Write Cheque Amounts in English Words

The cheque is nearly finished. The payee is written, the date is on, the figures say 1,250.50, and there is one long empty line left for the amount in words. This is the part people hesitate over: is it "one thousand two hundred fifty" or "one thousand two hundred and fifty"? Does "and" go before the cents? Is it "Only" or "ONLY"? A bank can query a cheque on exactly this line, and when the words and the figures disagree, the words usually win.

The short version: type the amount into Number to Words, choose the currency and the cheque style, and copy the line the tool writes. It also gives the plain words and the ordinal form for the same number.

What you get from one number

Type 1250.50 and the tool shows three results, each with its own copy button.

• In words: one thousand two hundred fifty point five zero.
• Ordinal: shown for whole numbers, such as "first" for 1 or "twenty-first" for 21.
• Cheque amount: one thousand two hundred fifty dollars and fifty cents, with US dollars as the starting currency.

The "In words" line is the way you would read the number aloud, with decimals spoken digit by digit, so 12.3456 becomes "twelve point three four five six". The cheque line is a different thing: it treats the part after the point as cents and writes the amount as money. The tool accepts numbers with commas, with or without decimals, negatives, and up to 21 digits. A number longer than that gets the message "Too large (max 21 digits)", and letters or a form such as 1e5 get "Enter digits only".

The cheque styles

Banks and countries have habits, and the tool offers five choices in the Cheque style box. Here is the same amount, 1250.50 in US dollars, in each:

• Standard for the currency, and lower case, give: one thousand two hundred fifty dollars and fifty cents.
• Title Case, ending Only: One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Dollars and Fifty Cents Only.
• UPPER CASE, ending ONLY: ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS ONLY.
• US bank style: One thousand two hundred fifty and 50/100 dollars.

The "Only" at the end, or the fraction style with 50/100, has a practical purpose. It closes the line so that nobody can add more words after yours. The US bank style does the same job with the fraction, and a line drawn across the unused space does the rest. Use whichever your bank and your country expect. Whole amounts get a neat ending as well: 101 dollars comes out as "one hundred one dollars only", so you do not need to remember whether to add "and" or "only".

The British "and"

American usage writes 101 as "one hundred one". British usage writes "one hundred and one". The tool has a British "and" switch for this. With it off, 101 gives "one hundred one", and its ordinal is "one hundred first". With it on, you get "one hundred and one" and "one hundred and first". For a British cheque of 1250.50, switch on the British "and" and choose GBP. The tool then writes: one thousand two hundred and fifty pounds and fifty pence. It knows that the minor unit of the pound is the penny, and that its plural is pence.

Currencies

The currency list has USD, GBP, EUR, INR, CAD and AUD. Dollar currencies (USD, CAD, AUD) use dollars and cents, EUR uses euros and cents, GBP uses pounds and pence, and INR uses rupees and paise, with the plural paise. Check that the currency on the cheque is the one you pick, because the cheque line is the only thing that changes.

Lakh and crore for Indian cheques

For rupee cheques, Indian grouping matters. Choosing INR switches on the Lakh and crore option automatically, and you can switch it on for any number. The tool also reads Indian-style digits with commas in the Indian places, so 12,34,567.89 is accepted. In fact the same amount typed either way, 12,34,567.89 or 1,234,567.89, comes out as: Twelve Lakh Thirty-Four Thousand Five Hundred Sixty-Seven Rupees and Eighty-Nine Paise Only. With INR, the style is Title Case with "Only" by default. If you prefer another style, choose it in the box.

Rounding, cents and the safe habit

A cheque amount can only have two decimal places, so the tool rounds half up and tells you when it has done so. Type 1.005 and the cheque line reads "one dollar and one cent", with a note that "1.005 becomes 1.01". Type 2.675 and you get "two dollars and sixty-eight cents" with the note that it became 2.68. The "In words" line still shows every digit you typed, so you can see exactly what was rounded. If a note appears, decide whether the amount you really mean is the rounded one before you write it.

There are two cases the cheque line does not cover. Negative amounts show the words, such as "minus forty-five", and a note that the cheque line is not shown for negative amounts, because you cannot write a cheque for less than nothing. And an amount under one currency unit is shown as written: 0.99 gives "zero dollars and ninety-nine cents".

The tool's tip is the habit to keep. If the cheque has cents, write them out in words as well as in figures, because banks go by the words when the two disagree. Always compare the final line with the figures once more before you sign. A tool can write the words correctly, but only you know whether you typed the right number.

Other places where amounts in words appear

A cheque is the best-known case, but not the only one. Contracts often state a sum in words and figures, so that a typing error in one can be caught by the other. Receipts, loan notes, rental agreements and formal invoices do the same. If you issue invoices, Invoice Generator builds the document, and Number to Words gives you a correct wording for the total to put in a note or a covering letter.

Once you have the line, you may want to tidy it. Case Converter changes the capitalisation if a document needs a different style than the cheque styles offer, and Word Counter helps when a form gives you a limited space. The Case Converter and Word Counter guides explain those tools in more detail.

Steps

1. Open Number to Words and type the amount, with or without commas and decimals.
2. Choose the currency in the Currency for the cheque line box.
3. If your usage is British, switch on the British "and". For rupees, check that Lakh and crore is on.
4. Choose the cheque style your bank expects.
5. Read any note under the results, especially a rounding note.
6. Copy the cheque line and write it on the cheque. Draw a line through any unused space.
7. Check once more that the words and the figures say the same thing.

The tool is a Professional Tool with 10 trial uses a day, then a $1 day pass or the $4.99 monthly plan. The words appear as you type for free, and copying a line is what uses a trial use.

Common mistakes

Writing the cents in figures only and leaving the words ending at the dollars. Mixing styles, such as lower case in one line and Title Case in the next. Forgetting the British "and" for a UK cheque. Using the wrong currency, so a pound cheque says dollars. Ignoring a rounding note. Leaving a gap after the words where someone could add more. And copying the ordinal line (first, second, third) instead of the cheque line, which is easy to do when three results sit one above the other.

Summary

The words on a cheque are the part that the bank trusts most, so they deserve to be right. Number to Words writes the amount in your choice of style and currency, handles the British "and" and lakh and crore wording, warns you when it has rounded, and gives you the plain and ordinal forms as well. More helpers for text are in the text tools category.

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Is there a cheque style we should add? Tell us on the contact page.