Taming Payment Processes: How a Lockbox Module for Microsoft Dynamics SL Can Brighten Your Day

Businesses prefer lockboxes over checks mailed directly to them for many reasons.  And as the number of checks arriving at your company grows, a lockbox module in your ERP software becomes a must-have to reduce the thankless and tedious work of applying payments against invoices.

When companies implement Microsoft Dynamics SL in a business with high check volumes or with a mix of payments via check, EFT, and credit card, I always recommend exploring the Dynamics SL Lockbox module. Developed by Sandler/Kahne Software, the module was developed in the Dynamics SL toolset and looks and feels like the other modules that Microsoft licenses. 

Why do people consider lockboxes rather than having checks mailed directly to them?  Here are a few reasons:

• To increase cash velocity by reducing the outstanding float created by not sending the money straight to the bank. Many large banks deposit money several times a day so often your cash gets deposited a day earlier as well.
• To save time as the lockbox software does the cash application for you automatically. When the bank scans the checks using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), they are picking up the invoice numbers and amount to pay off for each of your bills that your customer is paying. This means you don't have to waste half a day or more applying the cash.
• To avoid keying errors. Avoiding a round of manual keying by having your computer apply the cash from a file increases your accuracy in applying the payments to the correct invoice.

Many banks offer the ability to get a scanned image of the check your customer sent you.  This avoids questions as well when you can see both the check ...