Trisha Walker
All right news friends, today we’re going to talk about something that I don’t really deal with but hear about from my bookkeeping coworker friends: Split checks.
(You may wonder how I can write about something I don’t have personal experience with. The answer is: I’m a reporter. I can write about anything.)
Split checks, for those of you don’t know (including myself until like five minutes ago), basically means one check that covers multiple payments — a subscription and classified ad, for example.
This makes it hard to process on our end because we have multiple offices and departments. In our example above, subscriptions go to Tanya Lindsey, our circulation manager whose office is in The Dalles, while classified ads go to LisaAnn Kawachi, front office manager (and our best copy editor) whose office is in Hood River.
Because payments need to go through the proper channels, these split checks take longer for us to deposit. It’s faster when a check is made for one specific expense: One check for that subscription, one check for that classified ad.
(Incidentally, if you’re writing a check for an obituary, we need you to add the name of the deceased on the memo line so we can apply the payment to the right account.)
(Actually, add a description of what your check is going towards on the memo line just in general.)
It’s no wonder that people can get confused where to send payment, again because we have multiple offices. Basically, the rule is this: If you’re sending in a subscription payment, mail it to Columbia Gorge News, PO Box 1910, The Dalles, OR 97058; for everything else, send it to Columbia Gorge News, PO Box 390, Hood River, OR 97031.
This isn’t to say you can’t come into our office in The Dalles to pay for an obituary, even though those are processed in Hood River. Or that you can’t come to our office in Hood River to pay for a subscription. Because we have a courier system in place to run all kinds of things back and forth. Just that it makes it faster on our end when payments go through (and to) the proper channels.
If you need help distinguishing what payment goes where, you are always welcome to give me a call at 541-386-1234 ext. 109. You can also call Tanya directly at 541-296-2141 ext. 112 (leave a message) or LisaAnn at 541-386-1234 ext. 103 (ditto on leaving a message). You can also email a query to [email protected].
Incidentally, if there’s something we do at the newspaper that you’ve always wondered about, let me know! It might be the start of a future Behind the Scenes column.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur.
