Cashing of cheques

Why is it that people figure that as soon as they give you a cheque you are immediately going to run to the bank and deposit it?

Lately I have come upon an issue with people and cashing of cheques. This is both personally and professionally. It is amazing how many people figure that their cheque is a priority to you no matter what else is happening in your life.

On the personal side I received a cheque on a Wednesday evening (June 4^th) and within a week I was reminded that I didn't cash the cheque yet. I understand that it means that the bank book doesn't balance for a couple of weeks but I don't go to the bank every week. I was then reminded again because I hadn't cashed the cheque by the 15^th of the month. Well I finally got to the bank on June 20^th so this cheque has now been deposited and should show up as cashed by the beginning of next week.

Now on the professional side we received a cheque on June 4^th and on June 19^th were asked if there was a problem because it hadn't cleared the bank yet. Of course there were other cheques that were being received during the month so was waiting for some of them to arrive before going to the bank to make the deposit. As a small business going to the bank means that something else that is billable isn't being done. There is a routine of handling the cheques on a monthly basis and I have to admit that unless the cheque is received near the end of the month they are cashed in that month.

Going to the bank even to a bank machine involves time and you are not always close to the bank that you deal with. I have seen some bank machines over the couple of weeks but they haven't been my bank so haven't used it to deposit the cheque. Now for the business banking there are times that the business counter is open and that is normally during the normal work day which is also the normal billable time for the business.

If you give someone a cheque be patient and let them cash it when they can. OK, if the cheque hasn't cleared within a month it is fine to ask about it but until that month is up let them deal with it without being reminded. A cheque either personal or professional is only one piece of paper that someone is dealing with.

I understand that your bank book may not balance for a couple of weeks but remember the longer I don't cash your cheque the longer the money is in your bank.