Even though electronic banking options have been around for years, many organizations have continued to do things the same way. It’s partially inertia, but the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the need for more flexibility in making deposits. If you’re still going to the bank to make deposits, it’s time to upgrade your deposit methods.
Cash
The existence of cash deposits is often the rationale for continuing to make manual deposits. While it may not be realistic to fully eliminate cash transactions in your organization, you would be well-served to minimize them. The security risks and potential for loss are too great to ignore. It’s worthwhile to reconsider your operational strategies in this light rather than simply continuing with “business as usual.” You may well conclude that the risks aren’t worth the small amounts of cash you’re handling.
If you can eliminate cash from your operation, it’s relatively simple to receive your deposits electronically. For example, Melio is a free service that provides a secure payment link your customer can use to send you an electronic payment from their bank account. At your option, you may even choose to allow credit card payments, with either you or your customer absorbing the credit card processing fee.
Checks
If your business receives paper checks, your banking app will let you process mobile deposits through your smartphone. If your check volume is high, a remote deposit scanner provided by your bank will allow you to efficiently process multiple checks every day from the comfort of your desk.
Earlier, I mentioned inertia as a reason you may not have adopted a more modern method of receiving deposits. This often takes the form of an employee who appreciates taking deposits to the bank as an escape from the confines of the office. The trouble is, this doesn’t benefit your organization.
Beyond the time it takes to go to the bank, your deposits are not available to you as quickly as with electronic deposits. In addition, there are security risks of hand-carrying deposits, including employee theft and even the potential for endangering the safety of your staff.
Time for Action
What’s holding you back from making an upgrade to your deposit methods? Is it not knowing where to start? Fear of the unknown? “We’ve always done it this way”? Is change just too difficult for your staff? Are you confident you’ll always have physical access to your office? If the unexpected happens, will you be able to keep your systems functioning efficiently if you have to operate remotely?
An upgrade to your deposit methods offers many benefits, including time, money, and security. There’s no significant investment; it’s all about making the decision to change the way you do things. In the very near future, you’ll wonder, “Why didn’t we do that sooner?”
Next up…
You’re Still Writing Checks?
Dan Weiss, founder and President of Counterpart CFO, leads a team of flexible, part-time CFO’s specializing in nonprofits. To read more from Dan, follow him on LinkedIn or subscribe to his blog at www.counterpartCFO.com.