Pay & Get Paid By Credit Card, Digital Checks, Printable Checks, ACH, Wire. All In One Payments Platform. Payroll Funding By Credit Card Review

Online Check Writer review: Print business checks and pay any vendor from one platform

Running vendor payments, payroll, and accounts payable across multiple banking portals is time-consuming and risky. Online Check Writer (powered by Zil Money) promises a single cloud-based hub to print checks, send digital checks, run ACH and wires, fund payroll by credit card, and automate AP/AR. This review looks at what the platform actually does, who benefits, and whether it should be part of your small business finance stack.

Quick overview: What is Online Check Writer?

Online Check Writer is a web-based finance application targeted at businesses that need flexible payment options and payment automation. The platform covers:

• Check printing and on-demand check mailing
• Digital checks for email delivery
• ACH transfers and wires
• Real-Time Payments (RTP) and wallet-to-wallet transfers
• Payroll funding by credit card
• Accounts payable and receivable automation
• Expense management and approval workflows

It is positioned as an all-in-one payments platform that reduces the need to log into multiple bank portals and simplifies vendor payments, payroll, and reconciliations.

Why it matters: pain points this solves

• Manual check printing and mailing wastes staff time and invites errors.
• Multiple banking systems mean duplicated reconciliation work and fragmented approvals.
• Small teams often lack secure, auditable workflows for vendor payments and payroll.
• Funding payroll at month-end can be cash-flow tight — credit card funding adds flexibility.

Online Check Writer centralizes these functions, aiming to speed up payments, improve control, and reduce processing costs.

Key features and real-world benefits

1. Print checks and mail on demand

Feature: Create and print business checks or request printed checks mailed directly to payees.

Benefit: Skip trips to the bank or third-party check printers. For small to midsize businesses, this saves time and ensures checks are produced with consistent formatting and MICR standards needed for bank processing.

2. Digital checks and ACH transfers

Feature: Send electronic checks by email and initiate ACH transfers from a single interface.

Benefit: Reduce float time and lower per-transaction costs compared with paper checks. Ideal for recurring vendor payments, rent, or vendor deposits.

3. Wires, RTP, and cross-method flexibility

Feature: Support for wires, Real-Time Payments, wallet-to-wallet transfers and cross-border payments.

Benefit: Use the fastest method appropriate for the payee. RTP and wires help when a vendor demands immediate funds; ACH or digital checks work for routine payouts.

4. Payroll funding by credit card

Feature: Fund payroll using a credit card when cash is tight.

Benefit: Provides liquidity to meet payroll deadlines without short-term loans. This is especially useful for seasonal businesses or those that need temporary cash flow relief.

5. Accounts payable automation and approvals

Feature: Invoice management, approval workflows, and payment scheduling.

Benefit: Reduce human errors, prevent duplicate payments, and maintain an audit trail. Finance teams can set approval limits and require multi-step sign-offs for high-value transactions.

6. Multi-bank integration and consolidated reporting

Feature: Connect multiple bank accounts and centralize transaction data.

Benefit: Finance managers get a single source of truth for cash position, reducing reconciliation time and simplifying month-end close.

7. Virtual cards and expense management

Feature: Issue virtual cards and track expenses alongside payments.

Benefit: Control ad-hoc spend, reduce corporate card risk, and reconcile employee expenses faster.

Security, compliance, and controls

• Role-based access and payment approvals reduce fraud risk.
• Audit logs and transaction history help with compliance and internal controls.
• Multi-bank connectivity avoids manual file transfers that can be error-prone.

For businesses handling high payment volumes, these controls are critical to reduce risk and support audits.

Pricing snapshot

Online Check Writer offers tiered plans that can accommodate very small operations up to larger teams. There are entry-level options and higher plans that unlock advanced automation and payment types. Businesses can choose plans based on monthly transaction volume and desired feature set.

Pros and cons (short)

• Pros: Consolidates payments, supports many payment types, strong approval controls, reduces reconciliation time.
• Cons: Learning curve for teams moving from manual processes; some advanced features may require higher-tier plans.

“Online Check Writer turns fragmented payment workflows into a single, auditable process — ideal for businesses that need flexibility and tighter controls.”

Who should buy Online Check Writer?

• Small and midsize businesses that issue frequent checks and want to cut time spent on printing and mailing.
• Companies seeking a consolidated payments hub for ACH, wires, RTP, and digital checks.
• Businesses that need payroll funding flexibility or virtual card controls for employee expenses.
• Finance teams that want approvals, audit trails, and multi-bank visibility to streamline reconciliation.

Who should look elsewhere?

• Very small sole proprietors with minimal payment volume may find simpler, lower-cost tools more suitable.
• Companies that require deep, pre-built integrations with very specific ERP systems may need custom integration work.

Final verdict

Online Check Writer (powered by Zil Money) is a robust, practical solution for businesses that need to centralize payments and tighten control over vendor and payroll disbursements. Its combination of check printing, digital checks, ACH, wires, RTP, and payroll funding by credit card makes it a versatile platform for finance teams looking to reduce manual work and risk.

If your business issues frequent checks, handles varied payment types, or needs stronger approval workflows and reconciliation tools, Online Check Writer is worth evaluating. If you have very low payment volume or require highly specific ERP integrations out of the box, compare alternatives first.

Recommendation: Trial the platform with a subset of vendors or payroll runs to confirm workflows and integration needs. For most small and midsize businesses aiming to modernize payments and regain time, Online Check Writer is a practical, secure choice.