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How to help your clients get rid of check busywork, for good

accountant helping client to pay vendor online
Gilad Idisis
Published at | Updated:

As an accountant, you’re constantly on the lookout for the best tools and services to help your clients with their businesses and the challenges they’re facing.

When it comes to vendor payments, checks are one of those challenges: EFTs are faster, more secure, and more efficient, and yet, business checks are still a common payment practice, mainly due to vendors’ insistence on using them to accept payments.

If a vendor is set on getting paid by check, you, or your client, have to go through all the busywork of sending a check, and there’s really no way around it. Which means you and your clients need a better and faster solution. Like Melio, the online payment service that makes check busywork a thing of the past.

What does it mean to “send a check” with Melio? 

When sending a check with Melio, the platform does all the heavy lifting.

Vendors can still get a paper check, but your client will no longer have to write it, sign it, send it, or even lay eyes on it. Here’s how:

  • Your client (or you, if you handle their AP) can pay an invoice online with an ACH transfer on Melio’s platform.
  • Melio will mail the vendor a paper check for the payment amount.
  • There’s no limitation on the number of checks you can send or the number of client accounts you can manage, so if it works well for one of your clients (and it will!) you can easily onboard other clients.

The advantages of sending business checks with Melio

It saves time

Time is an invaluable asset, especially for business owners, who feel like there’s never enough of it. And that goes double for you. Sending a check with Melio helps you and your clients save time on two fronts:

  • The payment itself: scheduling a bill takes just a few clicks. Add bank details, schedule the payment, and…presto! Melio does the rest. The vendor will get a paper check delivered to them by mail.
  • The reconciliation: when sending a check manually, someone has to put the numbers into the books. Melio, on the other hand, integrates with leading accounting software like QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, and Xero, and rids you of redundant data entry.

The efficiency and time-saving are not just in theory: Melio has a proven track record with accountants like Amy Walker, CPA, who cut her bill pay handling time by up to 40%.

It saves your clients money. A lot of it.

While business checks themselves aren’t that expensive, the overall cost of handling a check adds up over time. Using Bank of America’s estimate of $4 to $20 per check, check handling costs can easily snowball into hundreds of dollars, depending on volume and frequency.

With Melio, there are no subscription or monthly fees whatsoever. That’s how Latitude Bookkeeping managed to save $200 to $300 in monthly fees per client by using Melio. Additionally, ACH is completely free.

If you’re wondering about Melio’s financial plan, there’s no mystery here: while basic payment options like ACH and checks are free, advanced payment options (like debit, credit, and fast payments) incur a charge.

It offers better protection for your clients

It’s no secret that checks are one of the payment methods most susceptible to fraud. After all, those little paper slips can be stolen, forged, and altered. Plus, your clients’ bank details are listed on their checks, creating even more risk. It’s no wonder that check frauds constitute 66% of all fraud attempts.

With no checkbooks to misplace and no printed details to be pilfered, security concerns are next-to-zero with Melio. Even on the off chance the checks are altered or forged, it’s not your or your clients’ concern. It’s Melio’s.

More than that, payment security and privacy are our top priorities. We’re actively protecting our customers on all fronts:

  • Privacy: the checks don’t have your clients’ bank information on them, so no one, not even the vendor, knows their bank account details.
  • Technology: Melio uses state-of-the-art cryptographic algorithms during data transmission and is PCI compliant.
  • Accountability and availability: If you have even the slightest concern about a transaction, you can contact Melio and we will investigate and resolve it.
  • Fraud and loss liability: Melio offers full liability for failed collections (NSF) and chargeback protection.

Read more about Melio’s protection policy and measures here.

It provides quick and last-minute payment options

Say your client forgot to send a check on time. It happens. But to make things right, they’ll need to drop whatever they’re doing and go to the trouble of couriering the check over or even dropping it off themselves. Lots of last-minute hassle just to get a piece of paper from point A to point B.

That’s what Melio’s expedited check delivery option is for. If you need a check to get to its destination faster, all you need to do is check a box. Everything else is exactly the same – you still schedule an ACH payment, but what’s different is that Melio will arrange the check to be sent with FedEx instead of USPS, so the vendor gets it within three days.

Why it’s important for you to introduce your clients to Melio

In a recent survey, 67% of accountants said that the profession is “more competitive than ever”.

To compete, accountants have to be agile, efficient, price-competitive, and responsive, but that’s just the starting point. The accountants who come out on top are the ones whose clients can say “my accountant came up with a solution I didn’t know even existed, and it made my life so much easier”.

Melio’s check service is exactly that – a solution that will not only add value to your clients but will also help you increase client retention, get more referrals and gain a competitive edge.

To find out more about Melio for Accountants and how this easy and intuitive platform can help you manage all of your clients’ AP/AR, sign up today or schedule a live demo.

*This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and is not intended as financial advice.
**Melio does not provide legal, tax or accounting advice, and you should consult with a professional advisor before making any financial decisions.