It also cuts down on the number of rubber stamps you need and the possibility of stamping the check with the wrong one. We used 3 stamps, NSF, Signature Irregular, and Refer to Maker. Refer to Maker also lessens the banks liability as it minimizes the problem of having an item stamped with an incorrect reason.

I have also seen a small sticker that listed a number of reasons for returning an item. A box was checked for the reason. This resulted in more handling as the item had to be processed manually with the sticker attached to it. Plus in the zeal to get items processed you could not always tell which reason was checked.

Keeping it simple pays off in the long run.