A checkbook template is the layout for a book of blank checks. Unlike a document template, it is not filled in with payment data at print time. You design the fixed parts of the check, such as your logo, the bank details, the signature lines, and the MICR line, and CashCloud handles the check numbering when you print the checkbook.
You need a checkbook template before you can print anything from the Checkbooks module. If you are designing a check or remittance advice that gets filled in with payment data automatically, see Create a Document Template instead.
Before you begin
You need Design Studio permissions to create or edit templates. If you do not see Design Studio in the left sidebar, ask your account Owner or Admin to update your role.
Start a new checkbook template
You can reach the checkbook editor two ways.
From Design Studio, click New Document and choose the Checkbook Template option.
From the Checkbooks module, click the pencil icon next to the Document Template field while creating a checkbook. This opens Design Studio directly, and the template you save appears in that field when you come back.
Set up your checkbook
The Document Setup panel at the top of the Document Editor holds everything you need to configure before designing.
General information
Document Name: the name you will use to find this template later, for example Personal Checkbook 2026. This is the name that appears in the Document Template dropdown in Checkbooks.
Non-Negotiable label: the wording printed on the non-negotiable copy of the check, for example Invalid Check or Void.
Both fields are required and marked with an asterisk.
Document configuration
Checkbook Type: choose Personal for 4 checks per sheet, or Commercial for 3 checks per sheet. This changes the size of the design area, so set it before you start placing elements.
Templates: if you already saved a template, select it here to start from that design instead of a blank page.
Check Numbering Style: choose how the check numbers are laid out across the printed sheets.
Consecutive prints the checks in straight numerical order, so the first sheet carries checks 1, 2, 3, 4.
Staggered alternates them, so the first sheet carries checks 1, 3, 5, 7 and the second carries 2, 4, 6, 8. Choose this when the finished sheets get cut and collated into a book.
Set MICR Line: selected by default. The MICR line is the machine-readable row at the bottom of the check, and your bank will not process a check without it. The line appears in the design area so you can see the space it occupies.
Save Document as Template: select this if you want the finished design to be reusable as a starting point for future checkbook templates.
đ Note: a checkbook template has no paper type, overflow page, or document position setting. Those apply to document templates only.
Build your design
The design area shows a ruler in millimetres and the message Place the check elements within this area. Anything you place outside that area will not print.
The zoom dropdown changes your view only and has no effect on what prints. The undo and redo arrows step back and forward through your changes. The X and Y fields show the exact position of the element you have selected, so you can line something up precisely instead of dragging it. Upload background places a custom background image behind the whole design.
Open Add element to place content. The same elements are available as in a document template: Barcode, Image, Invoice Table, Line, Signature, Second Signature, Table, and Text. A template supports two signatures at most.
You can map a Text element to a variable in exactly the same way as in a document template, and the same variable list applies. For the full list and the variable settings, see the variable reference in Create a Document Template.
đĄ To keep in mind: a checkbook is filled out by hand after it prints. Variables that depend on a specific payment, such as Payment Amount or Payee Name, have no value to pull in and will print blank. Stick to fixed wording and payor or bank details.
Preview and save
Click Preview to see how the checkbook will look before you commit to it. Reviewing the preview is worth the extra minute, because a misplaced MICR line is only obvious once a sheet has already gone through the printer.
Click Create Template to save. The template then appears in the Document Template field in the Checkbooks module, ready to use.
đ Note: saving the template is not the last step. To produce a checkbook from it, go to the Checkbooks module and follow our Checkbooks documentation.
Need a hand? Contact our support team at [email protected] and we'll take it from there đ