Are You Still Writing Paper Checks?
You don’t have to be embarrassed. In fact, it might be the safest way to pay vendors.
Good morning!
Here are today’s highlights:
The latest WSJ/Vistage survey shows a steep drop in small business confidence.
President Trump has proposed a dramatic cut in SBA spending.
Trying to get your business to show up in AI searches? Shawn Busse has some suggestions.
The collapse of Allbirds offers some important business lessons.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Gene Marks says there are good reasons to keep writing paper checks: “It may seem hard to believe, but in 2026, most small business owners still use paper checks. The research shows this. According to a 2024 study from the Atlanta Federal Reserve, as much as 83 percent of small firms — those with up to $10 million in annual revenues — use paper checks. Another study by an outside payment processing firm found similar (75 percent) results. And Mineral Tree, a global payments processing company, said that in just the past 12 months, 57 percent of businesses paid more than one-quarter of their vendors via check.”
“Although the Atlanta Fed’s study said that using paper checks comes with a more significant risk and occurrence of fraud, I’ve found that those risks can be easily mitigated, and in fact are mitigated by some of my smarter, more financially-aware clients. A good system of internal controls ensures that all checks are locked in a safe and only released from custody when a check run is made. Even then, good financial managers keep a strict watch on their check numbers.”
“Checks then go through a process of approval — manually matched to invoices and then subject to two signatures for disbursements over a certain amount. All of this means that by the time a check is finally put in the mail, it’s been compared to source documents, reviewed, signed, and verified by multiple people in an organization, ensuring there have been numerous sets of eyes laid on the transaction.”
“What about fraud? This is easily defended by a popular service that’s sold by most banks called Positive Pay. This is where a company submits a list of payments (including check numbers, payee, amount, and date) to the bank in advance, and the bank only disburses money when the check presented matches that list. Most bankers I know tell me this service works just as well — if not better — with manual checks presented vs. electronic payments submitted that can be subject to potential malware or hackers.” READ MORE
