Checks are indispensable for running a business, and their absence can cause much stress. A lot of business owners forget to mail a duplicate check to their customers when they receive the original check.
Summary Table
| Single Checks | Duplicate Checks |
| Made for a specific purpose | Made for payment of bills and services rendered |
| Can contain more than one amount of money | Can only contain one amount of money |
| Can be accompanied by a receipt | Cannot have any receipts |
If the business owner is not careful, it may be possible for a customer to dispute that a check was written twice. Before you send a check to your customer, it is crucial to verify that you have received the same amount of money twice.
This means double-checking that you have two checks and not one. Some businesses are good at taking care of this and others are not. The best thing to do is to follow up with the bank upon receiving the check to ensure that you have gotten the same amount of money twice.
If you find out that your customer has been given two checks, then you need to make sure you send one back to the bank.
Moreover, there are different types of checks used in daily life. Whether you’re sending out checks to your employees or customers, it is important to understand the difference between single and duplicate checks so that you don’t end up paying an extra fee or waiting for the check to clear.
What As a Single Check?
Single check is a check that is not accompanied by a duplicate copy, and it is an acceptable form of payment. A single check can be given to customers at different occasions, such as deposit cheque or bill payment.
Usually, the amount of a single check is more than the amount the customer paid. The reason why the amount of a single check is more than the sum that has been paid to you is because this practice is not legal. However, banks will still use single checks for deposits and as proof of payment.
What Is A Duplicate Check?
A duplicate check is a form of payment that contains two checks. The first check usually represents the amount of money that has been paid, and it is given to the customer when you receive payment.
The second check is a copy of the first check. You will never receive this check from your customer. A duplicate check is the same as a single check, but it does not have the first check. It is simply a copy of a second amount of money.
If you decide to use a duplicate check, then make sure you immediately send the copy of the check back to the bank. Some customers think that a single check is not good enough as payment for their services. However, some businesses do not have a problem with this practice and will accept them if they are satisfied.
How Are They Related?
Single check and duplicate check are often confused because of the way they are related. Even though they are different, they still have some similarity. For example, in a bill payment, you may get a single check but it is accompanied by a duplicate check.
In this case, the amount of money on the single check is more than the amount that you have paid to your customer. In order to distinguish them from each other, it is important that business owners understand how they are related to each other.
The two types of checks are similar in how they work, but the way they are used is different.
What Are The Differences?
You might have noticed that a single check is different from a duplicate check. Both checks are just made of paper, but the difference between them lies in their content. Here are some of the differences between single check and duplicate check:
Purpose
Single check is made for a specific purpose. A single check is only used by you as payment for services rendered. It does not have any other purpose.
The amount of money on a single check is more than that paid to you, this is because most banks will not accept a single check.
A duplicate check is made for payment of bills and services rendered. If a customer pays you with this type of check, then it means that the customer trusts your business so much that he believes that you can be trusted to pay for his services.
The amount of money on the duplicate check is the same as the amount of money that has been paid to you.
Amount
A single check can contain more than one amount of money. For example, it can contain two amounts of money, or even more than two amounts of money. Most banks will not accept a single check, because it is a violation of the law.
However, banks will still use this kind of check because it is a legal way to pay bills and services.
A duplicate check can only contain one amount of money. This means that if you receive a duplicate check, then it will be accompanied by the amount of money that has been paid to you.
The amount of money on the duplicate check is the same as the sum that has been paid to you.
Since a single check can only have one amount of money, you need to make sure that you recognize the correct amount of money before paying your customer.
This is because if you pay a false amount of money, then it will become illegal and it will be counted as a crime.
Receipts
A single check can be accompanied by a receipt, but it cannot be accompanied by a second copy of a receipt. It is acceptable for you to use a single check as a receipt for your customer, but not a duplicate check.
This is because it is illegal to use two copies of the same receipt. A duplicate check cannot have any receipts. Any kind of note can be attached to a duplicate check, but this does not make it acceptable as payment for services rendered.
