How do I set up my settlement checks with the Check Designer? (Store Admins)

The Check Designer sets where each piece of information prints on your vendor settlement checks. Enter your bank details in Settings > Store settings > Settlements, lay out the check once in Money > Check designer, then print checks from Money > Checks & ACH. You don't have to use the designer: if you never save a design, checks print with Syncrostore's standard layout.

Who this is for

Store admins and managers who print settlement checks for vendors.

How check printing fits together

The designer only controls the layout. Vendor names, amounts, check numbers and your bank details fill in automatically when you print.

Step 1: Enter your bank details

1. Go to Settings > Store settings and open the Settlements tab.
2. In Syncrostore Checks, click Edit.
3. Fill in Bank Name, Routing Number, Account Number, Bank Address and, if you like, a Check Memo. Click Save.
4. To print a signature, click Upload under the signature image (2 MB max).

The Check Designer button in this section opens the designer in a new tab.

Step 2: Open the designer and pick your check stock

1. Go to Money > Check designer. The page opens with the standard layout.
2. Under Stock, choose the paper you bought:
   • Voucher - 1 check + stub per sheet: 8.5" x 11" with the check on top and the stub below. Set check ends at to where the perforation is (3.5" on standard stock). Use 2nd perf only for 3-part stock.
   • 3-up - 3 checks per sheet, no stub: you design one check and it prints three times per sheet. Set the check height (3.5" on standard stock) and top offset. Tick stock is pre-numbered only if check numbers are already printed on the paper.

To start over from a standard layout, click New (voucher), New 3-up layout or New group check layout. The group layout is for multi-store groups that pay a vendor one combined check for several stores.

Step 3: Move and resize the pieces

Each box on the sample check is one piece of information, like the vendor name or the amount.

• Move: click a box and drag it. Or use the arrow keys: each press moves it 0.05". Hold Shift for 0.01".
• Resize: drag the small green square on the box's bottom-right corner.
• Exact position: type X, Y, Width and Height in the Properties panel on the right. They're in inches, measured from the top-left corner of the sheet.
• Text: in Properties, change the Font (pt), Bold and Align text.
• Line things up: Shift-click several boxes, then use the align buttons above the sheet. Pink lines appear while you drag when a box lines up with another. Hold Alt while dragging to turn this off.
• Remove: select a box and press Delete, or click Remove from layout.
• Add: click a field in Add to the check on the left. Use Custom text for any fixed wording.

The red dashed line is the perforation. The shaded band near the bottom of the check is the MICR clear band: keep everything except the MICR line out of it.

Step 4: Using check stock that's already printed

If your check stock already has your store name, bank details or signature line printed on it, don't delete those boxes. Select each one and untick Print this element. It stays on screen, greyed out, so you can see where the pre-printed text is, but it won't print. Shift-click to untick several at once.

Step 5: Check the MICR line

The MICR line is the row of bank numbers at the bottom of the check. It's built from your routing and account numbers and the check number, using the template in the MICR line panel. Leave the size at 18 pt: that's the size banks read. Ask your bank whether you need magnetic (MICR) toner to print checks.

Step 6: Save and test

1. Type a Design name.
2. Tick My default to use this design when you print.
3. Admins and managers: tick Save for the whole store so everyone at the store prints with it. Only you can edit it.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Preview PDF. It uses sample data, not real vendors.
6. Print the preview on plain paper at 100% (Actual size), hold it over a blank check, and adjust any box that's off.

Print your checks

1. Go to Money > Checks & ACH.
2. Under Print checks, choose the Settlement run.
3. Under Check layout, leave Store default or pick a saved design.
4. Leave Starting check # blank to use the next number, or type the number on your first blank check.
5. Click Print checks. Print the PDF at 100% (Actual size), not "Fit to page".

To print one vendor's check, open the run on Settlement runs and click Print check. A reprint keeps its check number. Vendors paid by ACH don't get a check. See How do I pay vendors after running settlements? (checks or ACH)

Which design prints

Store default uses your own default design first, then the design saved for the whole store, then your newest design. If there are none, checks print with the standard layout.

Troubleshooting

• I can't move anything / "read-only store design": someone else saved this design for the whole store. Click Duplicate to make your own copy, then edit that.
• The demo check shows names I don't recognize: that's sample data. Your real store, bank and vendor details print when you print checks.
• Bank name or address is blank on the check: fill them in under Settings > Store settings > Settlements > Syncrostore Checks.
• Everything is shifted on the paper: print at 100% (Actual size). If it's still off, move the boxes by the same amount, or use the align tools to move them together.
• The MICR line doesn't print: make its box taller than the text, and don't make the font smaller than 18 pt.
• A message says the numbers overlap checks already issued: leave Starting check # blank, or use the lowest clear number it suggests.
• Do I still need to enter checks in QuickBooks? If your store is connected to QuickBooks, settlements are sent to it. See How do I connect QuickBooks Online? (Store Owners)

Related articles

• How do I pay vendors after running settlements? (checks or ACH)
• How do I see my settlement check? (Vendors)
• How do I connect QuickBooks Online? (Store Owners)