Film Accounting Glossary
Manual check
What is a manual check?
Also called handwritten check, or off-run check.
A manual check is a payment issued outside the normal payroll or accounts payable run, cut on the spot for an urgent need such as a same-day location fee or a crew member's missed wages.
Manual checks bypass the usual controls, so they need the same approvals applied after the fact and immediate entry into the ledger. Unrecorded manual checks are the most common reason a bank reconciliation will not balance.
Example
A location fee has to be paid on the spot at 6am Saturday, so a check is cut outside the run. If it is not entered into the ledger the same day, the next bank reconciliation will not balance and nobody will remember why.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Issued outside the normal payroll or AP cycle, with the same approvals applied after the fact and immediate ledger entry.
Common mistake
Cutting one and entering it later. Unrecorded manual checks are the single most common reason a bank reconciliation refuses to balance.
Related questions
- When does a production issue a manual check?
- For urgent payments outside the normal run: a same-day location fee, a missed wage payment, or a vendor who will not release without payment on the spot.
- What controls apply to a manual check?
- The same approvals as any payment, applied straight after the fact, plus immediate entry into the ledger so the reconciliation still ties.