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502.3.5 Cheque Presentation, Stop Payment, Voiding Payment

Cheque Presentation

The University's Bank provides data on presented cheques for a specific date range detailing cheque numbers, amounts, charges and adjustments. The presented cheques data are system matched against issued cheques data to report details of unpresented cheques. The accurate assessment of the total value of unpresented cheques is an important step in preparing periodic bank reconciliations.

The file of cheque data from the bank is received each working-day and uploaded to the mainframe system for matching against the issued cheques file to produce the unpresented cheques information.

To determine if a cheque has been presented, use the following path in the ESP Help library. Administer Procurement ® Create Payments ® Inquire ® Payment Information.

Stop Payment and Voiding Payment

A stopped payment is usually requested if the cheque has been declared missing or lost. Stop payment may be applied to a cheque, providing it has not been presented for payment. In these instances it is common to wait 2 days from the date of the notification to the bank before redrawing to ensure that the missing cheque has not already been presented for payment. Arrangements for stop payments, and any subsequent payment reinstatement are made with the bank via Accounts Payable F&BS staff. A stop payment instruction is authorised by registered signatories of the bank account concerned. The details are entered to the system, the cheque is given a status of stopped and all claims associated with it are recorded as stop payment. The cheque is then voided.

A cheque is usually voided if the University still has the cheque in hand eg if the cheque has been damaged at the time of printing or whilst held in registered stock. A voided cheque must have the word 'cancelled' written or stamped across it, and the signature spaces and microencoding cut off.

At the time of stopping/voiding the cheque, there are three possible courses of action that can be taken with regard to the payment.

1. Reissue - the cheques gets reissued immediately

2. Reissue and Put on Hold - it may be necessary to do this in order to confirm payment details eg clarify the address of the vendor

3. Close - no payment will be made. This must be decided at the time that the request has been made for the cheque to be stopped. All accounting entries will be reversed.