At StockChecks we supply computer checks for businesses that print their own payments instead of writing them out by hand. Every format we stock runs through the printer you already own and lines up with the layout your accounting or payroll software expects, so payroll, vendor payments, and reimbursements can all come from one supply cabinet.
What Are Computer Checks?
These are checks produced by a computer and a printer from data your accounting or payroll software already holds. The software supplies the payee, the date, the amount, and the memo; our sheet supplies the security paper and the layout; the printer puts the two together. In most offices, the signature is the only part that's still added by hand.
The difference from a handwritten check is mostly accuracy and record keeping. A check written from a book has to be copied into the ledger afterward, and the stub carries whatever the writer had time to note. A printed check is posted the moment it leaves the tray, with the invoice or pay period detail already on the voucher, so the accounting record and the payment can't drift apart.
They also differ from the preprinted checks a bank supplies. Preprinted stock arrives with one account and one check number sequence on it, which works until you open a second account, change banks, or need a payment out the same afternoon. We sell the sheets blank, with the security features in the paper and the banking details left to the print run, so one supply covers every account you manage, and there's no drawer of dead stock when a bank changes.
Business Computer Checks
Our business computer checks are the everyday workhorse of an accounts payable department. Most are voucher style, with one check and detachable stubs, so the remittance detail travels with the payment and a copy files with the invoice. Offices issuing a high volume of smaller payments often print 3-to-a-page instead.
What makes these business checks and not personal ones is less the design than the workflow around them: several approvers, several accounts, a register that has to reconcile at month end, and a payment that has to look official when it reaches a vendor. That's why we print business computer checks on genuine security stock and never on plain paper.
If most of your printing is employee pay, our blank payroll checks organize the same stock by position for pay runs. For vendor payments a voucher layout is usually the better fit, and our business laser checks cover those formats for laser printing. Plenty of offices keep both on the shelf and pull whichever the run calls for.
High Security Computer Checks
We stock high security computer checks for businesses whose payments justify more protection than a basic void pantograph. The safeguards are manufactured into the sheet, not printed on top of it, and they work in layers:
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True watermark – Visible when the sheet is held to the light, and it can't be reproduced by a copier or scanner.
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Microprint borders – Text small enough to need magnification, which blurs into a solid line when a check is scanned.
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Chemical protection – The paper stains if someone tries to lift the ink with solvents.
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Heat-sensitive icon – Fades under the warmth of a thumb and returns as it cools, so a recipient can verify a check on the spot.
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Fluorescent fibers – Invisible in ordinary light, clearly visible under a bank's ultraviolet lamp.
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Photocopy void feature – The word VOID comes up across duplicates on most office copiers. We treat it as a deterrent, not a certainty, since high-resolution scanning can defeat a void pantograph — that's why it sits alongside the watermark, the microprint, and the chemical protection instead of standing in for them.
A fraudster has to defeat every one of them. The visible features discourage the attempt, and the hidden ones give your bank or your bookkeeper a way to test a payment that's already been questioned. Our high security check paper collection sets out each feature in detail. Because the protection lives in the paper, it covers every payment you print.
Standard vs High Security Computer Checks
Both tiers print from the same software, in the same positions, on the same printers. What changes is how many defenses are built into the sheet and how hard a copy or an alteration is to pass off.
|
Standard computer checks |
High security computer checks |
| Security features |
At least eight on our standard stock, including a void pantograph and microprint warning borders (see each listing) |
14 or more integrated features, adding defenses such as pigment-based inks, a verification grid on the back, VDot anti-copy technology, and, on select styles, an embedded hologram |
| Watermark |
Artificial watermark that copiers and scanners can't duplicate |
True Fourdrinier watermark formed during papermaking, visible when held to the light |
| Best for |
Everyday payables and payroll printed from accounting software |
Checks that travel by mail, pass through several hands, or carry large amounts |
| Software and printer setup |
Top, middle, bottom, and 3-to-a-page positions; MICR toner and a MICR add-on for the magnetic band |
Same positions and the same setup, so switching tiers changes nothing in your print settings |
If budget is the priority, our value checks keep the core protections at the lowest cost per sheet; if you want a visual feature a recipient can check at a glance, hologram check paper adds a foil hologram that photocopiers can't reproduce.
Computer Checks for Accounting Software
Compatibility comes down to layout, not brand, so one of our formats usually serves a business through more than one software change. Accounting programs print the check in a fixed position on the page, and our sheets follow the standard positions those programs expect, so you won't be editing templates.
QuickBooks is the most common case: Desktop and Online both print voucher checks with the check on top, and our computer checks for QuickBooks gather the matching formats. Quicken users print on the same stock, and our Quicken checks collection shows the layouts Quicken expects. For payroll processed through Intuit, our Intuit payroll checks collection covers the voucher formats Intuit's paycheck printing calls for.
Beyond those, computer checks for Sage, Xero, ADP, and Paychex all rely on the same handful of layouts. Print a sample page on plain paper, confirm where the check body lands, and you'll know which position to order for whichever program you run.
Computer Check Formats
Four formats cover nearly every accounting and payroll program in use. The table below sets them side by side.
Computer Check Formats at a Glance
| Format |
Layout |
Best for |
| Top position |
Check in the upper third of the page, two stubs beneath it |
Accounts payable, the usual choice; also the voucher layout QuickBooks Desktop and Online print |
| Middle position |
Check between two stubs |
Payroll runs that want a full earnings statement above the check and a file copy below |
| Bottom position |
Both stubs print first, check at the foot of the page |
Teams that staple remittance detail to the invoice |
| 3-to-a-page |
Three checks, no voucher stubs |
High volumes of smaller payments whose detail already lives in the accounting system |
Match the format to the position your software prints, not the one you'd prefer on paper; the security features are the same across all four. If two positions look close, measure from the top edge of the page to the top of the check body — that's the measurement that settles it.
Printer and Toner Compatibility
These checks are built to run on the equipment your office already has. The sheets feed through an inkjet as readily as a laser, but the magnetic band at the foot of the check has to come off a laser printer loaded with MICR toner, so it's a laser you want to plan the check run around. Load the sheets in the tray as you'd load ordinary paper, choose the check layout in your software's print setup, and run a test page on plain paper before you commit security stock.
Blank stock asks for two additions to your setup. The first is a MICR toner cartridge. Banks read the routing and account numbers along the foot of the check magnetically, so that band has to be printed in magnetic ink for the payment to be handled as a cash item instead of pulled out for manual processing. MICR cartridges are made as drop-in replacements for common office laser models, so check yours is on the list before you order. The second is a MICR add-on for your software — PrintBoss, ezCheckPrinting, or one of their equivalents — because most accounting packages, QuickBooks and Quicken among them, don't generate the MICR characters themselves. With both in place, everything above the band, from the payee and amount to the voucher detail, prints with the toner you already own.
Order Computer Checks from StockChecks
Ordering is straightforward: choose the format your software prints, pick a color and a quantity, and place the order. We save your selections, so reordering the same stock next quarter takes a minute. Our tiered pricing rewards bulk orders, so the cost per sheet drops as quantities rise, with no hidden fees.
A payroll run or a payables cycle doesn't wait for supplies, so we offer free, same-day shipping on most orders placed before 12 PM ET, Monday through Friday.
Browse the collection to compare formats, colors, and security levels. If you're switching from another supplier, the position your software prints in is the one detail that has to carry across.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a computer check?
Any check your accounting or payroll software prints is a computer check, and you may also see the same thing called a laser check or a computer-printed check. To start printing you'll need check stock in the position your software expects, a laser printer with a MICR toner cartridge for the magnetic band at the foot of the sheet, and — for most accounting packages, QuickBooks and Quicken included — a MICR add-on such as PrintBoss or ezCheckPrinting, since the software itself doesn't generate that band.
Will these checks work with QuickBooks?
Yes. QuickBooks asks whether you're printing voucher checks or 3-to-a-page; match that setting to the stock you order and the layout falls into place without template editing. QuickBooks Online prints the voucher and standard layouts; the wallet style is a Desktop option only. If you've been buying from another supplier, keep the same position and nothing else in your setup has to change.
What are high security computer checks?
They're ordinary computer-printed checks on stock whose fraud protection is built into the sheet. Whether you need that tier depends on exposure, not on company size: checks that travel by mail, pass through several hands, or carry large amounts are the ones worth protecting. Many finance teams pair the stock with their bank's Positive Pay service, which matches the check numbers and amounts you issue against what's presented for payment.
How can someone confirm a check printed on your high security stock is genuine?
Check the features in turn: hold the check to the light to find the watermark, press a thumb on the heat-sensitive icon and watch it fade and return, look at the borders under magnification for crisp microprint, and put it under an ultraviolet lamp to see the fluorescent fibers. A sheet that fails any of these is worth a call to your bank before it's paid.
Do I need MICR toner?
Yes, for the magnetic band at the foot of the check. The band is meant to be read magnetically, and a bank can return or hand-process a check whose MICR line doesn't read, so don't rely on ordinary toner for it. Keep one cartridge in the printer that runs your check batches, and print the rest of your paperwork from a different tray or a different machine.
Which check format should I order?
Match it to where your software prints the check. Print one page to plain paper, hold it against a sample sheet, and order the position whose check body lines up with your printout. If you change accounting software later, check the layout once more before you reorder, since the stock has to match the position, not the brand.
How many computer checks should I order at a time?
Work from your payment cycle rather than a round number. For payroll, multiply head count by the number of pay dates in the year and add a margin for reissues and new hires; for payables, start from the number of checks you cut in a typical month. Keep the stock in its carton and away from humidity so the sheets stay flat and the last ones feed as cleanly as the first.
Which envelopes should I use for mailing printed checks?
Double window envelopes save the most time, because the payee's address and your return address show through the windows once the check is folded, so there's nothing to hand-address and no labels to print. Our double window envelopes are made for the payroll and accounts payable checks these formats produce; if you print from QuickBooks, our QuickBooks envelopes are sized for its standard layouts.
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