If your business receives checks on a
daily basis from customers and
clients, you know what a nightmare it can be to coordinate trips to the bank
every day. Sometimes the designated
employee who takes the checks to the
branch may not be available or cannot
make the run until the next day.
Meanwhile, cash flow is impeded
unnecessarily.
“Remote deposits can make this cumbersome system manageable,” says
Nicki Davis, treasury management
sales associate for Plano-based
ViewPoint Bank. “Remote deposits —
sending checks electronically to
deposit at the bank — is like opening a
branch of the bank inside your business.”
Smart Business learned from Davis
how remote deposits work and when
they may be a good option for your
business.
Could you explain the process of remote
deposits?
Instead of going to a bank branch, an
employee loads the checks into a check
scanning device, which can be purchased or leased. The check is scanned
using software from a desktop, and the
image is transmitted electronically
over the Internet to the bank. The bank
gets the file, inspects it for quality and
duplication and then sorts the checks
for clearing.
Once the deposit confirmation comes
in from the bank, the business can
either store or dispose of the paper
checks.
Typically, software that is installed on
the scanner will tell the bank which
account it will deposit the funds into;
the scanner will also stamp the check
‘void’ or ‘scanned’ to eliminate the possibility of the checks being scanned
more than once.
What kind of businesses can benefit from
scanning checks electronically?
Remote deposits are just for check
deposits, so any business that accepts
checks for payments — doctors
offices, dentists, retail operations, etc.
— can benefit. One caveat: travelers’
checks and money orders — with their
multiple colors and designs — can
sometimes get distorted in the scanning process. You need to check with
your bank to make sure that the scanner supplied with the service is sensitive enough to scan the details of these
items.
What are the costs associated with using
this service?
The biggest investment is the scanner,
which can cost anywhere from $1,000
to $2,000. Each bank has different fees,
but monthly maintenance can cost anywhere from $100 to $150. There can also be a per-item fee for each check
scanned.
Any disadvantages to using remote
deposits?
The upfront costs of purchasing a
scanner — although you can also lease
a scanner — often cause businesses to
pause. There is also the inconvenience
of shredding or storing the scanned
checks. When depositing checks manually at the bank, the institution is
responsible for discarding the checks.
Some businesses are not comfortable
with this responsibility.
If a business doesn’t want to make the
investment in a scanner to make remote
deposits or if the number of daily checks
doesn’t justify the service, is there an
alternative to physically going to the bank
to make deposits?
Yes. You might want to ask your bank
if it has a courier service that will pick
up checks on a designated day and time
to deliver checks to the bank.
However, if you are finding that
you’re holding on to large-dollar
checks too long because of the inconvenience of traveling to a bank branch,
and it is impacting cash flow, you
should look into the cost benefit of
switching to remote deposits. <<
NICKI DAVIS is a treasury management sales associate for ViewPoint Bank (www.viewpointbank.com), headquartered in Plano, Texas.
Reach her at (972) 801-5884 or [email protected].
