When it came time to balance the books each month, Nancy Klein, co-owner and controller of Klein's Home Improvement in Hayden, Idaho, found herself scrambling to reconcile the company credit card statements. Ditto the check-books because certain tasks — getting building permits, for example, or making purchases at a local yard that doesn't have a billing system set up — require a handwritten check.
The forms below create a paper trail that ensures that Nancy won't have to spend a ton of time tracking down checks or verifying charges on credit card statements. It also acts as a safeguard against dishonest employees, although the company hasn't had a problem with this.
The check release forms are locked away with a number of blank checks that have been signed by Nancy. When someone needs a check, they fill out the form, and it's signed by Nancy or the company's receptionist, Tammie, who retains the form. Klein's Home Improvement uses duplicate checks, so when the duplicate comes in, it — along with the receipt from the actual purchase — is attached to the signed form and filed away. A similar process is used for the credit card purchase request, used most often for ordering office supplies and other items online (the form is not used for cards possessed by the company's two estimators and Randy Klein, Nancy's husband and the company's co-owner).
