Responsible banking practices go a long way towards safeguarding your hard earned money. Increasing the revenues in your business, monitoring your expenses, having a sound financial record keeping system – these are some of the ways to keep yourself solvent. However, one step that most folks never think about is keeping a closer look on their bank charges.

With this succinct list of tips, you can better keep tabs on just what your bank is charging you:

– Is the online bill payment service you make use of still free? Initial enrollment into this program may have been free, but due to restructuring at the bank, this may not always be the case. If monthly charges stop cropping up, don\’t be surprised.

– Are you a frequent user of international ATMs? Using any ATM that is not allied with your bank can cause you to incur fees. In many cases, both your bank and the institution that owns the ATM can charge you separately. International ATMs can do this to the tune of $5 per transaction.

– Do you frequently have canceled or bounced checks? Most banks charge for the return of canceled or bounced checks. If left unchecked, these can rapidly snowball and get out of control.

– Additional copies of checks and/or deposit slips: Many banks charge a flat fee per copy. This can range anywhere from $2 to $5 per.

– Overdraft protection: Some banks offer overdraft protection for free. Simply link a savings or other account to your primary checking account, and money is transferred over to keep the checking account in the black. Other times, it is not free – there may be a $10 fee for every time that protection has to be invoked. It may seem steep or unfair, but $10 every so often is a small price to pay when compared to the exorbitant fees that can pile up otherwise with bounced checks.

– “Research” fees are not cheap: You may not think of banks as having to do this, but whenever a problem arises, making it necessary for someone at the bank to look in depth into your financial affairs, conducting \’research\’ as it were, can be costly. Some banks charge as much as $20 per instance.

– Automated inquires via telephone: In many cases, these are free. It certainly makes sense for this to be the case. You are not dealing with a flesh and blood person, and in most cases, the matter is a simple one (balance inquiry, account transfers, etc). However, with excessive use of the service, say, more than a few calls per month, fees may start to accrue. Check with your bank to make sure whether or not this is the case.

– Working with the account of a loved one who has passed on: Some banks may charge upwards of $20 per instance when it comes to making changes to or otherwise liquidating the account if it is no longer necessary to keep it open.

– Letters of reference: Want to confirm your good standing (or lack thereof) with your bank to a third party? Some banks charge handsomely for this, but $10 might be a fair price to pay to expand your financial opportunities.

Author Bio: Roy Fisher is a practicing CPA and founder of Ledger Solutions Inc and Fisher CPA, PC. He has been working with businesses throughout Texas for over 30 years and has helped many of his clients grow from a dream to more than $30 million in sales. From his office in Houston Texas, he provides QuickBooks consulting, outsource accounting, business CFO level consulting and tax services to his small business clients and professional practices all across the state of Texas. To get the help your business needs to grow, go to http://www.ledger-solutions.com and contact Mr. Fisher.

Category: Finances
Keywords: Accounting, taxes, business advisor, CPA