Should a small business cash customers' checks prior to depositing?

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In our small business we accept customers' paper checks, on Monday I deposited approx. $1500.00 in checks in our local bank, today when checking balance no deposit was shown. When I called the bank I was informed that due to "computer error" all postings of Monday night had been "lost?" and would probably be credited no later than Friday. I was also assured that we would not be charged any fees if there was an overdraft situation. My question is would it be easier to prove a deposit if I first cashed the checks and deposited cash? This is the third time in less than a month that my little local bank(which only has 8 branch offices)has had computer trouble of a magnitude to create customer problems. Also, local area Wal-Mart in Griffin,GA has a line of 21 semi-trailers off to the side, in all my 18 years here, never saw that before.

-- Lynne Billingsley (tworiv@earthlink.net), November 24, 1999

Answers

Cash is King

-- some gold too (TP@soup.canned fruit), November 24, 1999.

A lost deposit is a lost deposit. Cash wouldn't have helped, and may even have been a problem. At least this way, you can reconstruct the deposit with copies of your customers cancelled checks, if you have to go that far. If you had cashed them, and they lost a cash deposit, those cancelled checks are worthless as proof---you could have cashed the checks and kept the money...

Which just begs the question......why didn't you?

-- JIT (Justintime@rightnow.net), November 24, 1999.


Justintime: cashing checks and keeping money does not cover my checks to other vendors and service people. Can't take the money and run if we hope to have any type of creditability as a small but honest family owned business. I will keep copies of the checks, good idea, thanks.

-- Lynne Billingsley (tworiv@earthlink.net), November 24, 1999.

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