Problem with hammering the check is that if it is made out to her business and not her personally the bank will not cash it, she will have to deposit it. This is why I have a NO CHECKS policy. Cash and paypal ONLY! And because on paypal I am classified as a service provider and not a retail establishment, the buyer cannot reverse the charge with paypal, even if they dispute it with their CC company, their paypal account is linked to a bank account or funds in their own paypal account. Now if they did pay with CC and don't have a paypal account (which is rare) then yes there is that possibility of dispute, but "knock on wood" I have never had that happen to me before. Issues with bum checks or stop pays due to brides who have run out of cash...too many times to count. So I no longer allow payment past the due date of 2 weeks prior. You get one courtesy call and email 3 days prior to payment due. You don't pay, you don't get a cake. I remind them of the contract obligation and that if they miss that payment the order cancels immediately at Midnight. If you pay by the next day there is a reinstatement of contract fee of 15% of contract amount with a minimum of $50 owed. After the next day sorry can't help you, deposit is forfeit.

Even if the check is made out to a business you can take it to her bank, cash it and get a cashier's check made out to your business.

It's much easier to just not accept personal checks at all. Cash or certified check is the only method of payment that I'll accept.

I'm considering the Paypal thing.....cakesdivine that's a great tip about being classified as a "service provider" rather then a "retail establishment". The clients ability to reverse the charge has been the only thing holding me back from doing it, but with this classification it sounds like I'd be covered.


OP did the check arrive today?

The check did arrive today.

I am also thinking about no longer accepting checks except from a few specific individuals. I was also avoiding PayPal but now that I know about the other option I will probably look into it.

Yeah!!! Hallelujeah!!!

Oh good......fingers crossed that it clears the bank for you!

One question, do you still have time to do the cake order?

You have to be set up with a merchant account and not just the personal use account. They do take a small percentage of each transaction as a fee. There is a limit to the amount of funds you can receive with the personal account but they don't charge you the fee. I have a paypal account set up for my stationery business, and we also have one for our son for donations.

Once you are set up with the merchant account you can then add your business name and select the type of business you are.