CrossCheck Blog

Whether the patient walks, gallops, flies, or leaps its way into the office, veterinarians care for a wide range of their customer’s beloved companions. Despite the best efforts of the vet and his/her staff, the result of animal care isn’t always what everyone had hoped for.

When it comes to serious conditions and emergency pet care the price of treatment can be a surprise. If you add an unfavorable outcome, it could lead to payment disputes.

Written checks are a widely accepted payment method by veterinarians. When a misunderstanding or dispute arises, customers can issue a stop payment on their check. Stop payments are difficult to collect on especially if the consumer is unhappy about the result of their animal's care.

Luckily, there are services available to protect your pet clinic from the pitfalls of stop payment checks. Read below the break to learn more about the impact of stop payments and the services available to protect your veterinary practice.

For dentists, improving a patient’s oral health and watching them leave with a bright smile are indicators of success. Depending on the level of work involved those bright smiles can come with significant price tags. While big-ticket dental procedures are good for business, coming up with funding can be a challenge for your patients.

To keep the success of your office booming, you will want to provide the right financial options for your patients and understand the best finance options available for dental offices.

One of the best options available allows your patients with steady employment to pay those bigger bills over a specific period using multiple checks. When combined with check guarantee services this creates a win-win scenario for you and your patients. 

Before I entered the business world, accepting a paper check seemed simple. I made sure the value written on the check was correct, endorsed the back and it was done … right? Check transactions change when you’re a merchant. Whether it be receiving invoice payments or accepting checks at the point of sale, you have to consider more than just the written value and a signature. An important aspect to consider is mitigating the risk of accepting bad checks.

As a self-proclaimed "finance geek" I can confidently say I know a thing or two about the payment solutions available to business owners, especially those designed to mitigate risk. Luckily, I’m here to tell you about how to look for common warning signs on your own and the services available to verify your checks.

Benjamin Franklin coined the term, “Time is money” in his essay ("Advice to a Young Tradesman"), written in 1748. Saving time to increase sales and revenue was true in the 1700s and is still true today. One of the best ways to save time and money is to deposit your check payments faster.

Depositing paper checks can be time-consuming when done manually, it takes time to annotate the books, record the transaction and take the checks to the bank. During each of those steps, you are burning valuable time and losing potential revenue.

So, what’s the truth about how you can speed up a check deposit? Processing your checks electronically is the answer! Electronic Check Processing software is designed for businesses to quickly accept and receive guaranteed funding at the point of sale.CrossCheck makes it easy to get started, with available 24/7/365 customer service and loaner equipment at no extra charge.

Accepting a check as payment can be a common transaction for business owners. Whether it be part of accepting invoice payments or processing checks at the point of sale. There are many things to consider once a check enters the clearing process after the initial transaction is complete, most of all — “How long does it take to process a check?”

When answering the question of how long it takes to process a check, there are a few more questions to consider, such as: Are the deposited funds available right away? Do online deposits post faster? Is it still possible for checks to be returned from the bank after they’ve been accepted?

In this article, we’ll address these questions and simultaneously detail the ways you can speed up the deposit process.

Among the many queries received by the CrossCheck team, “How do I recover an NSF check?” is one of the most frequent. But, before going any further a definition is in order. An NSF check (aka “non-sufficient funds check”) is a term used when the holder of a checking account is overdrawn and there is not enough money in the account to pay the check written against it.

As a merchant, this can pose a problem when accepting checks. Attempting to deposit a check without sufficient funds will result in the bank returning it unpaid. Also, returned checks can come with the additional consequence of added bank fees. Whatever the cause, NSF checks will cost your business money.

NSF checks can happen for many different reasons, but whatever the cause, NSF checks will cost your business money.

Accepting checks is a preferred payment type for many merchants — especially those selling big-ticket items — and is a reliable tool for increasing sales and widening customer reach. Accepting checks is one thing, but deciding how to accept check payments safely is another. That is why many merchants choose payment solutions like CrossCheck’s Electronic Check Processing to securely accept, process and deposit checks into their business accounts without leaving the office.

As a business owner in today’s COVID-19 business space, deciding the best ways to accept payments in 2021 is a critical decision that has prompted a few questions. Are your current payment options safe and convenient for customers? As businesses open back up, are customers returning to their old payment habits or moving on to new ones?

Forcing customers to change is never a good idea, but giving them options is always a great idea. Do customers want to pay right now or pay with terms? Is the option they are looking for cash, check, debit, credit, or even bitcoin?

Searching for the right solution with all the variables experienced in 2020 can be daunting for any business, no matter the size. Furthermore, there was a shift to contactless payments in 2021 and those changes are here to stay. When looking at payment options and solutions, finding the right combination is key. 

“Proper preparation prevents poor performance” is a phrase that I heard over and over while in basic training at Fort Knox, Ky. My drill sergeants always stressed the importance of staying ready so you never need to get ready. This simple phrase got me thinking about how businesses are coping during the pandemic.

More importantly, what steps are businesses taking to position for success in a post-COVID environment?

I have spoken to GMs, controllers, finance directors, CFOs and CEOs about some of the steps they are taking to navigate these rocky waters. Hopefully, their insights (summarized below) will provide you with inspiration and hope as we begin the second quarter of 2021.

Imagine a world where businesses and consumers could scan checks, upload the images via the web, and quickly determine if the checks are valid. Better yet, imagine if those same stakeholders could continue the process by depositing the checks, all without visiting a bank or leaving their offices. It could be a foolproof system, but on this date, April 1, (aka “April Fool’s Day”), the reality is that free online check verification doesn't exist ― never has and probably never will.