will be left once the check clears.

Mark a check cleared only once your bank shows the money as available, not on the day you deposit it. That is usually a few business days after the deposit. A check marked cleared too early sends the household a receipt and completes their renewal or membership before the money is safe.

Open Money → Invoices and choose the Checks to clear tab. It lists every check the club has recorded and not yet marked cleared or returned, oldest first (checks received the same day in check-number order), with the check number, household, invoice, the date it was received and how many days it has waited.

1. Tick each check in the deposit that cleared.

2. Enter Date the money cleared. It starts at today; change it if the money cleared on an earlier day. It can't be a future date.

3. Choose Mark ticked checks cleared.

Each cleared check then counts as paid on that date, and the club's reports count the money in that month. When a check pays an invoice in full, the invoice is paid, what follows from it happens (a renewal is marked paid, a new member is activated, a waitlist place is confirmed), and the household gets the usual payment receipt by email. A check that pays only part of an invoice counts toward it, and the household is reminded about the rest as usual.

You can also mark one check cleared from its invoice: Mark cleared on its payment row, with the date it cleared.

Marking the same checks cleared twice does nothing the second time; checks already cleared or returned are skipped, and the message says so.

Each check is cleared on its own, so one problem doesn't stop the rest of the deposit. If a check couldn't be cleared, the message says which reason and that nothing changed for it; fix the reason if there is one and mark it cleared again.

If a check clears for more than its invoice still owed (for example, the household also paid online, or the check was for more than the bill), the household has paid too much. The message says so, and the treasurer gets a task to give the extra back.

One reason a check can't be cleared is a clearing date before the day it was received; the message gives the received date so you can correct it.

Pool managers, treasurers and admins can record checks on the invoice page and mark them cleared. On the household page, managers and admins can record them.

If the bank returns a check before you marked it cleared, open the Checks to clear tab (or the check's invoice), choose Bounced? beside the check, enter the reason the bank gave, and choose Mark returned. Only a treasurer or admin can do this.

The check then no longer counts toward the invoice. The invoice opens again for payment, a dues renewal goes back to sending reminders, and late fees can apply again from the due date. No email goes to the household about the bounce: contact them yourself.

Sometimes the bank takes the money back after a check was marked cleared, or a check was marked cleared by mistake. Open the check's invoice, choose Bounced after clearing? on its payment row, enter the reason the bank gave and the date the bank returned it, and choose Mark returned. Only a treasurer or admin can do this.

This marks the check as returned by the bank. The invoice is reopened, and anything the payment completed (the renewal, a new membership, the bond) is undone. The club's reports show the money going back out on the date you enter, and that date can't be before the check cleared or in a month whose books are closed. No email goes to the household: contact them yourself. Don't use a credit or an adjustment to undo a cleared check.

If a check is still not marked cleared or returned some days after it was received, the treasurer gets a task, shown under My tasks on the dashboard, saying which check it is and what to do. How many days is configured in Settings (Club → Payments, under Checks and bank transfers). There is one reminder per check.

If the check is still waiting at three times that many days, the treasurer gets one more task, marked high priority. A check that waits holds its invoice: the household gets no reminders or late fees for it until the check is marked cleared or returned. There is only ever one of each task per check, so closing a task without dealing with the check doesn't bring it back. Both tasks close on their own once the check is marked cleared or returned.

Recording cash is not available on these screens yet. When it is, cash will count as paid as soon as it is recorded, with a receipt.

See also Invoices, payments, and credits.