With a heightened increase in B2B financial transaction modes such as Venmo, Zelle, Paypal, and Skrill among others, the need to buy business checks in today’s world is quite insignificant.
This does not mean that checks are completely out of use, though. In fact, according to recent studies, close to 18 billion checks were used in 2015 alone. You can expect the number to be higher in 2020. Even better, you can order checks online and get fast delivery. You won’t need to wait for days before having your checks delivered.
Today, checks are still a part of daily financial transactions. From landlords who prefer to receive their monthly fees the old fashioned way of running a business that accepts checks as a mode of payment, the options are utterly immense. But what happens when your checkbook runs out? Where should you buy your next checkbook?
While there are many options for getting a checkbook today, buying checkbooks from a bank is perhaps the quickest. However, it’s also an expensive way to get your hands on a checkbook.
Banks Have The Worst Check Deals
According to recent research on standard blue checks, it was determined that ordering directly from banks is quite expensive compared to using third party printers. As a business owner, you try to reduce expenses every chance you get.
While cost is an important attribute to consider when buying business checks, it’s not the only consideration. After all, you need not give your personal and financial information to sketchy or unscrupulous individuals. If you are thinking of buying your business checks online, ensure to carry out in-depth research as to how the website operates and whether it’s secure enough.
The time it will take to process and deliver your business checks should also be considered. Basically, banks can take up to weeks to deliver your checks. This can be utterly depressing and time consuming for your business. It will also mean massive losses to your business.
Crucial Information to Have in Your Business Check
Getting your hands on a check isn’t just enough. You must have all the crucial information on your checks. Key details that should be clearly printed on your checks include:
Bank Routing Number: The routing number refers to a code (nine digit) that identifies you to a particular bank where the check is cashed from. It is an essential component of a check and should be clearly printed out on your checks.
Account number: Just like any other account number, the account numbers on a check give an indication as to which account number the cash is being drawn from.
Check number: The check number is a three or four-digit number that is always found at the top right corner of every check. Typically, a check number is quite unique and identifies a particular check.
Personal Information: A personal check as well as a business check should include all the relevant information. This includes your personal name or that of your business. It also includes your business address. It is found on the top right corner of a check.
Bank Contact Info: Just like your personal information, bank contact information is always printed out on the top right hand corner of the check. However, this information is always printed below your personal information.
These are crucial things to be included in a check. Even so, always ensure that the routing check and account numbers are clearly printed in front of the check. At the same time, ensure that these elements are printed using magnetic ink character recognition technology. This way, your checks will be processed with ease by financial institutions.
Is It Possible to print Your Own Checks?
So, if buying business checks from banks is a bad idea, is it possible to print your own checks? The answer is yes, you can actually print your own business checks. But there is a catch for doing this effectively.
First, you should have specialized formatting software such as Quickbooks as well as check stock paper that helps at preventing your checks from being duplicated by unscrupulous individuals.
At the same time, it’s of utmost importance to add all the relevant information in the check that you are designing and printing personally. Otherwise, you can avoid this process by depositing your check through a mobile check deposit.
Generally, when deciding whether to buy checks from a bank, ordering them online, or print them yourself, one of the things to consider is the overall cost. At the same time, ensure to factor in the amount of time it takes to produce one particular check.
