In an age where companies aim to do more with less, finding ways to streamline daily office tasks is key.
One example of this is handling check deposits. The processing of deposits is extremely important to a company’s cash flow and ultimately its bottom line. But this mission-critical task can be a drain on efficiency when it involves staff members leaving the office to make deposits.
The good news is that advances in technology have provided companies with a number of choices in handling deposits that can decrease (internal) processing costs while increasing cash flow. But before a business makes the move to a more efficient process, two questions should be considered.
#1 – Does your company have the resources and/or desire to continue making all deposits in-house?
If the answer is “yes,” then the solution is remote deposit capture. Remote Deposit gives the company’s employees the ability to make deposits using a check scanner at the office while gaining access to real-time reporting and images. In this scenario, company employees are still involved in the depositing process from start to finish, but will find that the time to make deposits has been drastically reduced, leaving more time to devote to projects directly related to moving the company forward.
#2 – If your company has limited staff or internal resources, would you consider outsourcing the check depositing process?
If outsourcing is an option, then a bank Lockbox may be the answer. With Lockbox services, the bank will setup a PO Box on behalf of the business to receive the company’s payments. These payments will be picked up daily by the bank, which will process those deposits that day. A report will be prepared each day containing payment data that the company can use to post payments. The company will receive this file via a secure, online portal. Images of the checks and accompanying invoices or payment stubs will also be available through the online portal.
For more information on business deposits or any other cash management topic, please contact your Horizon Advisor or visit a Horizon branch near you.
Julia Cardenas is the Assistant Vice President in charge of Treasury Management Services for Horizon Bank.