Word Count= 326
Word wrapped to 60 characters-per-line
Please feel free to publish this article in your
Newsletter or on your Web site (with Resource Box
Included and live hyperlinks).
Are you and your business tired of waiting to be paid?
You”ve done a good job, the customer is happy and
satisfied. How come they don”t pay their bill quickly?
More importantly what can you do about it?
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 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
are available methods to verify the check
writer has a valid account with a positive funds balance.
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.
?2005 by Wayne Akey- http://www.ach-payments.com
