The Checkbook Register: Recording Checks, Deposits, and Transfers

The checkbook register is where day-to-day money movement gets recorded — the checks you write, the deposits you make, debit card purchases, and transfers between accounts. It works like the paper register you already know: newest entries on top, a running balance on every line, and your current balance at the top.

Open it from the left menu: Checkbook Register. If you have more than one bank account, an Account dropdown at the top right switches between them. When the account holds money belonging to more than one fund, a bar above the register shows each fund's share of the balance.

The entry tabs

Above the register are tabs for each kind of transaction:

Every form follows the same shape: date, who the money went to (or came from), the line items, and a memo. Saving updates the register instantly and resets the form for the next entry — you can work through a stack of bills without leaving the page.

Payees

Start typing in the payee field and GoodBooks searches your contacts (double-click the field to see the whole list). Paying someone new? Just type their name and check "Save as a new contact" — you can add their address right there, and they're in your contacts for next time.

Line items (splits)

Every transaction has at least one line: pick the Account (the expense or revenue category), the Fund the money belongs to, and the Amount. Click Add Line Item to split one check across several categories or funds — the Total Amount at the top adds itself up from the lines, and GoodBooks keeps each fund in balance automatically. You never have to balance debits and credits by hand here.

On expense and revenue lines you'll also see a Spend Against selector — use it when the money is spent from a grant or a restricted campaign, and GoodBooks records the release from restriction for you.

Attaching the receipt

Each form has an Attach Receipt / Document drop zone for the source document. PDFs work, and so do photos — snap a picture of the paper receipt with your phone, or drop in a JPG/PNG scan, and GoodBooks converts it into a clean letter-size PDF automatically (you'll see a brief "Converting…" badge). Everything stored on the entry ends up as a PDF, so attachments always view and print consistently.

If your organization's internal controls expect receipts, posting without one asks you to confirm — you can post anyway, and the entry is flagged for follow-up.

Using the register on your phone

Open the register on a phone and you'll see a banner offering the phone-friendly register — a streamlined version built for entering a transaction on the spot: your current balance stays pinned to the top, and a simple form covers the three everyday entry types (Check, Card, and Deposit) with a camera button for capturing the receipt as you go. Photos become PDF attachments automatically, just like on the desktop.

The phone version is for quick, single-category entries; for splits, transfers, ACH, and everything else, use the full register (there's a "Switch to desktop register" link at the bottom).

A few things the register enforces

• Dates can't fall before your accounting start date or inside a closed period — the date picker simply won't allow it.
• Donations don't belong here. If you code a deposit line to a contributions account, GoodBooks reminds you to record it as a Donation instead — donations entered through the Donations screens carry the donor, campaign, and receipt with them. Use the register's Deposit tab for non-gift money (reimbursements, interest, fee refunds).
• On plans with two-person approval, checks and other outgoing payments post as pending (clock icon) and take effect once another administrator approves them. Deposits and transfers post immediately.

Reading the register

Each entry shows its date, reference number, payee, and total, with a sub-line per split showing the fund and account. A reference number that belongs to a deposit batch (DEP-…) or an invoice is a link: click it to jump straight to the batch or invoice behind the entry. Plain check numbers stay as text. The icons on the right tell you more: a green check means the entry has been reconciled against a bank statement, a paperclip means there's an attachment, a printer means a check is waiting to be printed, and clock/check/x icons show approval status.

The register shows all activity for the account, newest first. To see a specific date range or a single fund — or to print a register — use Reports → Checkbook Register, which has From/To dates, a fund filter, and an opening-balance row.

Fixing a mistake

Posted entries can't be quietly edited — that's deliberate, and it's what keeps your books audit-ready. Instead there are proper tools for every kind of fix: see Fixing Mistakes in the Register.