Checkbook Register & Check Printing by Northgable combines a running register with printing on preprinted check paper. The official Microsoft Store description focuses on existing bank or supplier stock and a plain-paper alignment process. Its audience is someone maintaining a PC checkbook, including a solo business that still issues checks, rather than someone looking to create bank-numbered checks from blank paper.
This First look uses the official listing. We have not imported a register, aligned a printer or printed a real check. The important boundary is explicit: the app does not print the bank's MICR line on blank check stock.
Based on official store information. We have not tested this app hands-on.
What it does
Checks and deposits appear in a register with a running balance. Previously used payees are suggested while typing. A running register can make entered activity easier to inspect, but its balance remains a record of what has been included. It should be reconciled with the actual bank statement rather than treated as an independent live bank balance.
Printing supports standard checks with three per page, top-check voucher layouts and wallet checks with stubs. A partly used sheet can start at its top, middle or bottom position. The source specifies US-style letter-size check paper, so do not infer compatibility with every international check layout or paper dimension.
The documented calibration is to print a test on plain paper, hold it against the actual check sheet and move the output in one-hundredth-inch increments if needed. The adjustment is stored for each printer. This is a concrete preparation workflow, not a claim that an arbitrary printer will align without testing or that the app validates bank acceptance.
The check number is filled when printing. Voiding a check keeps it in the register marked void. Those actions have implications for the record, so an initial evaluation should compare what is printed with what appears in the register and confirm how a voided sample remains visible.
Reconciliation means ticking entries found on the bank statement until the difference is zero. The displayed difference is a useful check to understand, while zero alone does not prove that every real-world transaction was interpreted correctly. Compare the individual matched amounts and the statement period, not only the final indicator.
Existing history can come from Microsoft Money MNY files, including a password where present, Quicken QIF or bank QFX and OFX downloads. The developer says opening or importing never changes the original file. Multiple accounts and QIF export are listed; we have not tested format fidelity or every account mapping.
Before you install
Keep source files and a small reference sample available when testing imports. A successful open does not establish that every payee, opening balance or split detail was preserved exactly. The listing names supported formats without a complete conversion matrix, and Northgable explicitly states no affiliation or endorsement by Microsoft or Quicken.
Paper and printer setup are part of the workflow. Use free test sheets before consuming real stock, compare actual positions and recheck when changing printers or relevant settings. We have not assessed print scaling, driver behavior or physical output. The app's calibration instructions are not a guarantee for a particular device.
A printed check is also a sensitive physical document. Inspect its details and destination through your established process. The retained description does not establish signature authorization, fraud prevention, bank verification or a full business approval system. Do not infer those services from an organized register.
Price and access
The US Microsoft Store offer is $14.99. The description provides a free trial with full functions and up to three real checks; test sheets remain free. After the three checks, the checkbook still opens and exports, while purchase is required to keep printing. Confirm the current checkout and trial terms. This is a count-limited real-printing trial, not an invented time-limited subscription.
Our take
The strongest proposition is a straightforward bridge between a digital register and check paper already in use. Its usefulness depends on accurate records and verified physical alignment, not on a promise to replace bank or accounting controls.
Start with a plain-paper test, a small import and a reconciliation sample. Check the trial boundary before using real check stock. Our view is a source-based introduction to a US-paper printing workflow, not a tested endorsement of bank acceptance, accounting accuracy or printer compatibility.
A partly used sheet needs a deliberate starting position. Confirm which physical checks remain before choosing top, middle or bottom, and compare the preview or test output through the actual interface. The source names those positions without establishing a sensor that detects the paper automatically.
For a register import, compare the same account in the source and destination. An unchanged original is valuable, while preserving the source file and correctly translating all its contents are separate questions.
A voided entry can preserve history without representing a completed payment. Check how the balance and reconciliation view treat it before interpreting a record containing corrections.
For several accounts, identify the active one before entering a check or deposit. Similar payee suggestions can be convenient while making it especially important to inspect the destination account.
Sources
App icon from the official store listing.
