Deposit a ShelfSpace Check with a Check Scanner

The Four-Step Workflow

Vendors who deposit ShelfSpace checks through a desktop scanner follow the same four steps every time. The check from your Settle Report is a Check 21 substitute check — your scanner reads it the same way it reads any check, with one caveat about the MICR line covered below.

What to Print and Cut

The Settle Report PDF places your check on a dedicated page, sized to the standard business check dimension of 6 inches by 2 ⅔ inches. The rest of the page holds the payment memo — invoice references, the period of the settlement, the net payable — which is yours to keep as a record. Cut the front side of the check cleanly away from the rest of the page; don't trim into the check body itself, because scanners need the full check dimension to capture a clean image.

Why Your Scanner Asks for the MICR Fields

Desktop check scanners read the MICR line — the routing number, account number, and check number along the bottom of every check — using a small magnetic head. The head detects ferromagnetic ink and decodes the digits into the fields your bank needs.

ShelfSpace checks are printed from your home or office printer on standard office paper. The MICR line is visually present and properly formatted, but it isn't printed with magnetic ink. The scanner's magnetic reader returns nothing, and the software prompts you for the data instead.

Type these four fields off the front of the check — your scanner software may label them differently (for example, "Value" instead of "Amount"):

• Check Number — top right of the check, six digits
• Value (also called Amount) — the dollar amount of the check, matches the net payable in your vendor portal
• Routing Number — left-most block of the MICR line, nine digits
• Account Number — center block of the MICR line

Once entered, the rest of the deposit runs the same as a magnetic-ink read. The scanner captures the image, transmits it to your bank, and your bank clears it through the Federal Reserve image-exchange network.

Scanner Compatibility

Any desktop check scanner that supports manual MICR entry will accept a ShelfSpace check. That covers the common brands: RDM (EC-series), Digital Check (TellerScan, CheXpress), Panini (Vision X, mI:Deal), Epson (TM-S series), and Burroughs. Most bank RDC profiles support manual MICR entry as a setting; if yours doesn't, ask your bank to enable it in your RDC software profile — it's typically a one-flag change on their side.

If your bank's RDC software is locked to magnetic-only scanning and won't enable manual entry, switch to mobile deposit. The check is the same check, and mobile deposit doesn't require magnetic MICR — your bank's app captures the image and clears it through the same network.

If a Deposit Is Rejected

Two common rejection reasons and how to fix them.

Image quality. Reprint at 100% scale. Most rejections come from the printed check being smaller or larger than the standard check dimension — make sure your printer isn't auto-fitting the page or scaling to a different paper size. Print on plain white paper without watermarks or background tints; some scanners flag colored stock as a quality issue.

Duplicate detection. If your bank flags the deposit as a duplicate — usually because the check was scanned twice or a prior print run was already deposited — call us. We void the original and reissue a new check with a fresh check number in one step. See voiding and reissuing checks for details.

After the Deposit

Funds typically clear within one to two business days, depending on your bank's hold policy. We track the clearing status and update the payment record in your vendor portal once the check clears the retailer's bank account. If anything goes sideways with a deposit, email support@shelfspace.pro and we'll work it out with you and your bank.

For the broader picture of how we handle vendor payments end to end, see ShelfSpace managed AP or the check payments overview.