Bill Pay Software vs Check Printing: Which Does Your Business Need?

Disclosure: This article was published as part of a paid partnership with OnlineCheckWriter.com, a Zil Money platform. The author is an independent contributor.

The bill pay software vs check printing decision is easier when a business separates two different jobs.

Bill-pay software helps organize and execute bills.

Check-printing software helps create the physical or printable check used for a payment.

A business may need one, the other, or both.

What Does Bill Pay Software Do?

Bill-pay tools generally start with the obligation.

The business has a vendor invoice or other bill, identifies when it is due, selects a payment method, and schedules or releases the payment.

QuickBooks Bill Pay, for example, currently allows users to select bills and pay them through supported methods including ACH bank transfers and mailed checks.

Other AP platforms can include additional features such as invoice capture, approval workflows, user permissions, accounting synchronization, and vendor management.

Bill pay is therefore about managing an obligation through payment.

What Does Check-Printing Software Do?

Check printing starts with a different problem.

The business already knows it needs to issue a check and wants software to create that payment document.

The user typically provides the bank account, payee, amount, date, check number, and other check information before printing.

For a company that still works with vendors requesting checks, this can reduce dependence on pre-printed checkbooks.

However, businesses should follow the applicable check-printing requirements for their setup and financial institution.

Printing a check does not guarantee how or when the recipient’s bank will accept or process it.

When Bill Pay Is More Important

A business paying many different bills may care more about due dates and approvals than about check design.

In that case, a bill-pay workflow can be the stronger need.

The software can help the business determine what needs to be paid and then use the supported payment method.

That method may be ACH, a mailed check, or another option depending on the provider.

The check is simply one possible output of the bill-payment process.

When Check Printing Is More Important

A small business may already track every bill in its accounting system but still need to create checks.

For example, an accounting firm may already know what payments are approved. Its problem is producing checks from several business accounts without continually ordering new checkbooks.

That is primarily a check-printing requirement.

Buying a large AP system to solve only that problem may add more software than the company needs.

What If You Need Both?

This is where OnlineCheckWriter.com fits the keyword particularly well.

Its current platform combines check creation and printing with business-payment options including mailed checks, ACH, wire transfers, card-funded payments, bills, invoicing, and accounting-related functions.

A company can therefore evaluate both sides of the workflow within one product environment.

That does not mean every feature is included under every plan or that every payment has the same price.

Current pricing and applicable product conditions should be checked before selecting a plan.

Do Not Confuse an eCheck With ACH

OnlineCheckWriter.com also offers what it calls an eCheck, a printable PDF check sent electronically to the payee.

That should remain distinct from ACH in external content.

Nacha commonly uses eCheck terminology for ACH payments, which is why precise product wording matters.

For OnlineCheckWriter.com, external PR content should explain the actual product instead of assuming the industry uses “eCheck” consistently.

Choose Based on the Work

If the biggest problem is deciding which bills are due and approving them, start with bill-pay functionality.

If the company already knows exactly what to pay but needs a way to create checks, start with check printing.

If the business needs both, compare platforms that can manage the bill and produce or deliver the resulting payment.

The bill pay software vs check printing question is therefore not about which category is better.

It is about which part of the payment process the business is trying to fix.

OnlineCheckWriter.com – powered by Zil Money, is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking and money movement services are provided through partner financial institutions and licensed service providers. FDIC insurance coverage applies only to eligible deposit products and accounts, and is subject to applicable terms, conditions, limitations, and requirements. Additional information regarding partner institutions, products, and services is available in the applicable terms and agreements.