A quick roundup of news regarding a couple of NCT’s clients in the construction and building materials industry:

ABC Supply Promoted Greg Lanphear to Managing Partner

Greg Lanphear, who has been at ABC Supply since 1998, was recently promoted to the position of Managing Partner. Lanphear will continue to oversee operations at the El Cajon branch where he had been previously, but he will now also become an active member of the National Branch Advisory Board of ABC Supply.

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A quick roundup of some recent news regarding a couple of NCT’s clients in the furniture industry:

Ashley Furniture Expands Colton Distribution Center

While many in the furniture industry are experiencing the effects of the economic downturn, Ashley Furniture has expanded it’s footprint at its Cooley Ranch Industrial Park in Colton, CA.  The company recently announced that it was purchasing 439,000 additional feet of distribution space.  Ashley’s Colton distribution center supplies merchandise to the entire West Coast.

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One of the services NCT offers its merchant clients is point-of-sale (“POS”) electronic check conversion. Every product and service delivered by NCT is designed to improve efficiency, maximize cash flow, and minimize risk; electronic check conversion is no different.

What is POS Electronic Check Conversion?

Back in the “old days,” when a customer paid you by check, converting that check into cash required batch processing all of your checks together with physical trips to the bank. There were a few inherent problems with this system:

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In the coming weeks, we are planning a series of posts to provide more insight into check guarantee services, and specifically the services that we offer at NCT. One semi-common misconception is that check guarantee and check verification are the same. This is incorrect and is the subject of today’s post.

Check verification is the process of screening checks against positive and negative databases to ferret out the “bad check writers.” Obviously the risk of accepting a bad check is lessened if you have controls in place that limit your exposure to checks written by people with a checkered history (pun intended) of past check writing. Simply put, if the person trying to pay with a check doesn’t check out (again, pun intended) then you do not accept their check.

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The credit crunch’s rippling effect has touched every industry, including the furniture industry. Of the top furniture stores in the industry, Ashley furniture continues to make a strong statement. Currently furniture sales trends seem a bit disheartening, but there is hope on the horizon for the economic future of furniture sales.

Top 100: Ashley Furniture Ranks #1 in Top Furniture Stores

Ashley Furniture has been leading the pack for a while now and once again ranked #1 of 100 of the nations top furniture stores for the third year in a row. However, Ashley Furniture, a manufacturer and distributer of high quality furniture, hasn’t escaped the decline in sales volume. Although still ranking #1, they decreased by 15% in their sales numbers last year, topping off at 2.1 billion dollars in sales. With the overall downturn of the economy as a whole, the furniture industry has not escaped the fallout. A Furniture Today article outlines the specifics of the Top Furniture Stores and how the economic situation has affected the industry.

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We are checking in this afternoon with a quick update on the latest news in the ever-evolving auto industry landscape.

Saab Buyers Narrowed Down to Two

Saab recently announced that its list of potential buyers has been narrowed down to two. The two buyers purportedly are Swedish car maker Koenigsegg and the U.S.-based investment firm Renco Goup. Negotiations between the final two potential buyers for Saab are expected to begin this week with a decision expected sometime in the next two weeks.

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The June 4th edition of Dealer Digest Daily provides some helpful hints, tips, and how-tos for improving an auto dealership.  The article is written by Sherralyn Peterson, an automotive incentive specialist who contributes to Dealer Digest Daily.

Here are her 6 tips:

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By Charles Martin

You’re feeling really stressed right now. A collector just called and left a message regarding a returned check that you may have written. Life is speeding by. Money is tight and all you need is another problem. You found us on the web and now what…?

Believe it or not, a company like NCT wants you to be free and clear of the collection cycle probably sooner than you think. Sure, returned checks are reasons for a company like ours to exist, but having a good relationship with our debtors is a key part of our company mission.

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by Charles Martin

This blog post is part of an ongoing series where we will introduce you to the basics and inner workings of our industry. We hope you will find useful information here. If you have ideas for further posts on the payment industry or specifically the check guarantee industry, feel free to contact us.

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Before you plan a funeral for checks, take another look. Paper checks, ACH, and the commerce they represent are still an important feature in today’s business transaction. In fact, they may save you money and continue to be an opportunity for increased cash flow in these tough times.

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Despite the economic worries that have embroiled the nation this year and last, and the ACH payments continue to see year-over-year growth according to reports released by NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association.

In fact, according to a recent NACHA press release that details ACH payments in 2008, ACH payments totaled more than $18.2 billion in 2008 – an increase of $1.2 billion over 2007. Based on the press release, 2008 marked at least the second straight year of growth in ACH payments, as the 2007 total of $17.1 billion represented a 13.2% increase over 2006.

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