If you run a business, you know that profits often lie in the margins.
The same efficiency that you strive for in your operations can benefit you in money management, too. Automation in business banking can reduce time spent on financial tasks, offering insights into cash flow, and helping ensure there are always funds available to pay your bills and employees on time.
Banking automation is becoming increasingly common in the business world— 31% of businesses have fully automated at least one function—and there are many ways to do so, from automated invoicing to facilitated payroll systems. When you use these time-saving tools, you not only save time and money upfront, you can develop an effective ongoing strategy for managing your money that helps you build a stable foundation for long-term success and sustainability.
In this blog, we’ll explore all our offerings at First Bank, their major benefits, and how to get started customizing your own money management system.
Benefits of Automated Banking Services for Businesses
Automated banking provides multiple advantages for businesses small and large, including security, efficiency, cash flow optimization and more. Let’s examine the top benefits that your business could receive when automating some of its everyday financial tasks.
Improving Efficiency
Perhaps the top benefit of banking automation is improving your financial efficiency—both in time spent managing funds and cash flow and in the use of your available financial resources, themselves.
Automated tools that can help streamline your fiscal management and simplify account tasks include:
- Scheduling recurring vendor payments with online bill pay so you never miss a payment
- Accepting ACH payments from your customers, deposited right in your checking account
- Direct deposit for employee paychecks to simplify payroll processing
- Automating invoicing with Autobooks
- Business sweeps and line of credit sweeps to automatically transfer from your savings account or line of credit and ensure funds are always available to meet your financial obligations
- Exporting financial data to Quickbooks for further accounting automation
According to SCORE, 40% of small business owners saying that taxes and bookkeeping are the worst and most time-consuming part of owning a business, this last opportunity for improving efficiency might be the biggest benefit of all.
Reducing Errors
Humans are human, and they can make mistakes. Data entry, with no verification layer steps, has an error rate as high as 4%—4 errors per 100 entries. Entering the wrong financial information can have dire consequences, whether it’s a miscalculation in your cash flow management or a wrong entry at tax time.
Using digital banking tools, from online account management to Autobooks, and integrating your account with your accounting software directly, can eliminate human error while also reducing time spent on accounting tasks.
Enhancing Cash Flow Management
Automating payments can also improve cash flow optimization, reducing your reliance on financing by helping you time vendor payments to maximize cash on hand. And setting up automatic payments can also help ensure you never miss a payment, avoiding late charges and fees. Worried that automatic payments might overdraw your account? Utilizing sweep accounts or sweep lines of credit can provide a backup so that there are always funds available to cover your costs.
Automating cash outflows is just one side of the coin. Automating your inflows can accelerate your receivables, meaning you have access to your cash, quicker. ACH capabilities allow you to receive direct deposit funds from customers, right into your account—skipping the hassle of checks and increasing security.
Finally, automating invoicing through Autobooks not only makes accepting funds automatic, it makes sending those invoices (and follow up invoices) easier (and more professional). It isn’t just good for you, it’s good for your customers. In fact, 36% of buyers stated that digital invoicing was an important feature in order to want to shop with a merchant again.
Strengthening Fraud Prevention
Fraud is on the rise. According to The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, U.S. Businesses will lose an average of 5% of their gross revenues to fraud. To protect your business and keep it running smoothly, it’s important to take all possible measures to reduce fraud. While automation may feel like a more hands-off approach to managing finances, many tools that automate operational processes also serve to reduce vulnerabilities, detect possible fraud, and stop fraudulent activity.
Despite declining check usage, check fraud remains all too common. Reducing paper check usage and maximizing ACH payments, which are more secure and also quicker, can eliminate the vulnerabilities associated with paper checks. Additional ACH fraud services, including ACH filters and ACH blocking, can help ensure only valid payments are allowed to clear, reducing ACH fraud.
Positive pay services can protect against altered checks and are another automated feature that fight fraud. With positive pay, checks presented against your account are automatically checked against a list of checks written that you’ve provided your bank. If something doesn’t match, that check is flagged before being cleared.
Lastly, common automated banking services, like fraud alerts and account monitoring, can flag suspicious activity and even freeze compromised accounts until any issues are resolved.
Get Started with Automated Banking at First Bank
We offer a wide variety of automated business banking tools including:
- Business Online and Mobile Banking
- Autobooks Invoicing
- Fraud Prevention Solutions
- Cash Flow Solutions
- Business Lines of Credit
Want to take advantage of these services? Enrollment is easy.
Steps to Enroll in Automated Banking Services with First Bank
When you’re ready to take advantage of these efficient solutions, there are many ways to enroll and tailor your options:
- Contact a business banker to get started. We’ll work one-on-one with you to customize your toolkit and integrate your accounts with the right combination of automated services for your unique business needs.
- Already a First Bank client? Enroll in online and mobile banking right from the convenience of your office. We offer a range of digital banking services to meet your business wherever it is on its journey.
- Once you’re enrolled in online banking, log into your account to further customize alerts and reports to maximize our automation options for your specific requirements.
If you have any questions as you explore your options, our business banking team is always eager to help. Our Cash Management Online Suite offers even more robust options for your growing operation. Contact us today for more information and assistance.
Find the Right Banking Solutions for Your Business with First Bank
Automation doesn’t just simplify your money management—it can help fight fraud, improve your customers’ experience, and even help you reduce costs. And it’s only one of the many perks of choosing First Bank as your business’s banking partner.
At First Bank, we strive to provide our clients with the most advanced business banking solutions to help streamline your financial processes and let you focus on the good work that you do.
