Over the last few years, as fintech and digital wallets have become more common, some people have been calling for the end of cash. Some countries, like Sweden, are even moving toward a cashless society.
In North America, Canadian consumers have been quick to adopt new payment methods, while their American counterparts have been a little slower. In both countries, though, a cashless future seems to be a long way off.
Cash is here to stay for the foreseeable future, which means retailers should still be paying attention to their cash handling costs. Cash often costs more than business owners realize, but you can control – and even slash – those expenses.
Calculating the Costs of Retail Cash Handling
Before you can move to cut the costs of handling cash in your retail business, it helps to understand where those costs are coming from.
What’s running up the bill?
The biggest cost is often time itself. Your team has to spend hours each week counting tills, preparing floats, and counting and sorting cash. Then they have to prepare deposits and ensure the right amount of change is on hand.
If they happen to make errors in their counts, it takes extra time to go back and correct them.
In the meantime, you’re paying for all that time. If managers and higher-paid employees become involved, then your costs will trend even higher.
Cash automation can change the story.
Automating Saves Time
Cash automation could help cut retail cash handling costs by saving time. First, it saves time for team members in cash-handling roles. They may not need to take as long counting or preparing deposits. They also might not make as many mistakes, meaning they don’t then need to spend time correcting them.
Cash automation also helps on the floor. Your team can be more efficient when they don’t have to allot a chunk of their shift to managing floats or balancing cash drawers at the end of the day.
Less Time Means Lower Costs
Saving time cuts retail cash handling costs by lowering the associated labour costs. If your manager doesn’t need to spend an hour sorting out errors in cash reports every day, the cost of cash becomes that much lower.
You may be able to see additional savings by trimming back shifts or reducing overlap between cash attendants’ shifts. If your cashier doesn’t need 15 minutes at the end of the shift to count their till, you won’t need to schedule their relief 15 minutes early.
This can reduce your labour costs more generally, as well as reducing the costs of cash handling in the business.
Which Solution Is Right for You?
There are many different cash automation solutions out there. To get the most benefit, you should pick the solution best suited for your business.
Smaller businesses that don’t handle cash in large volumes may benefit from solutions such as cash counters and cash sorters. These devices don’t cost much, but they can still aid you in cutting the cost of cash handling by automating time-intensive tasks.
For more cash-intensive businesses, a solution like a smart safe or a coin and banknote recycler might be the right fit. A cash recycler counts and sorts cash as it enters the business, then makes it ready to use again.
The recycler could help with many different tasks, from storing cash securely, to reporting, to preparing floats and tallying tills.
If you’re ready to get a competitive edge by cutting retail cash handling costs, discover the right solution for your business. Automation can help you process cash more efficiently, even as your business grows.
