The Pros And Cons Of Accepting Paper Checks

What are the Hidden Costs of Getting Paid by Check?

Banking has undergone a lot of changes over the past thirty years. From the mass adoption of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and online account management to the introduction of full-function mobile apps, people have more options than ever before. Today, customers can complete virtually every step of the banking process without stepping foot inside an actual building. Innovation and changes to financial regulations and transaction rules make it easy to deposit and move money from practically anywhere in the world.  

Despite all those advances and a knack for technology adoption, many MSPs remain behind the times in their banking and payment methods. Printing and manually sending out invoices and then waiting for the postal service to deliver paper checks can be a painstaking process, especially when they sit on the accountant’s desk until they collect enough to make a deposit. That timeline can stretch from weeks to months in some cases.

With the ever-increasing benefits of a strong cash flow, taking the slow payment route can stifle an MSP’s growth opportunities. Those delays reduce access to money the company could use to fuel its expansion plans, including hiring additional personnel, increasing sales and marketing budgets and onboarding new clients. Why should an MSP pay interest to borrow those funds from others when they could leverage their own reserves? Antiquated and slow payment processes impede those opportunities.