banks often provide the scanners.
by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless
one of the easiest processes to convert to paperless with an immediate roi is the firm’s system for depositing client checks. manually receiving and physically going to the bank to deposit checks can be time-consuming and subject to too many errors.
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the manual procedure requires firms open mail on a daily basis, make copies to file in a binder, complete deposit slips and then send a person physically to the bank, which can easily take a half hour every day, five days per week, 52 weeks per year.
the solution today is using the bank’s remote deposit system, often referred to as checkscan, which the cpafma 2019 survey found was being utilized by 79 percent of firms. the bank provides the administrative department with a scanner that is securely connected to the bank via the internet. the firm’s administrative personnel scan the check and verify the information on the screen, and the bank prepares a digital deposit slip and stores this scanned document for the firm; this can be accessed to record entries into the firm’s accounting and practice management applications. the firm must dispose of the checks after 60 days, but the time traditionally spent on copying, filling out slips and going to the bank is eliminated.
most banks today are giving the scanners to the firms and charging a nominal fee on a monthly basis as it reduces the bank’s needs for onsite tellers. for multi-office firms in rural areas, the outlying offices can utilize one central bank for deposits.
the additional advantage of having this information online is that individuals who are authorized to access the account can see the deposits online and take advantage of online banking capabilities, which includes managing the firm’s own sweep account and reviewing account transactions online. by reducing the amount of manual steps and doing more banking online, firms can further reduce their monthly bank service fees.
the 2018 cpafma it survey also identified a new category of application that allows firms to have their clients make payments on the firm’s website. eleven respondents from the cpafma survey were utilizing tools such as quickfee, cpacharge and paypal to allow clients to post credit card payments themselves.
recommended action: set up online banking for daily account review and implement check-scanning technology for daily remote deposit.