Printing checks without approval

I'm a new clerk and was recently submitting an expense request to get a check printed for paying a bill for a member in need. I was able to print the check out before the Bishop even approved it. He was concerned about this being a glitch. Is this normal? He is under the impression that two approves are required before 'print check' option is even available. Otherwise, someone could just start printing checks all day long.

I don't recall that approval was required to print a check. But the printed check needs two signatures.

If you upload electronic documentation for a check, then you have to have two approvals (the uploader and one other) before you can print. But if you use paper documentation then you can print without approvals but (as russelhltn said) you need two signatures and both signers should review the documentation before signing.

The bishop does not have to give his approval electronically before printing or signing but he should give it at least verbally.

Okay. I appreciate the info from both of you.

eblood66 wrote:If you upload electronic documentation for a check, then you have to have two approvals (the uploader and one other) before you can print. But if you use paper documentation then you can print without approvals but (as russelhltn said) you need two signatures and both signers should review the documentation before signing.

The bishop does not have to give his approval electronically before printing or signing but he should give it at least verbally.

If I'm going to print a paper check from digital documentation, I upload the documentation from home during the week when I receive it and make the first approval (I am ward clerk). That gives the bishopric members a few days for one to digitally approve the expense (also from home). Then on Sunday, the expense is ready for the check to be printed and signed. The check must be printed from the clerk computer at the church so this way I minimize wait times.

This may not be an ideal solution for everyone, but it works well for us. Most our reimbursements are now ACH deposits which the above method supports very well (except when the 2nd approval happens, it's done - no check needed).

If you use MLS, you can print without any second person checking it but you need 2 signatures on the check. I hear that MLS expenses will go away in October for our stake.

Using expenses feature in LCR:

If you upload the receipts into LCR, a counselor can do the second approval (remotely, whenever they get to it). Once the counselor approval is done, then you can print a check by yourself on the ward's computer and then get two people to sign it.

From what I remember, if you enter the expense into LCR without receipts, e.g. the receipts are paper (not uploaded or digitized), you AND the counselor will have to be at the ward's computer to authorize the printing of the check because the counselor needs to see the paper receipts. Then, you are both already there and can sign the check after printing. Because of this requirement to have two people there at the same time when paper receipts are involved, it is always easier, in my opinion, to scan and upload the receipts as the other respondents have indicated and do it that way.

chriswoodut wrote:From what I remember, if you enter the expense into LCR without receipts, e.g. the receipts are paper (not uploaded or digitized), you AND the counselor will have to be at the ward's computer to authorize the printing of the check because the counselor needs to see the paper receipts.

That isn't correct. If you use paper receipts you don't need a second approver in LCR. You can print the check immediately.

Of course, both signers must review the paper documentation but the two signers can sign at different times as long as both review the documentation (and the checks is kept secure).

eblood66 wrote:

chriswoodut wrote:From what I remember, if you enter the expense into LCR without receipts, e.g. the receipts are paper (not uploaded or digitized), you AND the counselor will have to be at the ward's computer to authorize the printing of the check because the counselor needs to see the paper receipts.

That isn't correct. If you use paper receipts you don't need a second approver in LCR. You can print the check immediately.

Of course, both signers must review the paper documentation but the two signers can sign at different times as long as both review the documentation (and the checks is kept secure).

So, you're saying if I use paper receipts I can enter an expense into LCR and print the check without a second person signing into LCR and reviewing it? (That's not been my experience.)

You can print the check immediately if you wait to upload the receipts until after you have printed the check.

drepouille wrote:You can print the check immediately if you wait to upload the receipts until after you have printed the check.

Do you think that behavior is intentional? It seems like an oversight if you can't print the check IF you do upload the receipts.

My experience has been that if the expense entered into LCR is paid by paper check and the receipts are not uploaded then the system behaves just as if using MLS. The two signatures on the check are the two approvals required. Of course the second approver is supposed to review the paper receipts before signing. Where the second approver needs to be at the clerk computer at the same time as the first approver is when the expense is paid by EFT and the receipts are not uploaded.

There are four scenarios for paying an expense.

1. Paid by paper check and paper receipts are not uploaded - the two approvals are the check signatures.
2. Paid by EFT and paper receipts are not uploaded - the two approvals are through the system and both approvers must e-sign at the same computer during the same logon session before the payment can be completed.
3. Paid by EFT and receipts are uploaded - second approval done online from any Internet connected device using web browser. This is the most convenient for both approvers.
4. Paid by paper check using MLS to process the payment as has been done in the past and is very much the same as scenario 1 above. This scenario has an expected termination as some soon to be future date for most U.S. units.

jdlessley wrote:My experience has been that if the expense entered into LCR is paid by paper check and the receipts are not uploaded then the system behaves just as if using MLS. The two signatures on the check are the two approvals required. Of course the second approver is supposed to review the paper receipts before signing. Where the second approver needs to be at the clerk computer at the same time as the first approver is when the expense is paid by EFT and the receipts are not uploaded.

Ahh! That's the difference. In my experience, I was doing an EFT. I'm not sure why there needs to be so many variations. IMO, they should just make all things paperless and then have the check option and EFT option. We just did our stake audit and it was so much faster having the paperwork all uploaded and the auditor checking them before he arrived. He only had to do a couple from before we had access to the new tool.

chriswoodut wrote:I'm not sure why there needs to be so many variations. IMO, they should just make all things paperless and then have the check option and EFT option.

Not everywhere and not everyone can do paperless. We convert all paper receipts to digital and then there is a single front-end process with either an EFT or a paper check. But that scenario won't work everywhere. For those areas in the church where the paper option is still the only viable option, there needs to be accommodation.

davesudweeks wrote:

chriswoodut wrote:I'm not sure why there needs to be so many variations. IMO, they should just make all things paperless and then have the check option and EFT option.

Not everywhere and not everyone can do paperless. We convert all paper receipts to digital and then there is a single front-end process with either an EFT or a paper check. But that scenario won't work everywhere. For those areas in the church where the paper option is still the only viable option, there needs to be accommodation.

I get that. But, I would think they could turn that on/off at the unit or stake level.

I received an email from our YW president that described in detail what was purchased and which budget categories should be used for the expense. She attached photos of each receipt. I downloaded each receipt image, and then saved the email as a PDF. I was surprised to find that the PDF of the email included all the receipt photos, so I didn't really need to download each receipt as a separate file. I just upload the PDF, and the reviewers can open each embedded photo image. A pleasant surprise.