Business Checks - How to Choose the Right Style For Your Company

A lot of money changes hands in the business world. That's why it is essential to have business checks that meet your company's needs.

When you go to order business checks online, you'll discover there are quite a few options from which to choose. Some checks must fill out by hand using a pen. Others can be completed with a computer printer. Some checks have vouchers and others come three-per-page. There are different colors to choose from, different logos you can add.

It can get a little overwhelming. But if you step back and think about the tools your business uses and the functions it requires - choosing the right business checks should be simple.

Manual Checks and Laser Checks

The first decision you need to make is if you should order manual checks, which you fill out by hand, or laser/computer checks. The answer here is easy.

If your company uses accounting software, laser checks are the best option. These will print clearly on both inkjet and laser printers. However, you need to make sure you order business checks that are compatible with the software your company uses.

For example: Quickbooks and Quicken are two of the most popular financial software programs. There is also Microsoft Money and Peachtree software as well as many others. But not all styles will work with every type of software.

Laser checks can come three on a page, centered, and on the top or bottom with vouchers and room to print tax and health care deductions.

It is best to consult your software manual if you are unsure what type of laser business check will be compatible.

If you aren't using any sort of software for your accounting and financial transactions, you should order manual checks. These are typically printed 3-per-page, and can usually be ordered as a desktop set along with deposit slips and a check register. This is a nice option if you are the sole proprietor of a new start-up.

Choosing a Style

Before ordering business checks, take a close look at how you'll need to use them. If your main purpose is providing employees with paychecks, you'll want to find checks defined as payroll checks.

If you plan to use the checks for paying bills to vendors and service providers, you'll probably want to purchase checks with multiple invoice boxes so that you can pay more than one bill to the same person or organization on a single check.

You may also choose to order multi-purpose checks, which have a few different functions.

Colors and Logos

Laser checks in particular come in a wide range of color choices. You may decide to order based on the color scheme used to brand your business. To help you stay organized, you may also find it useful to develop a color-coding system based on how different checks will be used.

Logos can add a professional finishing touch to your order. Some check printers allow you to choose from a library of stock logos as well as submit your company's logo for printing.

Kasey Steinbrinck is a veteran writer who has worked in a variety of fields including television, radio, newspapers as well as online publication. He is currently developing web content for Check Advantage, which offers personal checks and business checks to its online customers.