Module 5 · Core · 10 min read

Post-dated cheques: receive, hold and clear

You will be able to: Explain what a post-dated cheque (PDC) is and why it needs its own accounts; Record a received and an issued PDC; Name the entry for each step: register, deposit, clear; Use the PDC Management tiles to see what is due.

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A post-dated cheque (PDC) is a cheque dated for a later day. Businesses in the Gulf often give and receive them as a normal way of settling invoices in instalments. Until the date arrives and the bank pays, the money has not moved, but the invoice has been dealt with. Zeyto keeps the gap visible with two holding accounts: PDC Receivable (1210) for cheques you hold, and PDC Payable (2110) for cheques you issued.

The Post-dated Cheques screen with four summary tiles and a register of cheques with direction, status, cheque date and amount.

Accounting, Post-dated Cheques: received and issued cheques by status.

Accounting, Post-dated Cheques: received and issued cheques by status.

Registering a cheque

You do not enter a PDC on a special screen. You record it on a Receipt Voucher (a cheque received) or a Payment Voucher (a cheque you issue) with Mode set to PDC Cheque. Type the Cheque No, the Cheque Date written on the cheque and, if you like, the Cheque Bank. The cheque then appears in Accounting, Post-dated Cheques (PDC Management) as Registered. Only cheques in your base currency can be registered.

  • Receipt, cheque received: debit PDC Receivable, credit Trade Receivables. The customer's invoices are settled at once.
  • Payment, cheque issued: debit Trade Payables, credit PDC Payable. The supplier's bills are settled at once.

Deposit and clear

In PDC Management, Deposit is for a received cheque you hand to the bank. It saves the date (and optionally the bank account) and posts nothing. Clear is for the day the bank has paid. It opens a panel with the Action Date, the Bank Account the money goes into or comes out of, and an optional Bank Charge, and posts a journal voucher. A Registered cheque can be cleared without being deposited first, and an issued cheque goes straight from Registered to Cleared.

StepCheque receivedCheque issued
Registered (voucher)Debit PDC Receivable, credit Trade ReceivablesDebit Trade Payables, credit PDC Payable
DepositedNothing postedNot applicable
ClearedDebit Bank (amount less charge), debit Bank Charges, credit PDC ReceivableDebit PDC Payable, debit Bank Charges, credit Bank (amount plus charge)
A received cheque of AED 5,250A customer settles a 5,000 invoice plus 250 VAT with a cheque dated the 15th. On the receipt, Mode PDC Cheque, Cheque No 004512: debit PDC Receivable 5,250, credit Trade Receivables 5,250. The invoice shows paid, but there is no cash yet. On the 15th the bank pays, charging AED 25. In PDC Management press Clear, pick the bank account, type Bank Charge 25 and press Post Clearance: debit Bank 5,225, debit Bank Charges 25, credit PDC Receivable 5,250. PDC Receivable returns to zero.
An issued cheque of AED 2,100You pay a supplier bill of 2,100 with a PDC dated next month. Payment voucher: debit Trade Payables 2,100, credit PDC Payable 2,100. On the day the bank pays, Clear: debit PDC Payable 2,100, credit Bank 2,100.

Watching what is due

The four tiles follow your filters: Open PDC (Registered or Deposited), Due Today (open cheques dated today or earlier, so matured or overdue), Cleared and Bounced. Set Direction to Received and Status to Registered and read the Cheque Date column to see what to take to the bank this week. The PDC Register report in Reports lists cheques falling due in a period.

Watch outPDC clearance entries are journal vouchers dated the Action Date in your base currency. They need an open fiscal year for that date, and Clear and Bounce start on the standard bank ledger 1100, so pick your own bank account if you have several.

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 read the four tiles.
  3. Set Direction to Received and Status to Registered.
  4. Click Clear on a row to see the Action Date, Bank Account and Bank Charge fields (close without posting).
  5. Open Accounting, Receipts, press + New, choose PDC Cheque and read the extra fields.
Open the live demo

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

Key takeaways
  • A PDC is recorded on a receipt or payment voucher with Mode PDC Cheque.
  • PDC Receivable and PDC Payable hold the cheque until the bank pays.
  • Deposit posts nothing; Clear moves the money to or from the bank.
  • Due Today shows matured cheques.

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. What does pressing Deposit on a received PDC post?

2. Which two accounts hold post-dated cheques before they clear?

3. A customer settles a 5,000 invoice plus 250 VAT with a PDC. What does the receipt voucher post?

4. That AED 5,250 cheque clears and the bank charges AED 25. How much is debited to Bank?

5. A Registered received cheque must be Deposited before it can be Cleared.

Previous: Bank entries and transfers between accountsNext: Bounced cheques, undo and cheque printing

Practice questions for this module · Printable study sheet