In this section we look at cheques - what is printed on them and what you have to write. This section links with the Useful tools section, where you can see a cheque being written out.

There is a lot of information on a cheque, much of it useful to you - like your bank sort code, your account number and the cheque number.

Take a look at this cheque - you can move over it for a description of each important item.

Warning: It is important to always remember to put a line to the end of part completed lines on your cheque, this avoids anyone making additions to the amounts.

It can be difficult writing a cheque in the shop with someone watching and a long queue of shoppers behind you! So, practise writing a cheque at home until you feel confident.

Activity: Below is a blank cheque. Try writing out the cheque with the information given below. Don't forget to sign it! We have filled in the cheque stub for you as an example. Remember to do this yourself when you write a real cheque. Type the information into the blanks as each new cheque is presented. An example is given first.

• The first cheque is to Window Clean Co for £6.50, dated 03/11/09.

• Then a cheque to Mr A.Khan for £25.00, dated 22/01/09.

• Finally, a cheque to Kirby and Bob the Builder for £12.95, dated 11/02/09.

Warning: It is important to always remember to put a line to the end of part completed lines on your cheque, this avoids anyone making additions to the amounts.

Of course, you’ll usually be writing cheques rather than typing them so to practise doing this, press the icon on the left and print out a sheet of three blank cheques.

For a more in-depth look at banks and building societies, please see our section Where to keep your money.