Writing Amounts in Words on Cheques, Invoices and Contracts Without Errors

Figures are quick to read but easy to change. Adding a digit to 100 makes it 1000 or 1100 in one pen stroke. Words take more space and are far harder to alter without it showing. Using both lets a reader cross check, and it lets the law choose one to prevail when they differ.

The general rule in commercial law is that the words prevail over the figures. In the United States, the Uniform Commercial Code states that words control numbers in a negotiable instrument, and many other legal systems follow similar rules. In some contracts, a clause may reverse this or set another rule, so check the document. Whichever applies, the practical lesson is the same: the words must be exactly right, because they are likely to be the version that is enforced.

• ▸Hyphenate compound numbers from 21 to 99 when written out: twenty-one, forty-five, ninety-nine.
• ▸Do not use and inside a whole number in American style: one thousand two hundred five. British style adds and after hundreds: one thousand two hundred and five. Choose one style and keep it throughout the document.
• ▸Use and to join dollars and cents in the common cheque format, or write cents as a fraction: one thousand two hundred five and 40/100 dollars. Both are accepted, so follow the form or the bank's instructions.
• ▸Spell the currency units: dollars, pounds, euros, rupees, and the minor units cents, pence or paise.
• ▸Write the singular for one: one dollar, one cent.
• ▸Use lowercase except at the start of a sentence or line, and do not abbreviate.

For money, the whole part and the minor unit are written separately: 1,205.40 dollars is one thousand two hundred five dollars and forty cents. When the minor unit is zero, many forms write no cents, or the fraction 00/100. For numbers that are not money, such as 3.14, say the digits after the decimal point one by one: three point one four.

• ▸Start writing at the far left of the line, and draw a line through any remaining empty space.
• ▸Add the word only at the end where it is customary, as in five hundred dollars only.
• ▸Write figures close to the currency symbol and leave no gaps in the digits.
• ▸Use ink that cannot be erased.
• ▸Do not leave blank spaces before or after the amount in a contract, and initial any correction.

• ▸Write the figure first, with thousands separators, and check it.
• ▸Convert it with the Number to Words Converter. Choose the cardinal style for ordinary numbers, or the currency option and the correct currency for amounts. Turn on the British option if your document uses and after hundreds.
• ▸Read the result aloud against the figure to check each group: millions, thousands, hundreds and the rest.
• ▸Compare the final words and figures side by side before signing or printing.
• ▸For legal documents, have another person check the numbers, since the words may be the prevailing text.

The tool uses the short scale used in English speaking countries, where a billion is a thousand million. Some regions use different groupings: the Indian system uses lakh and crore, with commas after the first three digits and then every two. If you need those words, convert them by hand or check the result against local convention. Dates in legal text are usually written in words too, and ordinal numbers, such as the twenty-third day of March, are available in the ordinal style of the converter.