In 2008, companies spent about $12.5 billion on cash management services with their banking partners, according to the 2008 Cash Management Monitor by Phoenix Hecht.

Treasurers and CFOs searching for opportunities to shave expenses will want to consider the banking fees they pay. Too often, they review just total costs, without digging into the numbers, says Stacey Gilmore, treasury management consultant with Chesapeake System Solutions, Inc. By analyzing just what services their firms are using and the fees they’re paying, they can cut costs and streamline the services they receive. Bank “account analysis statements are a gold mine for the economy today,” Gilmore adds.

Not surprisingly, mining the gold requires a bit of work. The first step is to identify the services their firms use and compare the fees with averages published in industry guides, like the Phoenix Hecht Blue Book of Bank Prices or the bank pricing data offered by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) to its members.

Next up is identifying areas of potential pricing reductions, Gilmore says. Say your firm is paying 5 cents for each of the 10,000-some checks processed each month. You may be able to negotiate a reduction to 3 cents a check for those over 10,000, or an overall rate of 4 cents per check when your volume tops 10,000 in a month.

You’ll also want to look for differences in pricing and services between your banking partners. It may make sense to move some services or to use this information as a tool when negotiating prices.

Analyzing bank fee information also can help you influence behavior within your own company. Gilmore recalled a client whose firm did a large number of ACH transactions each month. One employee was creating templates for each transaction – at a cost that was $1.50 more per template than simply editing the existing template. Identifying these actions can save real money, but it requires looking at the details, rather than just skimming summary information.

The amount a company can save by digging into its banking bills will vary with its size and the volume of banking services it uses, Gilmore notes. However, nearly every company, with a little work, can uncover savings. “Don’t just look at the bill and think that you can’t dispute it because you need the banking services,” she says. Instead, use the information to change behavior and as leverage when negotiating with your banks. ###