Your Business Doesn’t Need to Accept Paper Checks Anymore

With financial features such as one-click payment links and ACH processing, the days of waiting for a client’s check to come in the mail are quickly fading away. While you may be accustomed to using paper-based transactions for your business, it is now time to move to newer technology.

Paying with paper checks is inconvenient for everyone involved.

For starters, your client needs to remember to write out the check and mail it on time for you to receive your owed funds by the due date. Unfortunately, this process allows too many opportunities for people to make late payments, negatively affecting both your business and the customer.

By switching to a system that processes ACH payments, you make it easier for your customers to make payments from any device at whatever time is most convenient for them. As a result, this upgrade leads to more people paying their bills on time, giving you the consistent cash flow you need to ensure your business runs smoothly.

What is ACH?

“ACH” stands for the “Automated Clearing House” system. Sometimes called direct payments, electronic checks, or eChecks, ACH uses a financial network that connects all U.S. banks. This system is a way that banks transfer electronic funds, and you may be familiar with the process because it is how utility companies, direct deposit payroll providers, and many others accept and deposit payments.

Accepting payments via ACH makes room for more efficiency.

PAYMENT CONVENIENCE

ACH payments are convenient for your business and for the people you serve. Customers appreciate companies that have easy payment acceptance methods, and the personnel who manage your Accounts Receivable process will enjoy an integrated ACH system that no longer requires them to match up invoices with paper checks or make time-consuming trips to drop deposits off at the bank.

REDUCED PROCESSING TIME

On the front end, the process of accepting paper checks wastes unnecessary time. The customer fills out a check, puts it in the mail, waits for it to arrive at its intended recipient, and then waits for their payment to be deposited and processed. Whether your business receives one-time payments or recurring customer payments, you can simplify this outdated process by switching to a software system that allows customers to make real-time payments from any device.

FASTER DEPOSITS

ACH payments are also quicker on the back end because the financial institutions involved in approving and settling transactions deal with each other directly, allowing you to get your funds faster and avoiding mishaps and miscommunication that often occur with paper-based transactions.

INCREASED DATA SECURITY

Paper checks can be stolen, lost, or forged. Once a customer mails a check, the envelope passes through multiple parties while traveling to its final destination. As a result, every check sitting in an unsecured mailbox allows someone the opportunity to commit theft and acquire sensitive bank account information.

Additionally, inputting data from a paper check by hand makes it more susceptible to keystroke errors. With ACH, service providers can store the customer’s payment details on file so the customer only needs to expose their payment information once instead of entering it multiple times throughout the year.

Why are businesses still holding onto paper checks?

The benefits of ACH transactions far outweigh those of paper checks, yet some businesses cling to their current process, hesitating to move away from their manual method of collecting payments.

Overall, ACH transactions are faster, more secure, and more efficient, so offering customers this payment option benefits all parties.

Click here to learn how PayFabric helps merchants accept ACH payments and integrate AR automation tools.