As a small business owner, you want to do everything in your power to prevent theft. There are several precautions you can take to reduce the risk of theft in your workplace. You want to make sure you consider both external and internal theft as both have an astonishing impact on small businesses. Canadian businesses lose billions of dollars to theft every year. Protect your small business against theft by incorporating these three anti-theft solutions.
1. Develop Solid Cash Management Procedures
Put a clear cash management system in place and ensure all employees understand and comply with the new procedures and policies. Once your employees see that you are taking measures to prevent employee theft, they will think twice about dipping into the cash drawer.
Review your current policies. Are your employees following the procedures that are currently in place? Are these procedures being enforced? Perhaps you need to reintroduce and train your employees to remind them of certain practices they need to be following. If you do not have existing protocols in place, perhaps it's time to develop something concrete for your staff to follow.
- At least two employees should be scheduled to open and close the business.
- Employees should close cash drawers out of public view. They should always count cash in the back office or after the store has closed for the day and all customers have left the storefront.
- Employees should not be allowed to ring up purchases for themselves, relatives, or friends.
- Discrepancies should be reviewed every day.
- Bank deposits should be completed every day.
- Inventory records should be updated regularly and properly maintained.
- Only a limited number of employees should have keys to the business.
- Install an effective alarm system and provide select employees with the deactivation code.
- Two employees should always check incoming inventory.
2. Shred Confidential Documents
Confidential paperwork that is not disposed of properly can pose a security risk. This risk is avoidable, so take precautions to dispose documents correctly. Handle shredding yourself as outsourcing this job to a third-party company defeats the purpose of destroying confidential information. For your own peace of mind, get rid of these files yourself to ensure they don't wind up in the wrong hands.
3. Use Cheque Imaging Solutions
Invest in a cheque imaging solution to detect cheque fraud. When it comes to the average business, credit card and cheque fraud are the two most common types of fraud. There are plenty of affordable cheque imaging solutions available that won't break the bank. Think of how this will help your business in the long run. You will avoid unnecessary losses and save money by detecting fraudulent cheques and over time you will see the return on investment. This solution will allow you to continue to accept cheques as a form of payment from your customers but also eliminate the risk associated with cheque fraud.
Eliminate the risk of theft by following these three anti-theft solutions for your small business. As a business owner, you need to understand that your business is vulnerable to theft, both externally and internally. Adopt these anti-theft solutions and make this a priority for your business.
