Don’t dismiss the power of paper checks. Why? Consider that in 2023, 30% of people surveyed in a Lifeway Research study said they give at their church by check. Check writing has declined by almost half since a prior Lifeway study in 2017 found that 59% of churchgoers preferred giving by check. Yet surprisingly, more churchgoers mail checks to the church today than in 2017 (9 percent vs. 3 percent).1. The point is that even though checks comprise a small percentage of giving, a wise church doesn’t dismiss the power of paper checks!
EPC World Outreach, based in Orlando, FL, is the mission arm of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. They know the value of a written check. EPCWO helps provide support and connections between global workers, EPC congregations, and others to help support missions worldwide. While giving online has increased for World Outreach to over fifty percent, they nonetheless receive a significant amount of paper checks. They use OnlineGiving.org’s amazing Check Scanning feature to process those checks.
We talked with Moses Camacho, who serves as EPCWO’s Accounting Analyst, and asked him about his experience with our check scanning features. “The biggest portion of giving for our missionaries comes via check. So, we process around 120-150 checks a week. In our old system, it would take me three days to process those checks manually, one at a time, into the system. This created a ton of errors that I would have to track down and correct. When we transitioned to OnlineGiving.org and began using their check scanning feature, I can now process our weekly checks in three hours.”
I asked Moses about the process of scanning checks at EPCWO. He said, “One of our biggest issues was transferring all our funds, which we have over 100, to the new system. Many of our supporters write one check and split it among various funds. So, we needed a platform that could handle that amount of funds, and OG makes it super simple to do this. I can now process huge bundles of checks at a time. I like that once I put their name, where they want the funds to go, and the first check into the system, the OG system recognizes them immediately because it “learns.” One day, I set up the whole day to process checks, which was done before lunch. Obviously, my CFO was pleased. I’m a tech geek and love it when technology benefits you. I notice it and appreciate it!”
I asked Moses about his experience transitioning from their former digital giving provider to OG. He commented, “We were drawn initially to OG because the price point for using your platform saved us money from our old partner. OG was more streamlined and had more updates coming online. It also seemed more user-friendly. Working with OG, we have found they are super quick to support us with any issues we have had. We have found it very user-friendly both for our donors and for us in the office. You guys have been amazing at responding.”
Moses summed up his experience with OG and our check scanning feature by saying, “For churches or organizations that are doing check scanning the way we used to, there is a wonderful medicine for you called OnlineGiving.org check scanning feature that will help take the pain away!”
World Outreach has learned the value of paper checks and the value of saving its workers time by using our Check Scanning feature. What about your church?
Here are some of the highlights of our Check Scanning feature:
- Batch check scanning can process 100+ checks in a single scan.
- No downloading is required, as there is no need for ranger drivers or the installation of scanner hardware drivers.
- The check scanning interface is centralized, monitored, and managed 24/7/365 as part of our OnlineGiving.org cloud-based SaaS.
- A single scan can remote deposit into the bank and deposit into the ChMS. No need to scan twice or download deposit files. (full Check21 support).
- ChMS integration includes batching scanned checks into those ChMS APIs that support it.
We built our Check Scanning system to provide a time-saving feature while achieving the highest level of ChMS integration possible.
We can help you maximize the power of paper checks! Contact us today for a free demonstration at (615) 206-4000 or support@onlinegiving.org.
The Stewardship Coach
EPCWO’s Accounting Analyst shared how our Check Scanning feature saves him multiple *days* of work each week. We loved hearing this news because we strive to help our partners' ministries thrive!https://t.co/rdPXR1RjKi pic.twitter.com/VfBvT9YzX1
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) March 25, 2024