Although it’s more economical than debit or credit payments, cash still has some costs associated with it. Business owners are often surprised by just how much cash is costing them.
The cost of cash varies by industry and type of business, but it all boils down to the same bottom line: Handling and managing cash can be expensive.
How do you manage the cost of cash more effectively? You can try one of these five methods to cut the costs associated with handling cash for your business.
1. Look to Labour to Control the Cost of Cash
Most of the costs associated with handling cash are actually labour costs. It takes time for people to manage cash, and that runs up the bill for handling it.
With wages rising across North America, the costs of labour have been going up. In turn, it’s also costing you more to handle cash, especially if you’re still using inefficient manual processes.
Look for ways to manage your team’s time on cash more effectively. Do you need three people in the back office counting and sorting? A machine could do it faster and more accurately.
The same is true of your people on the floor. How much time do your cashiers spend preparing floats or totalling their tills at the end of a shift? Do you have to schedule multiple people on overlapping shifts to make sure each has enough time to take care of these counting tasks?
By reducing the amount of time your team spends handling cash, you can lower the cost of cash.
2. Automation Is the Name of the Game
Automating could save your team time in the back office. Cash counters are much faster and more accurate than people counting by hand.
Cash automation can also assist you in saving time and money on other tasks. For example, a smart safe or a coin and banknote recycler could help you manage your deposits. This reduces the amount of time your team spends on preparing and making those deposits.
Since the machines are more accurate, they can help you reconcile the books more easily. You won’t need to spend as much time sorting out errors or trying to find “missing” funds.
3. Reducing CIT and Deposit Fees
Part of the cost of cash is made up of the fees associated with moving your cash, such as armored car service fees. If you’re constantly depositing and withdrawing money from your bank account, chances are you’ll rack up some fees.
Rationalizing your CIT pickups and your deposits could reduce costs associated with cash. Cash management technology works here too. A smart safe helps you schedule pickups and deposits at the right time. There’s no more guessing about how long to hang on to cash or when to make the deposit.
A better schedule means fewer “extra” deposits, and it also reduces the likelihood you’ll need to pull everything out again.
4. Reducing the Store Float
Another way cash costs your business is by reducing your working capital. You likely have a float, which is a certain amount of cash set aside to handle petty expenses and make change for your customers.
That money could be in an interest-earning account or invested in improvements, but you need it on hand. With cash automation technology, you can reduce the store float. This frees up your money so you can put it back to work for the business.
5. Improve Security
Handling cash comes with increased security needs, which may increase associated costs. Instead of taking the risk, invest in technology to keep your store even safer.
Reducing the cost of cash can be simple with the right device. Discover what cash management technology could do for you by talking to the experts now.
