Drawing a cheque vs cashing it
Both are about cheques, so they get mixed up — but the difference is fundamental: “drawing a cheque” means you wrote and signed it (a promise to pay, the bank isn't debited yet), while “cashing a cheque” means it was presented to the bank and cleared (money actually moved). Let's clarify with a table, the entry for each stage, and how Zemam tracks them with a status and an accurate bank balance.
Drawing the cheque
You write and sign the cheque. An obligation is recorded, but the bank isn't debited yet.
Cashing the cheque
The cheque was presented to the bank and cleared. Money actually moved from the account.
| Drawing the cheque | Cashing the cheque | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | You write, sign, and hand over the cheque | The cheque is presented to the bank and cashed |
| Did money move? | No — just a promise to pay | Yes — the bank debited the account |
| Stage | Creating the obligation | Settling the obligation |
| The entry (outgoing cheque) | DR Supplier Advances / CR Cheques Payable | DR Cheques Payable / CR Bank |
| In Zemam | Issue an outgoing cheque (status: Issued) | “Confirm cashing the cheque” (status: Cleared) |
The bottom line in one line
“Draw” = creating the cheque (a promise, money hasn't moved, it sits in “Cheques Payable”). “Cash” = actually clearing the money (the bank is debited). The difference isn't cosmetic — there's a gap between them, and during that gap your book balance differs from the actual bank balance.
An important clarification
“Drawing a cheque” here means writing/issuing it (you're the drawer) — not “stopping the cheque.” A stop-payment is a completely different thing: a request to the bank to block the cheque from being cashed, i.e. the opposite of cashing. Don't confuse the two. And in Zemam, a cheque you receive (incoming) is cashed via “collection” with the same logic — under collection, then moved to the bank.
Frequently asked questions
So drawing the cheque = writing it, and cashing it = collecting it?
Exactly. “Drawing the cheque” means you wrote, signed, and handed it over — you're the drawer. At that moment an obligation is recorded against you, but the bank isn't debited yet. “Cashing the cheque” means the payee presented it to the bank, the bank paid it and debited your account — only then does money actually move.
If I write a cheque to a supplier, does the money leave my bank right away?
No. On drawing, an obligation is recorded in a “Cheques Payable” account and the bank isn't debited. The bank is debited only when the cheque is actually cashed (cleared). This gap matters a lot for your real cash position — you may have written several cheques that haven't cleared yet, so your book balance differs from the actual bank balance.
What's the difference between “cashing” a cheque and “stopping” it?
Cashing = the bank paid the cheque and debited the money. Stopping (stop-payment) = you asked the bank to block the cheque from being cashed — the opposite of cashing. Some people say “withdraw the cheque” meaning stop it, but that's a mix-up: “draw” in accounting means to write/issue the cheque, not to pull it from circulation.
How does Zemam track this difference?
With a status per cheque. The moment you issue it, it's “Issued” with an entry in “Cheques Payable” — without touching the bank. When it's cashed you do “Confirm cashing the cheque,” it becomes “Cleared,” and the bank is debited then. Incoming cheques follow the same logic: “Under collection” → “Collected.” The result: the bank balance only moves at actual cashing, and your books always separate what you promised from what you've actually paid.
Related reading
A drawn cheque isn't a cashed one — and your bank balance knows the difference
In Zemam every cheque moves through its statuses: Issued → Cleared, and Under-collection → Collected — with the bank only moving at actual cashing, so your balance is always right.