I agree accidentally bouncing a cheque is mortifying - and in those cases the clients usually come to you WAY before your bank notifies you of the returned cheque because they would be aware of it before you would ... I have only ever had one client who bounced cheque on me on two separate occasions over the course of 3 years here - and both times she came with the cash in hand including my NSF charge before I was even aware there was an issue the second time with a letter from her bank stating it was a 'bank error' that caused the issue and to please not look at this as a reflection of the client...think client was afraid I would terminate based on my 'repeated offenses will result in termination of contract'

When my red flag would go off is when the client does NOT come to you being mortified but instead just quietly waits for YOU to notice and broach the subject - because sadly there are people who consistently bounce cheques for various reasons not so 'accidental' but more because they are living beyond their means in one way or another ... and yet others who daycare hop leaving providers unpaid for services