What is bank run
Bank Run — A Thing of the Past Because…of the time it wastes. I remember the first accounting job (accounts receivable staff) that I’ve had years ago and the three-times-a-week bank run I did to deposit all the checks that we’ve received. It was fun at first – getting out of the office, seeing the 6 figure deposit slips and waiting in the oh-so-special “merchant only” line. I felt as important as a college kid could out in the business world at that time.
How bank run affects a company
Today, as a business owner (and with more years of experience under my belt,) I see how incredibly inefficient the whole process is. The closest bank to my office is just 1.6 miles away; yet every time I make a trip there, it takes an average of 25-30 minutes away from my work day between getting out of my office, getting into my car, driving there, waiting in the oh-so-special line, making the deposit, driving back, parking and finally returning to my desk. Not to mention the interruption it created during the day, the time it took me to prep the deposit slips and the time it took me to get back into my “groove” of things.
How to avoid bank run to increase productivity
1. Automation
Receive payments automatically/electronically. All of my monthly recurring clients are set up with automatic ACH debits or credit card withdraws. The agreed upon monthly fees are taken out of their accounts and put into mine automatically on the first of each month. As the transaction is initiated, my accounting system is also updated and reconciled. No more data entry, no more chasing after my receivables and no more bank runs.
2. Online invoice
Many banks and accounting software today allows you to invoice your customers via their online system. The invoices are sent to them electronically and gives the customers the option to pay electronically via paypal, online banking and/or credit cards directly through the “invoice.”
3. Remote deposit
Banks and accounting software have been offering remote deposits for a while now. For example, Intuit’s QuickBooks allows you to scan the checks you received, verify some of the basic information of the check and it will deposit that amount into your linked bank accounts. Our partner over at Chase Bank even offers our clients the check reading machine they use at their branches – all you’ll have to do then is to run the checks through at your office (as if you were the teller) and call it a day.
4. Lockbox
Old fashioned but still a valid option. Most banks offer a lockbox service where you can have all your checks mailed to a PO box at the bank. They will do the depositing for you for a fee.
5. Take a picture
We are starting to see some banks putting out cellphone apps that allow you to snap a picture of the checks you received and depositing it virtually. Relatively new and unexplored for the most part but it is a growing trend. Stay tuned on this one. (May not work as well if you received 100s of checks each week)
How it benefits a company
Stop wasting valuable time (and gas) with bank runs and start depositing money the DeepSky way. You’ll soon find that you have more time on your hands to do what’s truly important and stress less over collection issues.
Today, I still go in to my bank once in a while, but only to say hi to my business banker, establish new relationships or discuss truly important issues (like the iPhone 4 vs HTC Incredible debate.)
