Efficient cash management is key to the success of any business. That’s likely why it’s one of the biggest concerns for business owners. Regardless of the size of your business, handling cash is one task that requires organization, attention to detail, and technology. Without such, your business is at risk of a number of concerns.
As one of the most important aspects of business, it’s important to know the most common cash management concerns before you can begin combatting them. Here are seven cash handling concerns every modern business faces.
1. Shrinkage
Shrinkage is a bad word for business owners. In short, shrinkage is the amount of cash or inventory that is left unaccounted for: it’s money or product that’s been lost or stolen. Cash shrinkage can occur for a number of reasons, the most common being internal theft. In fact, employee theft accounted for 43.7 percent of all shrinkage in 2010, according to the National Retail Security Survey.
Combatting shrinkage is difficult, and maintaining a reasonable shrink rate (16-24 percent) can be difficult, too. However, with proper cash handling measures in place, business owners can greatly reduce shrinkage rates and keep money where it belongs: in the business.
2. Human Error
People make mistakes and it’s no one fault. However, it does affect your bottom line. Without automated cash management solutions in place, your business can fall victim to a number of cash handling mistakes, like under or over counting. Thankfully, solutions are closer than you think. Making the investment into automated cash solutions helps your business remain efficient and you cash is always handled error-free.
3. Theft
Whether it’s internal or external, theft is one of the greatest concerns for any business owner. It can also seem like there’s no way to combat it effectively. Automated solutions such as a smart safe are a key way to integrated technology into your business that keeps your money and employees safe.
4. Inaccuracies
Counting cash accurately is hard. Even for seasoned cash counting professionals like bank tellers or casino counters, there’s always room for error. Seemingly, one of the only ways to combat cash inaccuracies is introducing cash management solutions like cash counters. These machines do just what you’d think: count and sort cash, reducing the risk of inaccuracies that come with human error.
5. Till Swapping
This one might not seem like a concern until an error arises that proves it is. If your cashiers are allowed to swap tills during their shifts, it leaves little to no ownership over problems that arise. If a till comes up $20 short and two cashiers have been working from it all day, how do you know who made the error? Ensure only one cashier is working from each till to create a greater sense of accountability over the transactions that occur during each cashiers shift.
6. Counterfeit Bills
Did you know that in 2015 there was upwards of $147 million in fake U.S. currency circulating globally? What’s even worse is that the fakes are nearly impossible to detect. This has made counterfeit detection one of the biggest cash management concerns business owners face. The only sure fire way of detecting counterfeit bills is with counterfeit detection technology.
7. Time Consuming Processes
For many businesses, too much time is spent on the cash management process. From counting cash, sorting it, and balancing it for a till, hours can be spent on the process each day. This is expensive and frustrating for many businesses that don’t have extensive resources. Automated cash management solutions can speed up the process; letting your employees refocus their time to customers while you save money.
While these aer only seven of the most common cash management concerns for business owners, introducing technology can easily combat each one. Don’t let your business go without: look into your options today.