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Hey, Mary, call up and order a deposit stamp, will ya?

And Mary does - but she doesn’t really know what she’s doing and her only guide might be what she has already that is not working correctly anymore. So she leaves it up to the company she calls and she may or may not get what she really needs.

So what is needed? Well, for starters you probably ought to get a self-inking stamp; they are easier and less messy to use. There are several types and the least expensive is the kind that, when you push it down, flips over to make the impression. They cost less, are easier to position and far easier to re-ink then the kind commonly known as X-Stampers.

The size of the stamp you choose depends on how much verbage you think you need. Here’s all you need: For Deposit Only, your company name, your account number. That’s it! Three lines - possibly four if you are a d/b/a but even then you can get away with just the business name you go under or just the d/b/a name. Believe me, your bank will not care. The only thing they really look for is the account number you are depositing to. The line, For Deposit Only, is standard verbage but does protect you from fraud by an employee who might think about getting creative in the bank lobby.

When Mary calls in the order she should also order the smallest stamp she can because some of the checks you will be stamping for deposit will be either small personal checks or business checks of the one-write variety with the carbon stripe on the back and less room to stamp in as a result.

But Mary has to specify all this stuff or she’ll get back a stamp that includes the three lines above plus your bank name, bank routing number, bank location and sometimes bank phone number. That makes for an big, unwieldy stamp that will cost you almost double what you should pay, be harder to get a good impression from, need re-inking more often, take up more desk or drawer space and give out WAY to much information to anyone who reads it with check fraud on their mind.

And a word about re-inking stamps: always make sure the ink brand matches the stamp brand because many stamp pads will react to the wrong ink by hardening up and becoming unusuable. Therefore, make sure you order from a place where they keep records so you can order ink and know they will send the right kind for the stamp you purchased!

Here are two excellent sources. Online at www.CheckChecks.com or by toll free phone 1-888-771-4831 or from South Shore Business Checks toll free at 1-888-346-2417.