Module 5 · Core · 9 min read

Bounced cheques, undo and cheque printing

You will be able to: Post a bounce and state the entries for received and issued cheques; Explain what happens to the invoice or bill when a cheque bounces; Undo a clearance or bounce and know what blocks it; Print a cheque you issue onto the bank's cheque leaf.

  • Read not done yet
  • Self-check: not taken not done yet
  • Lesson complete not done yet

A cheque bounces when the bank returns it unpaid: no funds, a signature problem, a stale date. The money never arrived, so the books must put the debt back. In PDC Management press Bounce on the cheque's row (it must be Registered or Deposited), check the Action Date, type a Bank Charge if the bank charged you, and press Post Bounce.

What a bounce posts

  • Cheque received: debit Trade Receivables for the customer, credit PDC Receivable. The customer owes you again.
  • Cheque issued: debit PDC Payable, credit Trade Payables. You owe the supplier again.
  • A bank charge is debited to Bank Charges and credited to the bank.

The invoices or bills the cheque settled go back to unpaid, and any advance it created is taken back. The cheque status becomes Bounced and the Clearance column shows the journal number. Then check the party's statement, and collect or pay again with a new voucher.

The Cheque Print screen for printing issued cheques.

Accounting, Cheque Print.

Accounting, Cheque Print.
A customer cheque of AED 5,250 bouncesRegistered earlier: debit PDC Receivable 5,250, credit Trade Receivables 5,250. The bank returns it and charges you AED 50. Post Bounce with Bank Charge 50. Entries: debit Trade Receivables 5,250, credit PDC Receivable 5,250; debit Bank Charges 50, credit Bank 50. After this PDC Receivable is zero again, the customer's balance is 5,250 and the invoice is outstanding. Ask the customer for a new payment; the AED 50 charge is your cost unless you invoice it.
An issued cheque of AED 2,100 bouncesYou gave a supplier a PDC. If it bounces, post Bounce: debit PDC Payable 2,100, credit Trade Payables 2,100. The bill is open again and Trade Payables shows the 2,100 you owe.

Undo

A Cleared or Bounced cheque has an Undo button. Type the Reason and press Undo again. The clearance entry is cancelled by a reversing entry and the cheque goes back to Registered, or to Deposited if it had been deposited. You can then clear or bounce it again.

The Cheque Formats screen listing the layouts used to print cheques for each bank.

Accounting, Cheque Formats: the layout for each bank.

Accounting, Cheque Formats: the layout for each bank.
  • Undo is refused while the clearance is matched in Bank Reconciliation. Unreconcile it first.
  • Undo is refused if the clearance falls in a locked period.
  • Undo needs the accounting.cancel permission, and the reason is kept in the audit log.
  • Once a cheque is Deposited, Cleared or Bounced, its voucher can no longer be amended or cancelled. Use Undo on the cheque first. If you cancel the voucher while the cheque is still Registered, the cheque is cancelled and leaves the list.

Several cheques can be cleared or bounced together: tick the rows, choose Cleared or Bounced in the Mark column and press Post Selected. Each cheque posts its own entry.

The PDC Register report with the Status filter.

Reports, PDC Register: filter Status to Bounced.

Reports, PDC Register: filter Status to Bounced.

Printing a cheque you issue

Cheque Print (Accounting, Cheque Print) fills in your bank's own pre-printed cheque leaf for a cheque you issued: payee, amount in figures and words, date and the A/C payee crossing. It posts nothing; the payment already did that. First set up the leaf layout in Cheque Formats and print the test leaf on plain paper to check alignment. A cheque printed before shows a printed tag, and printing it again requires a Reason that is kept in the print log. The log cannot be edited or deleted.

TipSlip on a PDC row prints a one-page slip with the party, cheque number, date, bank, amount in words and status. Keep your bank statement beside the PDC list; a Registered cheque that is a week past its date deserves a phone call before you wait for the bounce.

Try it in the demo

  1. Open demo.zeyto.app/demo-app/ and sign in with the public demo user (admin, password demoAdmin123).
  2. Open Accounting, Post-dated Cheques and press Bounce on a row (close without posting).
  3. Read the Bank Charge note and the button that reads Post Bounce.
  4. Open Accounting, Cheque Print and Cheque Formats and read the fields.
  5. Open Reports, PDC Register and filter Status to Bounced.
Open the live demo

Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.

Key takeaways
  • A bounce reinstates the receivable or payable and empties the PDC account.
  • A bank charge goes to Bank Charges.
  • Undo needs a reason and is blocked by reconciliation or a locked period.
  • Cheque Print posts nothing and logs every print.

Check yourself

5 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.

1. A received cheque of AED 5,250 bounces. Which entry is posted (ignoring any bank charge)?

2. A cheque you issued for AED 2,100 bounces. Which entry is posted?

3. What can block the Undo of a cleared cheque?

Select all that apply.

4. Once a PDC is Cleared, you can cancel its receipt voucher directly without undoing the clearance.

5. After a received cheque of AED 5,250 bounces, what is the customer's position?

Previous: Post-dated cheques: receive, hold and clearNext: Bank reconciliation

Practice questions for this module · Printable study sheet