Most SL / GP users are still paying their vendors via checks. The cost of check stock, envelopes, stamps, stuffing time, and mailing time all add up. Maybe your company should look at switching away from this old method to electronic fund payment methods.
For SL users, here is a link to a short demo on a great integrated solution from Sandler Kahne for EFT payments: Save-Time, Save-Money with this add on module.
http://www.sksoft.com/scrncams/APEFTVideo1.html 5 minute demo
Five new advantages of ACH payments
Sending electronic payments through the automated clearing house (ACH) network — provides you cost savings, convenience, reliability, and security. And with technological advances and new ACH applications, now you have the ability to:
1. Accelerate electronic billing and payment. Use the ACH network to move online bill-pay consumers from paper to electronic bills. You'll reduce accounts payable and accounts receivable costs, improve efficiencies, and increase remittance and bill-payment posting accuracy.
2. Enhance supplier relationships. Checks sent by mail can get lost or stolen, and you don't know how long it will take for them to arrive or when funds will clear. As a result, suppliers might not get paid on time. ACH payments post directly to accounts and settle within one to two days, so there's no speculating when transactions will clear. An added bonus: If you pay suppliers promptly and consistently, you'll often benefit from early-pay discounts.
3. Optimize funds availability. Use ACH debits to concentrate cash from multiple accounts into a single account for investments or loan payments. It's easy and inexpensive to put available funds to work.
4. Improve cash forecasting. With ACH transactions, you know exactly when your account will be credited or debited — an increasingly important function in this economic environment. Domestic ACH transactions settle the next business day; international ACH transactions settle on a set schedule. You may also specify future settlement dates.
5. NEW FEATURE Reduce international transaction costs. When global ACH transactions replace wires, the cost savings are impressive. This act can save as much as 90 percent of their costs of making payments. And global ACH payments have no lifting fees, so payment recipients are happier, too. (I.e. Use ACH instead of international wire transfers)
Multicurrency accounts (MCAs) offer another level of cost reduction. By making global ACH payments from MCAs, you collect and pay in local currencies, virtually eliminating costs for currency trading, foreign exchange risk, or concerns about managing hedging programs.
Maybe 2010 is time to move your company to the 21st century for vendor remittances.
Regards,
Jeff Cozens
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