Dictionary / Cashier's Check
What does Cashier's Check mean in accounting?
Quick definition
Cash & bankingBank draft made by a bank on its own account. This term guides how bookkeepers record, classify, and explain related transactions in routine financial reporting.
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Examples
Buying the bank's check for an ultrasound
You run a veterinary clinic. On November 14, an equipment dealer will release a used ultrasound only against a cashier's check. Your bank debits your commercial checking $6,350 plus a $15 fee and issues a check drawn on the bank itself. Match the bank-feed withdrawal in QuickBooks Online or Xero: $6,350 to medical equipment and $15 to bank charges. Do not leave $6,350 in outstanding checks; cash already left.
A mulch bill paid with your own check
On March 3 your landscaping company writes check 4412 from its own checking account to a mulch supplier for $890 of March materials. That is your check drawn on your account, not a draft the bank issued on itself. Until it clears, it is an outstanding item on the reconciliation of bank statement, and checking still includes the $890. Record it as a regular payment against that supplier's bill. A cashier's check would have pulled the money the day the bank printed its own paper.
Why it matters
A cashier's check is a draft the bank writes on its own account after you pay for it, so cash leaves your books the day you buy it, not when the payee cashes the paper. You will not post this most months. It shows up when a landlord, dealer, or court will not take a regular business check. Leave the purchase sitting as an outstanding item from your checkbook and the balance sheet still shows cash you already spent. A certified check is a different instrument: it is still your check with a bank guarantee, not a draft the bank draws on itself.
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What is Cashier's Check in bookkeeping?
Bank draft made by a bank on its own account.
When should I use Cashier's Check?
Use Cashier's Check when the transaction facts match its definition and you need the ledger and financial statements to reflect the correct account and period.
What is a common mistake with Cashier's Check?
Cashier's Check is used for cashier's check entries, while C&F covers a related but distinct bookkeeping purpose. Review both terms before posting unusual transactions. A common mistake is applying it by label only instead of checking the underlying transaction details.