The obvious way to market your business with checks is to choose a design that fits your business’s [personality. While you might think the kittens-playing-with-yarn checks are adorable or that the tiger print checks reflect your personal go-get-‘em attitude, they might not accurately reflect your business’s industry or image. When choosing your design, think about the impression you want to make on your customers and the people you work with. Do you want to be perceived as lighthearted or serious, radical or conservative? If you’re still not sure what to choose, think about your industry and consider choosing a design that literally represents what your business does.

While the design of your business checks is important, it’s not the only element that contributes to the development of your brand. Here are three more ways to make your business checks work for you:

1) Add a Personal or Business Message

Reinforce your business’s message by including your company slogan, a guarantee or a fact about your business on your checks. Whenever possible, you want to partner your business name with your tagline or a short phrase about your business. This will help people remember you and will also help them associate your business with your services or guarantee.

2) Add a Monogram

Do you want to portray your business as classic, conservative or elegant? Then consider adding a monogram to your business checks. Choose from up to eight monogram options for each letter of the alphabet. Each monogram comes in a different font and style, providing you with plenty of variety.

3) Add an Icon

Maybe you think the more elaborate check designs are too overwhelming for your business identity, but the more basic-looking checks are too plain. How do you find a happy medium? Icons can be a subtle, yet effective way of sprucing up a business check with a simple design. Choose from over a hundred options, spanning a variety of industries. Whether you are going for cute and fun, modern and geometric or elegant and conservative, you’ll be sure to find the icon you’re looking for.

With so many different ways to customize your business checks, you should have no problem creating an image that reflects the essence of your business. Now, put those checks to work as marketing materials for your business!

Wallet Checks

Need to make a single purchase or a quick payment? Wallet checks are just what you need. Wallet checks come in a variety of designs, allowing you to choose a style that fits with your brand identity. It may not seem like an effective way to advertise your business, but even your business checks can make an impression on the people you work with. For additional impact, add a monogram, icon, your company’s tagline or a message. Best of all, you don’t have to spend a lot to project a professional image.

Three-to-a-Page Checks

If your business uses checks on a regular basis, three-to-a-page checks could be the solution for you. These general purpose checks make bookkeeping easy. They’re perfect for paying invoices involving discount calculations. The single-stub journal on the left side of your checks can help you balance your checkbook, keep track of payments and stay on top of your expenses. The standard size of these business checks fits most binders, allowing you to keep all your checks, stubs and records in one convenient place. Checks come in blue, green, gray, pink or yellow. Continue to develop your business’s image by choosing a color for your checks that matches your logo or reflects your brand personality.

Computer Checks

Print checks directly from your computer to avoid the hassle and inconvenience of having to keep track of your payments. Avoid the frustration of having to enter your payment information into your accounting software manually. With computer checks you can sync your checks directly with your accounting software, saving you time. Vistaprint’s computer checks are compatible with Intuit, Microsoft Money and Peachtree accounting software. Computer checks can be printed and fit in double window envelopes, which are available in blue, green, tan, maroon and purple. These business checks are perfect for a growing business.

With so many different types of business checks to choose from, you’ll have no problem managing all the various expenses businesses of all sizes deal with on a regular basis. Now you can easily stay organized, make your payments in a timely fashion and keep track of your expenses.

The answer is simple: business checks! You may have overlooked these bookkeeping tools because they’re generally used to keep your finances in order. But you should keep this simple fact in mind: every one of your company materials sends a message about your business. Customizable business checks work double-duty to balance your budget and build your brand identity.  Imagine the impression you’ll make when you pass custom checks on to vendors, customers or employees! Keep reading to discover three reasons why business checks are just what you need to complete your business identity.

1) You’ll Send the Right Message. It’s no secret that customers patronize businesses they can trust. And building loyalty amongst your customer base requires that you communicate with consistency. Traditional businesses should remain true to their identity and select a conservative design. You can even add a monogram and tagline to reinforce that classic look and your business message. Non-traditional businesses on the other side of the spectrum can have more fun with the designs they choose. Add interesting accent images to mirror the whimsical tone of your business.

2) There Are So Many Options. Whatever your business size, there’s a business check option for you. Standard business wallet checks are ideal for the traditional small business – you’ll get that professional look with little hassle. Custom three-to-a-page checks are perfect for larger businesses – you can compute difficult calculations and a single-stub journal helps keep track of payments. If your accounting needs are more demanding, print checks from your computer! Computer checks work with several popular accounting programs, so your finances will be completely organized.

3) It’s Never Been Easier. Ordering business checks may have been a hassle in the past – but today you can order them online! No more time-consuming forms or waiting for your checks to arrive in the mail. Vistaprint allows you to create and customize your business wallet checks in minutes. You can even have them at your door in as little as three days. And all of this is protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption, which keeps your information safe and protected.

Now that you discovered the missing link – it’s time to get started customizing your own business checks. Whatever your need, there’s sure to be a check to suit your business.

When you order personal checks at Vistaprint, you can rest assured that your purchase is entirely safe. Numerous security standards and precautions are implemented to protect your information. Sensitive information (such as your checking account number) is protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption, which is designed to prevent eavesdropping and forgery and to provide a secure place for confidential communication. When you are on a secure page, look for the lock icon at the bottom of a web page to make sure your information is safe.

Now that you know your information is secure, you can have fun creating your checks. Choose your favorite design, font, icon or monogram, and test out the various combinations until you find the one that’s right for you. You can even match your design to other printed products like note cards, note pads and more. Spend as much or as little time designing as you want, but just make sure you include the following information on your checks:

• Your name and address

• The 9-digit routing/transit number that identifies the financial institution where your checking account is located

• Your checking account number

• Your next check starting number

• The fraction number, which is an abbreviated version of the routing number

Having a current check on hand can help speed up the process because you’ll already have all the necessary data in one place. Phone numbers, email addresses and other forms of contact information are optional. To keep your personal checks as secure as possible, do not include information like your social security number, driver’s license number, passport number or any other unnecessary personal information. Leaving off such information can help prevent identity theft.

Once you place your order, your personal checks will be validated to ensure that all information on them is correct. Your checks are then printed at a secure location to provide you with the utmost privacy. To further protect your personal and financial information, your checks are only shipped to the address that you entered on the check. This guarantees that the checks reach the intended recipient and don’t fall into the wrong hands. With all these safety measures in place, you can now reap the benefits of ordering your personal checks online. Relax and enjoy fast ordering, quick delivery, hundreds of design options and low prices. No matter where you are in the shopping process, your information is guaranteed to be secure!