Bird’s Eye Treehouses, Inc., a Kentucky company, has determined that a majority of its customers are located in the Pennsylvania area. It therefore is considering using a lockbox system offered by a bank located in Pittsburgh. The bank has estimated that use of the system will reduce collection time by two days. Based on the following information, should the lockbox system be adopted?

Average number of payments per day ......................850

Average value of payment ........................................ $630

Variable lockbox fee (per transaction) ...................... $.22

Annual interest rate on money market securities .... 7%

How would your answer change if there were a fixed charge of $5,000 per year in addition to the variable charge?