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Articles
"The Check Is Not In The Mail!"
"The check is in the mail" is probably a phrase your
business hears it fair share of. It's one of the great
white lies most people have said at one time or
another.
The problem your business faces is that the check is most
often not in the mail. How do you combat this all too
common occurrence?
One simple, cost effective tool to increase timely
payments is to use the ACH network to automate recurring
or one time payments. The ACH (Automated Clearing House)
is the network that allows money to be moved electronically.
More information about the ACH network is available at
http://www.NACHA.org
You can automatically take money from your customers
checking or savings account. Depending on the solution you
implement credit cards can also be used. You can easily
schedule recurring payments or take a one time payment
via the phone or fax. You enter basic information: account
numbers, dollar amount, name and schedule the payment as
a one time or recurring payment.
Monies are electronically transferred from your customer's
bank account to yours typically four days from the
transaction entry date. You can receive robust transaction
reporting that in many cases can be imported into a
reconciliation package like PeachTree or Quicken. Concerns
regarding bad checks can often be addressed by
sophisticated fraud scrubbing techniques. In fact there
will shortly be available a method to verify the check
writer has a valid account with the funds you are looking
to collect in the account.
You may even integrate the ACH processing into an
existing software application you are using. Many options
are available.
Costs of course vary but typically fit into four categories:
- Start up costs for software or an Internet ASP
- Per transaction costs
- Returns costs associated with an NSF check.
- Monthly statement or support costs.
It is usually fairly easy to obtain ACH processing.
Make sure the processing company you choose to work
with is reputable and reliable.
You can save time money and frustration an offer new
payment vehicles for your customers.
©2003 by Wayne Akey
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Wayne Akey has helped numerous businesses
reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Get your FREE Ebook on savings 80% or more on Payment Processing. Send an E-mail to: achsubscribe@royal-responder.com
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** If you choose to use this article please be
kind enough to email me at wakey@acheftproviders.com
with the word "Article" in the subject.
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