Voiding a check

[Melinda O.]

I need to void a check from a previous year and reissue the check but I can no longer post to the month that the check was originally posted in. I do have a liability account for reissuing checks set up but since I can't post in the original month wasn't sure how to proceed.

[NeilZ]

I need to void a check from a previous year and reissue the check but I can no longer post to the month that the check was originally posted in. I do have a liability account for reissuing checks set up but since I can't post in the original month wasn't sure how to proceed.

FWIW ... you should NOT need a liablity account to reissue checks that have been voided. When you void the check, you are reversing the original transaction which subtracted from the checking account and increased the expense account.

Also, you can have up to 18 months open at any one time, so if you had that setup, you should be able to reissue a check from most of last year.

However, in this case I'm assuming that the check was from 2014. In that case what you should do is this:

1. Void the check in Accounts Payable. The voided check can then be found in the manual check section of AP, I would enter all the data needed to answer questions when the account is audited in the NOTE box of the manual check.
2. Reissue the check (I'm assuming with a new check number) using the same information as the original check except use the current date. Again, enter all the data needed for any future audit.
3. Post to paid items file and Funds Accounting.
4. In Funds Accounting - go into the Unposted Transactions Queue and find the void transaction. The data entered in the note area of the manual check **should** be there. If not, enter it. (I haven't tested that part ... my bad). Also, change the POSTING MONTH to the current month, as the system will use the original month of the check. Since you can't post to that, you need to change it to the current month, which will also be the current month of the reissued check. Save the changes.
5. Post the void transaction as well as the newly reissued check transaction. This will update the system.

What will happen is this:

1. The void will return money back to the checking account within the system. Using a check for $100.00, the system will then reflect the "additional" $100 in the checking account.
2. The void will also subtract the original amount from the expense account you used. Assuming that the expense account is zero, the system then will reflect a -$100 in the expense account.

Now both these accounts are then readjusted with the reissue of the check.

3. The reissued check will subtract $100 from the checking account - so that offsets the amount added in item #1
4. It will also add $100 to the expense account - which then offsets the negative amount from item #2

As you can see, this will NOT affect the income & expense from this current year at all.

[Melinda O.]

Thanks for your help. Everything worked including the explanation I put in the note area in AP, it was in the Fund Accounting after I'd posted in AP.

[NeilZ]

Glad to be of assistance.