# Why don't checks appear in my transaction ledger?

> Checks live on their own Checks tab, not the Transactions ledger. A cleared check already posts to the ledger, so listing the image again would double-count it.

If you are hunting for a check on the [Transactions tab](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/review-your-clients-transactions) and can't find it, nothing is missing. Checks have their own **Checks** tab, and they stay off the main ledger on purpose.

## Where do the checks on the Checks tab come from?

When CounselPro processes a statement, it pulls the check images the bank printed and analyzes them on their own: the check number, the amount, the payee, the drawer account, and whether the check was money in or money out. The Checks tab is that analysis. It is a read of the check images, not a second copy of your transaction rows.

The only thing CounselPro matches a check image to is its own page in the statement PDF, so you can open any check and confirm it against the source. It does not tie a check image to a specific row in the ledger.

## Why isn't a cleared check listed as a transaction?

Because it already is. When a check clears, the bank posts it to the statement as a debit or credit, and CounselPro reads that line into your transaction ledger like any other. The check amount is already counted there. Listing the check image as a second row would count the same money twice and throw off your totals.

So the two tabs answer different questions:

- **The Transactions ledger** tells you the money moved: the cleared amount, the date, the account.
- **The Checks tab** tells you about the check itself: who it was written to, its number, and whether it reads as money in or out.

## What is different about the Checks tab?

The Checks table is the same ledger view with a few changes that fit checks. It adds a **Direction** column (money in or out) and the check number, and it drops the Account Type column and the favorite star, which don't apply to a check. A check whose direction CounselPro couldn't confirm shows **Needs review**, and you set it in [the check review workspace](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/review-a-flagged-check).

The Checks tab also rolls the checks up by drawer account, so you can see how many checks each account wrote and catch a payee or an account you did not expect. When something there looks off, it is one of the items worth [clearing before you rely on the numbers](https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/resolve-flagged-items).

Source: https://www.counselpro.ai/docs/why-checks-dont-appear-in-transactions