Is it worth taking personal checks from customers? Many business struggle with this question because of returned checks. The answer to this question is “yes.” Businesses should accept checks from customers as this is still a preferred way for many customers to pay.

There is another reason for accepting checks from customers. Of all the checks a business accepts, the national average for returned checks is VERY low (only 1-2% of all accepted checks will be returned). Most of these checks will be returned as NSF (non sufficient funds) and can be quickly and easily recovered by a check recovery service. A good check collection service can often recover most NSF checks (close to 90% of them) within a period of one to three months.

Most business owners outsource bad check collection because there are collection services that offer free check recovery for all U.S. businesses. Established check collection companies often have resources that small business owners do not have (the means to engage in electronic check recovery, offer negative data base reporting, and make repeated contact by letter and phone). A few will even work with local District Attorneys that have a bad check restitution program. Business owners may also want to look for a check service that will report to the major credit bureaus for check writers who refuse to pay what they owe.