How to Handle “Lost Check” Requests for Checks You’ve Issued

Following is a transcript of this podcast episode, with audio/video below.

Welcome to the Two-Minute Treasurer’s Tip Podcast. I am your host, Cyndi Meuchel, Co-Owner of MoneyMinder, where our goal is to make your life as a volunteer easy.

Today I’m answering the following question: How should I handle issuing a replacement check? Anita writes in, “Someone I wrote a check to lost it and wants me to cut them another. Should I do that?”.

Well, before you issue a replacement check for one that was either lost or stolen, first you’re going to want to make sure to put a stop payment on it at your bank. That way if it’s found and someone tries to cash it, well, they can’t. Keep in mind too that banks typically charge around $20 or $30 to put stop payments on checks. So if the check was written for less than the bank’s fee, it may not be worth canceling.

Also keep in mind that stops are not permanent. They usually last around six months, so be sure to check with your bank first and learn how they handle stop payments before you take action. But once you put a stop on a check, then it would be reasonable to issue a replacement check.

Just be sure that you leave a really clean paper trail indicating what happened and why you took the steps that you did, so future board members looking back have a clear indication of what happened.

In MoneyMinder, the way you record the replacement check and cancel the lost check, those are handled differently depending on whether they happened in the same financial year or if the two straddle financial years. Meaning the initial check was written in one financial year and the replacement check in the next financial year. So be sure to reach out to us for details on how to deal with either of those situations and we’d be happy to walk you through that.

That’s it for today. Thank you for listening. If you have questions you’d like answered, just email them to me at [email protected]. My name is Cyndi Meuchel and this is your Two Minute Treasurer’s Tip for today.

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