Compuwerx

The Hidden Cost of Paper Payments

How much does the cost of paper checks affect your school? On the surface, checks seem like a mild inconvenience at worst. Even though they can be delayed in the mail or misplaced once they are in your office, there are no “fees.” Therefore, paper checks don’t cost your school anything… right?

However, the first hidden cost of paper checks is time. Depositing tuition checks requires a trip to the bank by a member of your staff. Checks must be totaled, endorsed, and deposited. Checks will take an average of five business days to clear… and that’s assuming you take the check to the bank the day it arrives in the mail. In reality, schools will place checks in their safe for a week or longer before they deposit them at the bank!

Consider also the administrative costs. Staff must reconcile paper checks with the school’s accounting software. Since they can’t be integrated, all the input must be done manually. Schools need to double check for accuracy if a balance is off. There is also the aspect of paper management, where schools must file and store checks, invoices, and bank statements for safekeeping and reference.

So what alternatives exist? The easiest way to reduce the hidden costs of time and administrative drain is to employ a cloud-based tuition management system to collect payments for student activities. This type of software allows schools to:

  • Manage and reconcile all payments from a single, integrated platform. There is no need to import or manually enter checks and cash payments.
  • Easily collect recurring payments. Students can make repeating payments effortlessly thanks to e-invoices and automatic payment plans.
  • Improve cash flow through immediate funding. For example, our software processes payments instantly and funds will hit your school’s bank account within twelve hours.
  • Improve customer relationships by offering a convenient way for students to pay. Plus, records of all past and upcoming payments are available online. This eliminate the need for students to call your office with questions.
  • Finally, online software systems securely store all records and payment information in the cloud. This allows administrators to access it from any location.


Don’t let the hidden cost of paper checks drain your school’s bottom line! Consider switching to an electronic tuition management system to take advantage of the proven benefits.