Affiliate Programs & Check Cutting/Processing Fees

[emmanuelle]

Originally Posted by Greenie

Jim gave me some rough numbers from the old Ultra Cash days.

1500 checks

Supplies: $200 (very rough figure, as he has no idea what the supplies actually cost back then)
Payroll: $200 (one employee did them in an 8 hour day)
Postage: $600 (based on US mailings - add $0.10 - $0.50 per check for foreign webmasters)

So $1000 for 1500 checks which is $0.67/check.

And remember, this was 8 years ago - new technology & programs have to make it even easier now.

I don't know how that company ran their office, but you might need to figure in the salary (or part of) for the employee who took care of these things. 1500 Checks per period sounds like it might keep somebody pretty busy, even if it's just dealing with papercuts from licking so many envelopes.

It's my understanding that both Prodigy and Taboo check writing services charge the program $3-3.50/checks.
note: Prodigy may or may not be in business still due to the cohf circumstances, and Taboo will reduce their fees based on volume

The banking industry is not what it was 8 years ago. Nowadays they too punish people for paper checks with high fees. A check cashed on my business account costs me $1.75

There are genuinely good arguments for using a third party- timely payments rather than waiting on forgetful small program owners being the first that comes to mind. However, the program should account for these fees (or any parts beyond reasonable) in their numbers before deciding what % or pps amount to offer.