Check Makers: 6 Features to Look For Before You Choose One

Not every tool that draws a check can actually get it paid. Here is what separates the two.

Check makers all promise the same headline: design a check, hit print, skip the reorder. In practice, the gap between tools is wide, and you usually discover it at the worst moment, when a check comes back unread by the bank. A basic layout tool arranges text on a page. A real check maker also handles the MICR line, your account details, and the record that comes after. Therefore, it pays to know what to look for before you commit. OnlineCheckWriter.com, powered by Zil Money, was built around that longer list.

The Real Problems With Basic Check Makers

Most of the frustration with lightweight tools traces back to five gaps. Each one shows up after you have already started.

• The MICR line is treated as decoration: The row of characters along the bottom is what bank equipment reads. If a tool renders it as ordinary text at the wrong position or size, the check gets kicked to manual handling. As a result, a payment that looked fine on screen stalls at the teller line.
• Templates are fixed, not yours: Many tools ship a handful of preset designs and stop there. So a business with a logo, a second signature line, or a specific voucher layout ends up compromising. Your check should carry your details, not a generic frame.
• Only one account is supported: Businesses rarely pay from a single account. However, lighter tools assume one set of routing and account numbers. Switching between an operating account and a payroll account then means re-entering everything each time.
• Nothing is recorded after printing: The check leaves the printer and the tool forgets it. Because there is no issued-check log, reconciliation falls back to bank statements and memory. Month-end turns into archaeology.
• Printing is the only exit: If your printer jams, or you are away from the office, a print-only tool leaves you stuck. Meanwhile the payment deadline does not move.

How OnlineCheckWriter.com Covers What Check Makers Miss

Each item below maps to a gap above, in the same order.

• 1. The MICR line is placed for you: The platform positions the MICR characters to standard spacing so bank systems can read the check normally. Consequently, you are not measuring margins or guessing at font sizes yourself.
• 2. The layout follows your business: Add a logo, adjust fields, and save the arrangement you actually use with the check printing software. Moreover, changing a detail later updates the next check instead of stranding printed stock.
• 3. Multiple accounts live side by side: Connect the accounts your business already uses and pick the right one per check. So an operating payment and a payroll payment no longer require re-entering routing details.
• 4. Every issued check is logged: Each check you create is recorded with its payee, amount, and date. Then reconciliation becomes a lookup rather than a hunt, and audit prep stops depending on carbon copies.
• 5. Printing is one option among several: Print checks on blank stock when it suits you, or hand the job to check mailing and let the platform print and post it, subject to carrier cut-off times.
• 6. Controls sit alongside the printing: Add Positive Pay support so issued checks can be matched against what clears. This helps reduce exposure to altered checks, though no method removes every risk.

Why the Right Check Tool Matters More Than It Used To

Fewer checks are written each year, but the ones that remain carry far more money. Federal Reserve data shows the average check value climbed from $945 in 2000 to $2,653 in 2024, with 9.2 billion checks written that year. In other words, the typical check today is a bigger payment than it once was.

That shift changes the stakes. When a check represents a larger sum, a rejected MICR line or a missing issue record costs more than an afternoon. Therefore, the tool you use to produce checks deserves the same scrutiny you would give any other part of your payment stack.

Fortunately, the requirements are not complicated. Correct MICR placement, your own accounts, a layout you control, a searchable record, and a way to send the check when printing is not practical. A tool that covers all five turns check writing from a chore into a routine step. Sign up today and run one check through it to see the difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

OnlineCheckWriter.com, powered by Zil Money, is a financial technology company and not a bank. Banking services are provided by our partner bank, Member FDIC. FDIC insurance applies only to eligible products associated with those that have funds held in accounts at the partner bank, subject to applicable limits and requirements.