What do slower USPS mail delivery times mean for your Golf Club? Late check payments.
October 1, 2021, marked the first year of the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) 10-year plan, the Delivering for America initiative. Late 2021 saw the beginning of continuously increasing prices and slower delivery times. Additional increases were added in July and October 2022, and delivery timeframes for first-class packages were extended in May 2022.
The Cost of Slow Mail Delivery Means Late Check Payments
The 2022 AFP Digital Payments Survey showed a decline in check payments since 2019, with only 33% of B2B payments made by check in the U.S. and Canada. However, paper check continues to be the preferred payment method for Golf Clubs.
If your Club is still sending out paper checks, then your employees, vendors, and suppliers are feeling the results. Many businesses are suffering from the impact of slower USPS delivery times. However, Clubs may not realize the actual cost of paying their suppliers by check goes beyond late fees.
The average cost of printing a single check is $6. That does not include the time and labor involved in invoicing, routing for signature, and mailing. There is also the cost associated with errors, lost checks, fraud, and processing fees. A recent AFP survey on Payments Fraud and Control reports, “71% of organizations were victims of payments fraud attacks or attempts in 2021.”
Late payments are particularly harmful to suppliers. They stifle productivity, have a detrimental impact on cash flow, and strain business relationships. But there are also repercussions for businesses that frequently make late payments.
- Late fees
- Delayed receipt of goods
- An unfavorable business reputation
- Reduced negotiating power
AP Automation Saves Delivery Time
Automating your Club’s payments would streamline your accounts payable process and free you from paper checks and their possible delayed delivery. In addition, by eliminating manual payments, you reduce the possibility of human error, increase productivity, and spend less time researching processed payments.
The best AP solutions offer options that align with your Club’s unique business requirements while paying your suppliers with their chosen payment methods. Moreover, financial technology that integrates with your ERP or accounting systems allows you control and visibility over your payments, easier reporting and analysis, and detailed transaction data.
Virtual Cards Have No Delays
While paper check payments in the Golf industry are the way payments have always been made, it isn’t the only way. And with slower USPS mail delivery times, it’s certainly not the most efficient. Virtual cards are a much better alternative.
Electronic credit cards, or virtual cards, are one of the safest ways to make payments. Virtual cards reduce costs, improve accuracy, and shorten processing times. In addition, they are highly secure, which eliminates problems such as check fraud or theft. And because they are not physical cards, you would not have to worry about payments getting lost or delayed in the mail. Virtual cards mean no more late check payments.
Convincing your suppliers to accept virtual cards may not be as challenging as you’d imagine. Many suppliers and vendors already accept virtual card payments even while they continue to accept paper checks. Plus, electronic payments would mean they receive payment faster, which suppliers would appreciate while mailed check payments continue to be delayed.
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Edenred Pay, an Edenred Company, is the global leader in B2B payments automation. Our integrated platform connects buyers with trading partners, ERPs, banks, FinTechs, and payment rails to optimize supplier enablement, invoice approvals, and B2B payments and create a frictionless process for B2B transactions. Learn more at www.edenredpay.com or schedule a meeting with us.
