Effectively managing cash in a retail setting can be a big challenge! There are many moving parts in any cash management procedure that can be difficult to track on your own. Cash management isn’t complete once the transaction between the customer and your staff has taken place; it follows cash through your business until it is processed by the bank. It’s extremely important that any cash that enters your business is accounted for as it makes its way towards being deposited.
Manual cash handling can be a big issue for many retailers. It is prone to error and inefficiency and can put a major dent in the profitability of accepting cash in your business. Here, we have outlined seven common cash management mistakes; stop making them and get cash working for your business!
1. Transactional Errors
One of the most common cash management mistakes occurs at the point-of-sale terminal. Sloppy and inaccurate cash handling during transactions starts the cash management process off on the wrong foot. It can be easy for staff to stop following proper policies and procedures when there’s a lineup of customers; however, these mistakes do not need to happen. Providing frequent and effective training opportunities to your staff will help them to follow policies and procedures during transactions and save your business time and money on trying to figure out where things went wrong.
2. Placing Staff on Multiple Cash Registers
When a store is busy, staff may have a tendency to switch between cash registers in an attempt to serve customers more efficiently. While this may seem like a good customer service practice, it can have a negative effect on your cash management. Cash handling mistakes are more likely to occur during a busy period but those mistakes are easily tracked when each staff member is responsible for his or her own till. Mistakes can compound and get out of control if staff are not upholding the established policies and procedures.
3. Checking for Counterfeit by Hand
Counterfeit currency grows in sophistication as technology advances; this means it can be difficult to keep up with the challenges of accurately identifying counterfeit money. Counterfeit money may have many of the same security features as authentic bills, making it that much harder to recognize as fake. Updating your counterfeit protection plan and investing in counterfeit detection technology will allow you to correctly identify and confidently reject counterfeit money in your business.
4. Counting Cash by Hand
Some of the challenges that accompany manual cash counting are human error and inefficiency. Your business can counter that by investing in automated cash management technology like currency counters; that way you can avoid making those cash management mistakes that cost your business.
5. Having Too Much Cash in Store
Storing too much cash on the premises of your business can increase your risk of mismanaging your cash and being a target for theft. Keeping your cash drawers organized and not overflowing and making sure to only keep the amount of cash on hand that you need will protect your staff, your customers, and your business.
6. Out-of-Date Policies and Procedures
Having properly trained staff can make all the difference when keeping your store operations running smoothly. If your cash management policies and procedures are unclear or out of date, there is a better chance that your staff will make mistakes. Clearly communicating your policies and expectations to staff will help! And don’t forget to review your policies and procedures on a regular basis to make sure they agree with your business plan.
7. Inefficiency in the Cash Management Process
A sloppy and sluggish cash management process will end up costing you! Making the investment in automated cash management technology will go a long way to helping you achieve efficiency in your operations.