Mailing Physical Checks to Vendors

Digital by Default, Paper When a Vendor Needs It

Every check generated through ShelfSpace is a Check 21 instrument — a bank-compliant digital check the vendor downloads from their vendor portal and deposits the same day. That is the default, and for most vendors it is the fastest way to get paid. But some vendors would rather receive a paper check in the mail. Their AP team deposits at a teller with no mobile-deposit caps, or they only accept paper instruments. For those vendors, the platform prints the check on bank-grade stock and mails it via USPS. No portal, no printer needed on their end.

The most common trigger is one specific vendor. A large, established distributor tells your buyer their accounts-receivable team does not accept a digital check platform — only ACH, cash, or a physical paper check in the mail. You do not want to move your whole vendor list to paper over one supplier's policy. You want to switch that one vendor to mailed checks and leave everyone else on digital. Because mailing is a per-vendor setting, that is exactly what you do — the change lives on that one vendor's record and touches no other.

Mailing runs on the same engine that powers your accounts payable and consignment settlements, so it works for both AP vendor checks and settlement checks. ACH and digital portal checks are included in your plan; a mailed paper check has a small per-check cost, which covers printing and postage. See how we work for the details.

How to Switch a Vendor to Mailed Checks

Switching is a per-vendor setting you control, and it takes under a minute. The whole change lives on one vendor's record, so it never affects how any other vendor gets paid.

1. Open Vendors, then open the vendor you want to switch.
2. Go to the Settings tab and find the Payment section.
3. In the Default Payment Method card, choose Physical (mailed) check.
4. If there is no complete mailing address on file yet, a dialog opens for the vendor's street address, attention line (optional), city, state, and ZIP. Fill it in and click Save address & enable mailed checks.

The Default Payment Method card sets how you pay that vendor by default. Every Pay screen preselects it, and you can still switch the channel on any single payment. The card offers four options:

• ACH bank transfer — the platform sends funds directly to the vendor's linked bank account, so no check is generated.
• Digital check (the default) — the platform generates a check the vendor downloads from the portal.
• Physical (mailed) check — USPS. The platform prints on bank-grade check stock and mails it, and a printed copy is saved to the portal.
• Manual payment — you pay the vendor directly (your own check, cash, wire). The platform records the payment but generates no check.

When you pick Physical (mailed) check, the platform confirms the switch in plain terms:

From then on, the platform defaults to mailing paper checks to that vendor — every future check prints and mails without any extra steps. To go back, reopen the card and pick Digital check or ACH; to make a one-time exception, override the channel on that single payment.

A Mailing Address Is Required

A mailed check can only go where there is an address. Before mailing takes effect, the vendor's profile needs a complete mailing address (street, city, state, and ZIP), and you keep that address current. If any field is missing — or the account isn't provisioned for mail yet — the platform falls back to a digital portal check so a check is never mailed into the void or held up. Add the address and mailing takes effect on the next check. This fallback means switching a vendor to mailed checks is safe: the worst case is that a check lands in the portal the way it always has, never that a vendor goes unpaid.

For Your Vendors: Requesting a Mailed Check

Vendors can ask for paper without waiting to be offered it. From their portal, a vendor taps Request mailed paper checks, and the platform notifies you. You approve it from the vendor's settings — there is a one-tap Enable mailing prompt whenever a request is waiting. Until you enable it, the vendor keeps receiving digital portal checks as usual, and vendors who are happy with digital do not need to do anything.

Tracking, Timing, and the Portal Copy

A mailed check goes out via USPS and typically reaches the vendor in 3–5 business days. When it ships, the vendor gets a "Check Mailed" notification and tracking appears in their portal. The platform still saves a copy of the check to the portal so the vendor can see the amount, check number, and memo — but that copy is marked non-negotiable. Only the mailed paper check is depositable, which keeps a check from ever being cashed twice. Once it arrives, the vendor deposits it like any paper check; see how to deposit a check for the steps.