Employers and third-party administrators have something important in common: They’re always looking for ways to operate more efficiently. One function that is particularly time-intensive is the receipt of premium checks. Every time a check comes in, someone in your office must open the envelope, verify the information, key it into your system and prepare the check to be deposited. If this entire process takes two minutes per check, and you get 2,000 checks a month, you could be spending 67 hours a month on check processing!
Fortunately, there is a better way.
Instead of managing check collection in-house, employers and third-party administrators can use a lockbox service to improve the process. In many cases, this is an effective way of reducing the amount of resources expended on payment management. It also greatly reduces the chance for keying mistakes.
How Lockboxes Work
Lockboxes provide a simple alternative to in-house payment collection. Instead of collecting payments from payers, you have payments sent directly from the payers to a Post Office Box. There are also electronic payment methods to make this a convenient solution for everyone.
The payments are processed for you, with no work on your part. This is an ideal method for collecting payments from COBRA recipients, retirees and other individuals using direct payment for benefits.
How Lockboxes Save Time and Money
Processing payments takes time – time that could be spent on other matters. By allocating your limited resources to payment management, you’re taking away resources that could be used elsewhere to grow your business and to increase your revenue. Using a lockbox service frees up these resources, so you can put them where they’re most needed.
A lockbox service will also free up any space – either physical or on a computer system – that you currently devote to payment management.
Finally, by removing yourself from the payment collection process, you’re also making the process more efficient and therefore less time consuming. This means payments are processed faster, so the money is in your account in less time.
How Lockboxes Reduce the Risk of Costly Mistakes
Every process involves risk. When you manage payments, no matter how careful you try to be, there’s a chance you’ll make a mistake. Envelopes could go missing. Computer systems could crash. And, keying errors occur all the time during payment entry. Even with a 95% accuracy rate, you could experience 100 keying errors a month if you process 2,000 checks.
With the right lockbox service, every payment is scanned in, so no keying errors occur. The data is then imported into your system each day.
Here at Travisoft, we understand the importance of eliminating risk while saving time and money. That’s why we’re proud to begin offering lockbox services to our clients. If you’re interested in receiving COBRA, retiree and direct bill payments in less time with fewer keying errors, our lockbox service could be exactly the solution you’re looking for. Contact us to learn more.