We have been accepting paypal payments for sometime and are now considering accepting check payments.

I wanted to know from those who have the experience of accepting check payments, the good and bad of having it for both local and virtual/internet customers.

Thanks!

Well:-

- cheques can bounce
- takes longer to come (mail)
- payment can take upto 7 days to reach you
- probably as secure as PayPal

As Peter said they do have a tendancy to bounce and if you already setup an account for that client thats cost you, such as a dedicated server then there could be a potential loss of earnings there.

I'd reccomend bankers drafts and postal orders over cheque, its as easy to obtain for any client.

We have accepted cheques from day1, however it has caused a few issues people asking or demanding thier service to be setup there and then and threaten to go elsewhere. ( oh e-cheques too ) how annoying are they

On occasions we have done this out of good will luckily turns out they had every intention of paying so far.

Some people don't seem to understand its like going into a shop and saying oh i will pay for these in a few weeks but saying that shops did or do accept cheques too but i believe they had to write the card number and expiry date on the back to recover funds if needed?

we don't accept checks, the process is way too long - depending on where the check is coming from, it can take up to 14 days and we generally don't activate hosting accounts until a payment is cleared sand some people could get impatient, and in other cases, the checks can bounce which is annoying - We'd rather avoid those issues and accept instant payments (paypal, cc, debit, etc.)

As others mentioned beware of bounced checks, and don't forget about the long wait associated with getting the check funds cleared it can actually take up to a month if you accept internationally.

If you plan on accepting e-checks, make sure you use a good fraud prevention service like MaxMind to prevent fraud orders.

Instant payments using credit/debit cards and other online payments are better as you do not need to wait for it to clear to assure you can provide the product or service to your customer.

In Canada, the longest it'll take is 3 days from 1 coast to the other coast for snail mail. It takes another 3-5 business days for the cheque to clear or bounce. I've accepted cheques from Canadian clients, and never had any of them bounce.

If I were to accept cheques from non-Canadian clients, it cake take a week or two for the mail to arrive and another month for the cheque to clear depending on what country it's from -- that's why I only accept Canadian cheques.

I find cheques pretty annoying as someone has to go deposit them and there is more manual work involved. We try to avoid them at all costs and it'll be rare we'll be paid by cheque. If it is by cheque for a hosting account and not consulting we'll ask for 6-12 months up front depending on the amount.


If I were to accept cheques from non-Canadian clients, it cake take a week or two for the mail to arrive and another month for the cheque to clear depending on what country it's from -- that's why I only accept Canadian cheques.

We have the same customer sending the same cheque amount every month and they're from the US. We talked to the bank and they no longer put a 30 day hold on it for us since it's always cleared. The only catch I have to go to a teller to get it done.

I have to agree, we accept cheques but usually it's for web design work. I do have some clients that pay buy cheque it's a hassle they either make the cheque out to the wrong name, or not the right amount. The last one we got he paid for the hosting but not the domain name and is not blaming us saying we told him the wrong amount. He receive two separate invoice and I talked to him on the phone and told him the two amounts he owned and now he won't pay for the domain name.

For web design it is better since the service fees are much lower but web hosting it is a PITA and I'd prefer not to offer the option.

Checks are a pain to accept. If you're focusing on your local market, it would be smart to accept but if you're doing the majority of your business online I would say do not accept checks.

i agree with taylor...if u r focusing on your local market..then maybe you can accept checks..but if you are dealing with businesses online n overseas...i would discourage u to do that. what i am practising currently is accept any form of method for local businesses (cash, checks, credit cards, paypal) however for international businesses, its only paypal & credit cards. :) hope this helps.

We accept checks for local market and yearly payments from existing customers.

I do not accept check unless it is from trusted customers.

At least 85% of our customers pay by check. We provide service before the check has arrived or cleared. All our customers are businesses, and they pay for a minimum of 1 year in advance at a time. So even if the check were to bounce (it never has), we can just shut off their service 1 or 2 months into the 1-year service period.

If we did not offer the option to pay by check, they would be unable to pay us. Many can't issue a wire transfer easily, and their corporate purchasing cards have limits so that can't pay by credit card.

I think it depends a lot on the type of customer you have. I don't think we'd have the same lax policies if our customers were individuals and likely to jump to different hosts frequently.

Yeah, if your contract is for a full year or more, checks are a good options. You can bill them well in advance, and have them clear before the due date.

We accept checks, and many people who are a little non-technical send them regularly with a printed .pdf invoice we send them.