How to Set Up Check Printing in QuickBooks Online: Step by Step

The QuickBooks Online check printing setup screen has changed four times since QBO launched. If you Googled this in 2022, the screenshots don't match what you see now. Here's the 2026 walkthrough, including the alignment fix QuickBooks doesn't mention in their own help docs.

By the end of this you'll have QuickBooks Online configured to print checks from your accounting workflow, with the right paper layout, correct printer settings, and aligned check positioning.

What do you need before you start?

Three things in hand:

A box of printable business checks that matches your format (voucher, standard, or wallet). Not regular paper. If you're not sure which format to order, we cover that in our QuickBooks-compatible checks guide.

A laser or inkjet printer that's already connected to your computer and printing test pages correctly. QBO supports both. Skip dot matrix.

Your QuickBooks Online account credentials and a few sample bills or vendor expenses queued up in QBO. You'll need at least one bill to test printing against.

Step 1: Tell QuickBooks Online you're printing checks

In QBO, click the gear icon (top right), then Print Checks under the Tools section. The first time you click this, QBO asks if you've set up check printing yet. Click "Setup checks for the first time."

QBO asks for your check style. You'll see three options: Voucher, Standard, and Wallet. Pick the one that matches the checks you ordered. If you ordered Checkomatic voucher checks for QuickBooks, pick Voucher.

Click Save and Done.

Step 2: Print a test alignment page

This is the step everyone skips, and then everyone calls customer support an hour later. Don't skip it.

QBO generates a test alignment page. Print it on plain paper (not on actual checks). Hold the printed page up against a physical check and look at where the date, payee, amount, and signature lines fall. They should align with the boxes on the actual check.

If they're off, QBO lets you adjust the alignment by entering a "fine-tune" value. Up/down in 0.1 inch increments and left/right in 0.1 inch increments. Most printers need a 0.1 to 0.2 inch adjustment. Almost no printer is dead-on out of the box.

Print another test page after adjusting. Repeat until aligned.

This step usually takes 2 to 4 test prints. Don't load real checks until plain paper alignment is perfect.

Step 3: Connect a bank account to your check printing

QBO needs to know which bank account the checks draw from. Go to Banking from the left sidebar, then click the gear icon on the account you'll print from. Confirm the account is set as a "Bank" type in QBO. If it shows up as "Other Current Asset" or anything else, change it.

QBO uses the bank name in the check header and the routing/account number for MICR encoding. If your checks already have MICR encoding pre-printed (which they should, from any reputable check printer), you don't need QBO to print the routing and account numbers. Make sure the "Print Bank Information" option is unchecked. This is the second-most-common QBO setup mistake.

Step 4: Configure printer settings

Open your printer's preferences inside QBO. Click File, Print Setup. Set:

• Paper size: Letter (8.5 x 11)
• Orientation: Portrait
• Scaling: 100% (no shrink-to-fit)
• Print quality: Highest available
• Tray: Manual feed or whichever tray holds your check stock

That manual feed setting matters. If you leave checks in the standard paper tray and the printer also prints non-check documents, eventually someone will print a Word doc on a check. Manual feed forces you to insert checks one sheet at a time.

Step 5: Create and print your first check

Go to + New > Check. Fill in the payee, payment account, amount, and category. Choose "Print later" if you want to batch-print  or pick a check number now and print immediately.

To batch-print: Gear icon > Print Checks. QBO shows you every check waiting to be printed. Select the ones you want, confirm the starting check number, and click Preview and Print.

Load your check stock into the manual feed tray. Click Print.

After printing, QBO asks you to confirm which checks printed correctly. If the print job got stuck or wasted a check, mark those as "Did not print" so QBO doesn't advance your check number sequence.

How Checkomatic checks integrate with QuickBooks Online

We've shipped checks to QuickBooks Online users for years. Our voucher and standard formats are dimensioned to match QuickBooks Online's default print templates exactly. That means the date, payee, amount, signature, and MICR positions land within 1/16 inch of QBO's expected layout out of the box.

You'll still want to run the test alignment page on plain paper to account for your specific printer's margins, but the adjustment should be 0.1 inch or less for our checks. Compare that to checks from sources that don't print to QuickBooks specs, where adjustments of 0.5 to 1.0 inch are common.

Our QuickBooks-compatible checks ship with a setup card that walks through the QBO configuration we describe above. If you run into alignment problems, our customer team can walk you through fine-tuning over chat or phone.

What if the test page doesn't align even after fine-tuning?

Three causes:

Printer driver scaling. Some printer drivers default to "shrink to fit" or "scale to 95 percent" even when QBO is set to 100 percent. Go into the printer driver itself (not just QBO's print settings) and confirm scaling is 100 percent.

Wrong check format. If you're printing voucher format from QBO onto wallet checks, no amount of fine-tuning fixes it. Confirm the physical checks match the format you selected in QBO.

Margin settings in QBO. The "Print Test" step has a custom margin field. If you adjusted it during a previous setup attempt and forgot to reset, the values carry over. Go back to the alignment step and reset to the default position before fine-tuning.

How do you print blank checks for handwriting in QBO?

QBO Plus and Advanced let you print blank checks for handwriting. Go to + New > Check, leave the amount blank, and pick "Print later." Then in the batch print menu, the unfilled check prints with the date, business name, MICR line, and signature box but no payee or amount.

QBO Essentials and Simple Start don't support blank check printing through the print check menu. You'd need to print on pre-printed manual checks instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the same checks for QBO and QuickBooks Desktop?

Yes. The physical check layout is identical. The software handles the print formatting. Same voucher check works in both.

Do I need a special check printer for QBO?

No. Any laser or inkjet printer that handles letter-size paper works. We recommend laser for crispness on the MICR line.

Why won't my MICR line read at the bank?

Two common causes. First, the printer isn't printing the MICR ink dark enough (laser fade after long use). Second, you're using paper that isn't MICR-grade. Reputable check printers ship checks with the MICR line pre-printed in proper magnetic ink, so the printer never has to print it.

Can I print checks in QBO Mobile?

Not directly. QBO Mobile lets you record checks but the actual printing has to happen from the desktop or web app.

What if I run out of checks mid-batch?

QBO lets you pause the batch and continue printing later. Note the check number you stopped at and resume from there.

You're ready to print

Setup is a one-time process. Once your alignment is dialed in, every future check prints in seconds. If you don't have compatible checks yet, browse our QuickBooks Online-compatible checks catalog. Most orders ship within 5 business days and arrive ready to print.