My Dog Ate Your Check Excuses, excuses. Chances are, you've heard them all. So why not explore your direct deposit options?

I'm sick and tired of waiting for customers to fork overoverdue payments, yet I dread dunning them. So I found twounderutilized services, offered by many banks, that can help cutpayment delays or eliminate them outright.

An ACH (automated clearinghouse) is a cybercash direct-paymentalternative for established customers, in which payments areelectronically transferred into your business ACH account. No"the check's in the mail" excuses or mad dashes tothe bank to make a last-minute deposit. A number of financial Websites offer information about ACH with directions and advice, butthe best of these is operated by the National Automated ClearingHouse Association (http://www.nacha.org or call703-561-1100).

Automated lockbox is another service offered by many majorbanks. Wells Fargo's Wholesale Lockbox, for instance, serviceintercepts customers' mailed payments, processes and depositsthem into your account, then immediately reports receivables andimproved funds availability. You don't even need a letteropener (http://www.wellsfargo.com).