Check (account)

“ Proving the Customers Ledger.—The use of a controlling account in the general ledger, however, does not eliminate the necessity of proving the accuracy of the customers ledger. It merely makes it possible to take a trial balance without bringing the numerous customers’ accounts into it. It is just as much a part of the proof of the work to make a list of customers’ accounts balances and check it against the balance of the Accounts Receivable general ledger account, as it is to prove the general ledger by means of a trial balance. ”

“ If you can fool the cashier into giving your messenger a check book you can gamble pretty safely on his paying a check signed with the same name. In that way, you see, you can get all the blank checks you need and test the cashier's watchfulness at the same time. It's too easy. The only thing you have to look out for is not to overdraw the account. Still, you find so many checks in the mail that you can usually choose somebody's account that will stand the strain. ”

“ Where several bank accounts are kept and a check register—in addition to the cash book—is used to keep record of the accounts with the various banks, it may happen that checks drawn on one bank are wrongly charged to another; that checks drawn, or deposits made one day, are not credited until the next; that certain drafts deposited with the bank for collection are not credited to the depositor’s account until collection is made, whereas the depositor debited the bank at the time of the deposit ”

“ The words accepted or certified, written on a check by an authorized officer or agent of a bank constitute a certification. If the holder of a check has it certified he elects to hold the bank, and thereby releases the maker and prior indorsers. If the maker procures the certification he is still liable thereon. When a check is certified, the bank charges it to the account of the maker, and it then becomes a debt of the bank, regardless of whether or not the maker has funds in the bank with which to meet it. ”

“ It is not only the easy way of paying bills but the safe way. You escape all the danger of carrying or having in the house more than mere pocket money. You will find by opening a checking account with us not only the advantages of paying by check but you will also discover many conveniences and services which we are able to offer to you without any charge whatsoever.
I hope that you will call and let us explain our services. I [177] enclose a folder telling you more about the bank than I have been able to tell in this letter. ”

“ When money is to be drawn to pay for bonds or coupons, it must be drawn only by filling up a check from the book of checks above referred to, and you will open an account in which you will enter the amount of all deposits, the number and amount of each check drawn, specifying also to whom the same is made payable and on what account it is drawn.
The checks will be filled up by Mr. Prentiss of the Register's Office, who will place his check mark on the upper left corner, and will enter the same in the book. ”

“ If defendants sent the check for the purpose of testing the genuineness of the signature of the drawers, the state of their account, and to test its genuineness in all other respects, and plaintiff knowing the full extent of the object for which it was sent, replied 'It is good,' or 'It is all right,' plaintiff is estopped to set up that the check was raised. ”

“ This auditing of checks thus provides a positive check upon the amount of cash received by each individual cashier, furnishes an accurate account of the exact amount of business done by each department, and the total daily business done by the house, besides showing the exact amount of goods sold by each [Pg 59] individual salesperson, which may be made use of to estimate their value as compared with each other, and largely governs the individual wages paid. ”

“ Some business men write so many checks that they take no pains at the end of the month to figure up their account and examine every check, and never notice it unless the balance given by the bank is so far out of the way that it attracts attention. ”

“ The check will be payable to you personally. In other words, you must place [Pg 304] it to your own account in your bank. Any breach of our contract in letter or spirit during the next two days will be punished by its stoppage. ”

“ Bigelow and Prentiss to draw all the checks, and how to draw them and keep an account thereof. As I make all my purchases through Jay Cooke, McCullough & Co., every check is in fact payable to that house, so that the account is easily kept, and the transactions cannot be mingled with others, for there are no others. ”

“ We also have another check in the triplicate copy of the credit slips that has been filed away.
Below is a graphic chart which shows how to handle this system of charge accounts. It shows how the various records experience a continuous process of summation until they finally reach the ledger and the customer’s bill, and how the accounts can be checked as we go along, thus avoiding errors. Solid lines show posting operations, broken lines show possible checking operations. ”

“ On the contrary, the holder in such a case takes it subject to no equities of which he has not, at the time, notice; for a check is not treated as overdue merely because it has not been presented as early as it might be, or as a bill of exchange is required to be, to charge the drawer or indorser or transferrer. ”

“ Raised checks are an extensive source of loss and annoyance to banks and individuals. Many checks, after being written, mailed or sent, fall into the hands of persons who make a practice of “raising” the amounts for which the checks were originally intended and written, and then pass or have them cashed. For instance, a check written for ten dollars will be raised to one hundred dollars, or to whatever amount the raiser may believe it can be passed without arousing the suspicions of the bank, merchant or individual upon whom it is to be passed. ”

“ In the ultimate analysis the best safeguard is the integrity of the employee; still the employer should not tempt the employee by making the abstraction of his cash an easy performance.
Principle of the Double Record.—A fundamental principle in the handling of cash is to secure a double—not a duplicate—record of its receipt and disbursement. The practice of depositing in a bank all cash receipts and making disbursements only by check should be followed invariably, because it secures this double record—the bank’s record and the cashier’s record. ”

“ If a check is not protested, the maker of the check must prove that he has suffered loss by not receiving notice of non-payment. But the drawer of a draft, or the endorsers on any check, draft, or note are released, whether they suffer damage or not. Generally speaking, a check is a written request of a depositor to his bank to pay a certain sum to a certain party; whereas a draft is a written request of any one to a firm or individual, to pay a certain sum to a certain party. ”

“ As checks on bankers are in constant use, and have been adopted by the commercial world generally as a substitute for other modes of payment, it is important, for the security of all parties concerned, that there should be no mistake about the status, which the holder of a check sustains towards the bank on which it is drawn. ”

“ One authority goes so far as to say,—“If a check bears no evidence as to its purpose but can readily be identified with a particular bill or invoice, it still is a better voucher than a receipted bill, ... a mere receipt for so much money, which can readily be forged, is poor evidence of a legitimate payment, but a paid check, properly endorsed and otherwise identified as representing a definite liability, is pretty fair proof that the money has reached the creditors.” ”

“ The obvious purpose of the memoranda of numbers in the deposit book of the court, and upon the checks, was to enable the court and the clerk to properly keep the accounts, and that the checks might operate as vouchers, showing the manner in which the moneys in any particular case were distributed, and to enable the clerk to show to the court that he had deposited the funds which he had received. There is no evidence anywhere of any intention that the bank should be controlled by the numbers in paying any check drawn upon it. ”

“ The paying teller must watch for raised or altered checks. The law holds that any legal instrument is void if altered in any material way.
So many people, if they make a mistake in writing a check, will erase or alter the amount or the name, instead of taking a little more time and making out a new one. The banks have to be very cautious and particular about paying such checks, for they are paying out actual cash on doubtful orders. According to law, they must suffer the consequences if they pay to the wrong person or pay the wrong amount. ”

“ Remember that if your check is
made payable to "Bearer" or to "John Smith or Bearer" it may be cashed
by anybody who happens to have it. Unless it is for a large amount the
paying teller of your bank will look only to see whether your signature
is correct, and, that being right, the bank cannot be held responsible
if the check should have come into the wrong hands.
A check drawn to order can be cashed only when the person to whose order
it has been drawn has indorsed it by writing his or her name on the back
and the bank will be responsible for the correctness of the indorsement. ”

“ The signature, after being photographed, is carefully traced over with ink, and the body of the check is filled up for whatever amount is desired. The maker of the check is requested to identify the person who holds it, and as a general thing he does not wait to see the money paid. The moment his back is turned, the layer-down palms the small check and presents the large one. This way of obtaining money is without the assistance of a middleman. ”

“ Definitions applicable to institutions other than banks- With respect to any financial institution other than a bank, the Secretary shall, after consultation with the appropriate Federal functional regulators (as defined in section 509 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) , define by regulation the term `account', and shall include within the meaning of that term, to the extent, if any, that the Secretary deems appropriate, arrangements similar to payable-through and correspondent accounts. ”

“ There is always a question as to the real value of the accounts outstanding, a doubt as to the advisability of including the total balances in a statement of assets. A live account—one on which payments are being made regularly—is legitimately considered as good an asset as any other account receivable, but the value of the delinquent account—when payments are past due—is questionable, and if included in a balance sheet, the nature of the asset should be clearly stated. ”

“ If you make your check payable say, to William Armstrong or order,
nobody but William Armstrong, or some one to whom he indorses the check,
can collect the amount, and if through fraud or otherwise some one not
entitled to it gets the money which the check calls for, the
responsibility is not yours, but the bank's. It is for that reason that
bankers and business men use such great care in accepting checks. ”

“ Accounts are kept both with persons, as the accounts receivable and payable already mentioned, and with things, such as land, buildings, machinery, merchandise, cash, and the like. Some asset accounts and some accounts kept with persons are usually composed of both similar and dissimilar items. For example, the cash account is composed of both cash received and cash paid out items; the accounts receivable record both the items for which the person is in debt to the business and those which show the cancellation or settlement of the debt, in part or in full ”

“ The banks always respect the man who has his check certified, if tendered after the clearing hour.
For these same reasons you can see why a bank can not take a check on a bank in some other town in payment of a collection. It then would be several days before the bank would know whether the check was good or not. Also the bank would be out that amount of money for the length of time it takes to collect that check; for every bank must remit to the sender on the very day it puts its "Paid" stamp on a collection and delivers it to the payer. ”

“ As it is usual, both in London and the provinces, to credit a customer’s account with cheques on the day that he pays them in, it follows that an employer, if his agent have indorsed crossed cheques without authority and placed them to an account in his own name, can recover their amount from his agent’s banker. ”

“ The truth is, that a check is properly neither a bond, bill, or note, with regard to the bank drawn upon, but an acquittance. And the contract arising out of a payment upon it, is a contract for money advanced, and must be so declared upon. It is true that checks are generally made payable to bearer, and this was made payable to order; but it is in evidence that it was drawn as a check, and paid as a check, and the declaration contains only the common money counts. ”

“ Formerly, when credit was a considerably less important factor than now in commercial transactions, book-keeping was frequently limited to an account of receipts and payments of money; and in early times, before money was in use, to an account of the receipt and issue of goods of different kinds. Even now what may be called the “cash system” of accounts is almost exclusively used by governments, local authorities, and charitable and other institutions ”