If you own or manage a convenience store, you know there’s always a lot going on. You have numerous customers in the store at once, you have numerous employees on shift, and transactions need to be processed quickly because customers have only stopped in for a quick moment to buy something they need.
Since customers usually only stop in to get a couple of small items at a time, they most often pay in cash. This means there’s usually a lot of cash on hand in a convenience store, which is why good cash management practices are vital.
When you don’t have good cash management practices in place, it can lead to some serious risks for you and your business.
1. Theft
Whenever a business has a high rate of cash flowing in and out, there’s an increased risk of theft, both from customers and from employees. Thus, it’s important to introduce some practices into your business to cut down on the possibility of theft.
First, always be sure to keep the amount of cash in the cash drawer low. When customers see a lot of money in the cash drawer, they’re more likely to start thinking about robbery. When there’s minimal cash in the drawer, they either won’t think about it or will realize a robbery isn’t worth the risk.
Second, invest in a smart safe. A smart safe requires that anyone who opens it have his or her own login. This means that it tracks whoever opens the safe. It also notes when money is added to it or removed. With a smart safe, it’s easy to catch an employee who is stealing because you have the cash management system in place to track your money easily and efficiently.
2. Fraud
Since so many of the transactions at a convenience store are made in cash, fraud is a serious concern. Counterfeit currency is a problem, and every business needs to be aware of it. However, some businesses, like convenience stores, need to be more alert because they mostly deal in cash.
The easiest way to cut down on counterfeit fraud is to invest in a counterfeit detector. As your employees accept cash from customers, they can put it through the counterfeit detector to ensure they aren’t accepting fraudulent bills.
If your business accepts too many fake bills, you could run into problems with your bank and the police. That isn’t a headache you want to have to deal with. The best way to avoid that is to avoid accepting fraudulent banknotes to begin with.
3. Inefficiency
Everyone who comes into a convenience store is there to pick up something quickly. No one lingers. Therefore, it’s important that you’re able to complete transactions quickly and efficiently. No one wants to wait minutes while employees count back change or have problems ringing up customers. One of the ways to process transactions faster is to invest in a currency recycler. A currency recycler takes on the duties of the cash handling process and accepts cash transactions and balances totals. It’s an easy way to save time and process more transactions.
There are many cash management risks when you own or run a convenience store. It’s important to be aware of those risks so you can mitigate them as much as possible. Investing in hardware in order to help automate your cash management practices is a great way to reduce your risks.
