As a business owner, if you intend to employ more than one person, you’ll likely need to understand the check printing process. Business owners who have never worked with payroll often find that learning how the printing process works can be somewhat overwhelming. To simplify the process, we’ve created a comprehensive guide on online check printing. The resources below outline everything a business owner needs to know regarding this unintentionally mysterious process.
What Do You Need to Print Checks?
Business owners can print their own checks, provided they have the necessary equipment and software available. However, it’s essential to note that to print checks successfully, companies may need to make a substantial investment. Therefore, it’s essential that business owners carefully review the costs of printing in-house checks versus ordering checks through a payroll company or check-issuing entity.
Typically, to print these checks, businesses will need to have the following on hand:
- Check-formatting software
- A high-quality, industrial printer
- Magnetic ink
- Check paper (Usually, this refers to paper that includes built-in security features to verify the validity of the check.)
- Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) (This prints the numbers alongside the bottom of the checks.)
Printing on checks, therefore, requires some time and consideration. Additionally, business owners will also need to design their own checks and customize each one with the specific pay for each employee. Moreover, businesses must also reflect on how many checks they’ll be printing and at what intervals. These practices allow business owners to determine how frequently they’ll need to replenish supplies and how much time departments should allot to preparing checks.
If you’re running a business, start by installing check printing software, such as QuickBooks. Using this software, you can streamline printing checks while also customizing and designing your checks as needed. Additionally, the program can help you track payments made, keeping an accurate log of printed checks for the business.
When you use the correct software and printing accessories, you can process and print checks in-house with relative ease. Unfortunately, many business owners lack the time or resources to restock and print checks regularly. Printing on checks requires a significant amount of time to set up and involves relatively high maintenance fees for medium to large-sized companies.
Are There Online Services for Check Printing?
There are many ways businesses can choose to have their checks printed online. Organizations have options – they can choose to print their own checks online, adding the necessary information, such as the routing number, contact information, and payee details. Alternatively, they can choose to outsource this part of the payroll process.
If, after reading the above information, you feel that printing your own checks is not a viable long-term option as a business owner, that’s perfectly understandable. Unless your business has an internal payroll team, it’s likely that you simply don’t have the time. However, this doesn’t mean that printing checks is impossible.
Several services offer low-cost online check services. Organizations like ours specialize in printing checks and ensure each document meets all the legal requirements to clear successfully in the payee’s bank account. Additionally, we also have internal processes that make requesting new checks and setting up the printing process relatively simple.
Why Should a Company Invest in Printing Checks Online?
There are several reasons why your business may consider outsourcing the printing process. As we’ve previously discussed, a significant amount of time, effort, and resources is invested in creating each individual check. Once you create the check, ensure that the check information is accurate and complete. Then, you must ensure you have the correct paper, ink, and fonts necessary for the checks to meet legal requirements.
Since this process is often more expensive than outsourcing the printing, many employers may choose to use a printing service. Having checks pre-printed and ready for the company to mail to employees saves time, money, and energy in the long term.
Additionally, using one of the many online check services ensures that each check meets the legal requirements. While business owners often understand the components of a check, it is easy to unintentionally omit important information. Ultimately, this can result in frustrated employees and lead to a business receiving fines from its banking institutions.
Therefore, it makes sense that, as an extra layer of legal protection, many employers choose to outsource the task of printing paper checks. In doing so, the company ensures the timely delivery of valid, legal checks regularly, without worry about errors or other legal actions.
When Should You Consider Outsourcing Online Check Printing?
When determining the method of check distribution your business should use, several factors should be considered. First and foremost, your company must allot a specific budget to the printing of paper checks. This first step ensures that businesses understand how much they can afford to spend on an annual or monthly basis.
Once your company determines this number, you’ll need to evaluate how much in-house printing will cost the organization. Many factors go into this determination, including:
- The overall size of the company
- The frequency of the pay periods
- The up-front cost for purchasing the correct printing equipment
- Maintenance costs, including purchasing new ink, check cardstock, and other supplies
- Employer experience with checks and printing
At this point, your company should have a rough idea of the cost of in-house printing. You should then research how to print checks online, finding outsourcing companies that provide printing services. Typically, businesses can request a quote from us to determine the cost of handling the printing process. You can then decide which method is more cost-effective for long-term services.
Outsource vs. In-House Check Printing
Ultimately, having paper checks printed on a regular basis does incur some upfront costs. Businesses must approve check designs for outsourced companies. Additionally, they must ensure all company and employee information listed on the checks is correct. For companies choosing to print their own checks, this process takes a bit longer, as the organization itself will be responsible for the check design and layout.
For companies seeking to streamline their printing process, outsourcing the paper check process may be a more sensible option. For smaller organizations that have only a few employees, these individuals may find that printing and mailing checks in-house is just as efficient.
Overall, you should take the time to research your options and perform a cost comparison to make the most informed decision. Deciding to outsource checks may make some employers uneasy, but with proper research, most organizations can find a reliable service.
Was this information useful? If you’d like more information on what goes into printing paper checks or a price quote, we encourage you to reach out to Checkissuing.com for more information and to find the answers to your questions.
References
[1] https://www.smartpayables.com/how-to-print-checks/
[2] https://www.thebalance.com/before-you-print-your-own-checks-315315
Last updated: September 2025