The cost of doing business: embrace online banking features for efficiency, safety.

• Author: Hoyt, John
• Position: FINANCIAL SERVICES

For quite a while now, sitting down in front of a computer to check business or personal electronic mail messages has been part of our everyday lives. These days, we don't think about the activity as a tiresome chore: We just do it.

Whether or not we believe continued advancements in technology have improved anything, there is almost no disputing technological necessity and staying power. The use of email seems almost trivial in today's day and age. We can hardly imagine working without it.

It's about time business owners and employees viewed business online banking the same way. Call it the cost of doing business.

Today, businesses can immediately become more efficient and increase revenue by using paperless, online, mobile and integrated banking features for deposits, billing and payroll and other payables and receivables.

By banking online, Alaska businesses can also reduce paper and keep track of their banking activities with precise control, real-time access and more powerful tools. Most financial institutions put everything you need right at your fingertips and with multiple layers of security that only online banking can provide.

Let's look at some of these integrated banking features a little more closely and why they should be part of your company's financial present and future.

Bill Pay--Bill Pay can play an essential role in your business's commitment to "go green." The feature eliminates writing paper checks, stuffing envelopes and buying stamps. Bill Pay allows you to make virtually any payment with a just a click of your computer's mouse.

Direct Deposit of Payroll--Reduce the cost of producing, distributing and reconciling checks for each payroll by directly depositing payroll funds into employees' accounts on payday morning, regardless of where they bank. It's a real convenience for your employees too. It saves them the time and hassle of depositing and/or cashing a paper check.

Check Images--View the front and back of paid checks from the convenience of your computer screen, saving time and research costs, and eliminating the storage required by paper records.

Collecting Funds--Work with your financial institution to get money into your account quickly and efficiently with services that collect, process and deposit funds to your accounts so you can get the payments you're owed faster.

Electronic Federal Tax Payments--Pay your federal taxes electronically from the comfort and convenience of your own office. No writing checks...