I Don't Write The Checks

And now a couple of stories I would like to get off my chest with regard to our Bookkeeper.

Our Bookkeeper has a great sense of humour and she has a knack for saying the right thing at the right time to ease tensions. I will often call her to rant and she is always quick with a joke that perfectly puts things in perspective. This is not one of those stories.

Let me preface this by saying ... I hate doing paperwork. I'm not good at it, it's boring and I do not enjoy it. In my current job, I do a lot of paperwork. I saw that eye roll ... lol

We have a system for entering invoices that is somewhat ridiculous. We have two portals, with the first portal, the supplier uploads the invoice and the unit manager goes in on a daily basis, matches the invoice number, confirms the total and submits the invoice for head office to pay. With the second portal the unit manager logs in and manually submits the invoice for head office to pay. In both cases the unit manager does not write a check, that responsibility lies with someone in accounting at head office.

Everyone with me so far? To summarize, the unit manager enters the name of the supplier, the invoice number and date, as well as the dollar amount of said invoice. And at that point, the unit manager has done their job and is no longer responsible for the processing of the invoice.

About 6 months ago, I receive an email from our Bookkeeper. Attached to the email was an invoice that I submitted as well as a letter from the supplier. The letter notes that the invoice has been partially paid and they are asking why. My Bookkeeper would like me to look up the invoice in the appropriate portal, and to call her to let her know why it was not paid in full. When i I look up the invoice, I see that the full amount has been entered. So I call our Bookkeeper and the following conversation takes place:

Me: I have no idea why the invoice was not pad in full. I looked up the submission and it is for the full amount.

Bookkeeper: Well, why was was it not paid in full? Why was only a partial payment made?

Me: I have no idea. I did not write the check. You need to call head office and ask them.

Bookkeeper: Well that makes no sense. Why wasn't it paid in full? You need to go into the portal and find out.

Me: I have no way to find that out. As I mentioned, the invoice was submitted for the full amount.

Bookkeeper: Well then why didn't it get paid in full? It's your responsibility.

Me: Actually, it's not my responsibility. I do not write the checks and I did not write this check.

Bookkeeper: Well the supplier wants to know why it was not paid in full.

Me: I did not write the check. I have no idea who wrote the check. I'm sorry but I can't help you and I have a cafeteria full of customers that need to be looked after. 

At this point I hang up and leave the office to look after customers.

A few weeks later, I receive a similar email about the same invoice, asking the same questions. So I pick up the phone and call the Bookkeeper. I explain that she asked me about this a few weeks ago, and that since I did not write the check, I have no idea why I has not been paid in full. She again asks me, 'Why wasn't it paid in full?' I tell her, I have no idea, the invoice was submitted for the full amount. I ask who signed/wrote the check? She tells me she is not sure. I then suggest she contact someone at head office, find out who wrote the check, and ask that person why it was not paid in full. She then asks me why it was not paid in full. 

I DON'T KNOW. I DID NOT WRITE THE CHECK. CALL HEAD OFFICE. CLICK.