Results of a study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) estimate that approximately 8% of US households are unbanked. With upwards of 9 million homes having no checking or savings deposit accounts, the cost of cashing paper checks can be significant. The fees that banks and check cashing businesses charge to cash those payroll checks could add up to over a $1,000 a year for an employee just getting his or her salary.

In addition to the employee costs associated with paper checks, employers experience an increased cost in producing paper checks as well. According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the cost of producing a paper check can be anywhere from $2-$4. Replacing lost or stolen checks can cost an employer an additional $8-$10 per check.

One solution may be to pay employees by paperless wage payment. Paying employees with payroll cards can reduce the costs associated with printing, distributing and shipping paper checks, as well as further your company's green initiative. Payroll cards provide employees with immediate access to their wages while reducing the time sorting, distributing and reconciling checks. These cards can be used at ATMs, retail outlets, online merchants, and at banks, giving your employees the benefit of a debit card without the added fees of maintaining an account.

Customers who order from you once will often want to order from you again. This is especially true if they are ordering items that will be used up, or if their order is linked to an annual or seasonal event.

You can improve your service to the customer and generate additional sales by setting a reorder date in your orders. For example, you could enter a reorder date of 3-4 months on an order which the customer will be ready to reorder at that time.

By entering estimated reorder dates on your new orders, you will be able to create an order history report for a range of reorder dates. Print or export the report on a regular basis, and you now have a "tickler report" for your salespeople to help increase their sales volume and your revenue.