In the days before BACS, payments were made in several ways – most typically by cheque or cash, at the end of a month. Paying money by cash meant a number of problems, not least the presence of a significant amount of money on the premises, and the need for workers to collect their wage envelopes in person. Cheques were a huge improvement, but still relied on a degree of administration, as well as the problems of the mail system. In addition, any problems – a missed signature, a bad date – meant delays. BACS payments avoid all of these problems, and virtually all larger businesses nowadays have some form of bacs software to facilitate all the payments they need to deliver – whether to clients, employees or suppliers.

Smaller firms can also benefit from BACS software. Of course, the smallest companies may find it easier just to use online banking; if your company is just one or two people and a very small handful of clients, this may be all that is needed. Payees can be set up and paid one at a time, as and when invoices arrive. However, any degree of growth will soon demonstrate that such an ad hoc system can become unmanageable, if only through the sheer number of contacts and their various types. You might manage to keep track of a dozen payees, but what if that grows to a hundred? Sooner or later, it gets too easy to drop the ball. That’s when you start hearing complaints, and even lost business. Apart from anything else, there are the hours taken to deal with all of the accounts this way – it’s just not an efficient use of time.

bacs software can pay for itself relatively quickly in terms of efficiency and peace of mind. The programmes will integrate BACS payments with your existing accounts system, automating the process and ensuring that you pay people the correct amount, on time. Payments are quick (three-day standard, or an expedited same-day payment for an additional fee) and secure, and the BACS setup will provide you with an audit trail so that you can track what is being paid when. Funds can be transferred overseas, too, if you wish, so this is a solution suitable for the international company, of whatever extent. As the alternatives – cash and cheque – become less and less widely used, there are few reasons not to bring this capability to your business too.

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