Cheque printing costs less than people expect, mostly because the main input is a printer you already have.

The components

  • Software. ChequeMaster is a one-time licence, not a subscription — see pricing. There is also a free edition with limits, covered below.
  • Printer. Usually zero, since any laser or inkjet works. See choosing a printer.
  • Cheque leaves. Issued by your bank. Some allow a number free per period and charge beyond it — a cost you incur whether you print or write.
  • Toner or ink. A cheque covers a small fraction of a page, so the per-cheque consumable cost is negligible.
  • Setup time. Perhaps half an hour once, getting alignment right for your printer.

One-time versus subscription

Worth understanding, because the market splits on this. Some cheque printing products are monthly subscriptions, some charge per cheque printed, some are one-time purchases, and some are one-time purchases for a fixed term after which renewals begin.

Over five years those models diverge sharply. A subscription at a modest monthly rate costs multiples of a perpetual licence; a "one-time" licence that expires after three years is a subscription with a longer interval. When comparing, work out the five-year figure rather than the headline price.

ChequeMaster is a genuine one-time purchase with unlimited validity. Updates and support are included for six months; after that the software keeps working, you simply are not entitled to new versions.

What it saves

Two things, and the second is larger:

  • Time. Meaningful at volume, irrelevant at two cheques a month.
  • Avoided errors. One bounced cheque costs bank charges at both ends, the supplier relationship, and your time reissuing and explaining — see return charges. Printing eliminates the amount-mismatch and legibility causes outright.

For most businesses the avoided-error case is what actually justifies it. The time saving is what gets noticed day to day.

The free edition, honestly

ChequeMaster has a free version, and it is worth being clear on what it is: personal, non-commercial use, capped at two payees and two cheque books, with no vouchers and no reports. Cheque printing itself is unlimited and it never expires.

That is genuinely useful for testing whether printing works on your printer and your bank's cheques. It is not a workable long-term arrangement for a business — two payees does not cover a supplier list.

Test before you buy

The one recommendation worth making regardless of cost: install the free edition and print a test cheque on your printer with your bank's layout before paying. Alignment is printer-specific, and it is better to confirm it works on your setup than to find out afterwards.