Save money, boost cash flow and more with eLockbox services from Cadence Bank.

Traditionally, companies have used receivables lockbox services from their banks to streamline collection and posting of paper checks received from their customers. With this service, customers send their checks directly to a P.O. box, which is monitored by the bank, and not to the company’s place of business. The bank collects these checks at frequent intervals throughout the day, and they are deposited with same-day ledger credit.

This service also has a digital counterpart known as “eLockbox,” or electronic lockbox. With eLockbox, consumers make their payments through their bank’s online banking or bill-pay service. Payments are consolidated and processed electronically, which comes with tremendous benefits for the organization.

ELockbox offers fast, straight-through processing

“ELockbox streamlines consumer payments rather than allowing these transactions to become slow-moving bill-pay checks,” says Cadence Bank Senior Vice President and Treasury Management Sales Manager Lori Johnson. “The posting data is integrated with the lockbox posting data file, which results in fast, straight-through processing that maximizes efficiency.”

Here’s how eLockbox works:

• Your customers initiate payments through their online banking or other bill-pay website
• ELockbox consolidates payments and generates a data file, with payments either routed automatically or pre-processed
• Funds then arrive in your company’s bank account via a single ACH daily deposit, and data is delivered to you in your desired format for easy, accurate posting

“Paper processes and manual posting are converted into an electronic workflow for payment and posting,” Johnson explains. “We’ve designed eLockbox to be a more efficient, flexible and easier-to-use electronic solution when compared to paper bill-pay check processing.”

Additional benefits of eLockbox

The benefits of eLockbox are extensive and include the following:

• Virtually all bill-pay checks are eliminated
• Businesses receive payments two to three days faster compared to checks in the mail
• Payments are posted directly and automatically to the appropriate account
• Staff spends less time managing exception items
• Businesses get faster access to funds, since payments are transferred directly to their bank account via a single daily ACH deposit
• Payment information is delivered in the desired format, which allows for easy, error-free posting

What about wrong account numbers?

When customers provide inaccurate account information, it’s easier to make corrections with eLockbox — and once these corrections are made, payments are automatically routed correctly in the future.

Here’s how wrong account numbers are resolved with eLockbox:

• Payments that aren’t auto-matched on the positive file (e.g., exception payments) are queued up in PreProcess for research
• PreProcess fixes wrong account numbers once and for all, because payments corrected in PreProcess can be flagged to auto-match in future months
• Whenever the same error is detected in the future, the system automatically assigns the correct account number

The biggest benefit of eLockbox

The biggest benefit of eLockbox is economical. It’s a more cost-effective solution than manually processing bill-pay checks or using traditional receivables lockbox services.

Johnson points to a Cadence Bank client that now uses eLockbox. “ELockbox accelerated their cash flow by converting the paper check items that were coming through bill pay to an electronic credit to their account. They received these deposits two to three days faster than they did in the past.

“The automated posting feature significantly reduced the number of items their staff had to post manually,” Johnson says. “Therefore, staff members were able to use that time to focus on other more significant tasks within the company. ELockbox brought significant value to the company’s bottom line.”

Streamline accounts receivable with eLockbox & Cadence Bank

If your company receives retail payments from customers via online banking and other bill-pay services, you could benefit tremendously from Cadence Bank’s eLockbox service. Contact us today to learn more.

This article is provided as a free service to you and is for general informational purposes only. Cadence Bank makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the content in the article. The article is not intended to provide legal, accounting or tax advice and should not be relied upon for such purposes.