It's one of the greatest paradoxes you'll come across in the retail world; the more money you make, the more it costs your business to handle this cash. While you definitely wouldn't want to wish for a dip in happy customers stopping by your shop and spending money, if you know about the true cost of taking in and sorting out these bills, you're probably wishing you had a way to tighten things up a bit and cut down on this expense. Thankfully, with a deep look at the problem, why it's growing, and how tools like currency counting machines can help stymie the flow of funds back out of your business, you'll be well on your way to breaking down the costs that come with handling cash.
Understanding the "Cash Handling Equation"
To start, let's look at the big issue surrounding the costs of handling cash. While there's no doubt storing and sorting these funds costs your business money, it's impossible to come up with a catch all "equation" that covers every business and its methods. Because your store or chain has unique employees and practices, the amount of money you're losing can fluctuate drastically. Instead, you can sort out the issues that contribute to this problem. Sitting at the top of this list is internal shrinkage, lax handling routines, or an untidy or cluttered workplace. When all of these things come together, expect to take a big hit to your bottom line that can simply go unnoticed on your income statements, leaving you confused and in the dark about these losses if you weren't aware of where all the problems were coming from originally.
A Growing Problem
Unfortunately, the issues don't stop there. With cash usage on the rise in some industries, it's only natural to expect to see more bills come flowing through your register, especially if you're business is already steaming ahead with increased foot traffic and sales. Specifically, the retail banking industry, like credit unions and local bank branches, are specifically under the gun when it comes to deal with mass amounts of currency, leading to an industry wide outcry for change and reform. Even if the only dealing you have with the bank is to drop off your daily deposits, it's still important to note that this issue is a real threat across the entire spectrum of retail settings.
Tipping Things Back into the Right Direction
Of course, don't feel too hopeless after reading all about these problems – there's plenty you can do to tip the things back into the right direction and get your cash handling back under control. To start, work out a checklist to help evaluate every step of the process and see where you can tighten the screws a little bit when it comes having your employees handle cash. This means cleaning up that cluttered backroom and going over safety and security protocols with employees. On top of this, having currency counting machines takes out the guesswork on sorting and storing large amounts of cash and helps cut down the risk of shrinkage and ensure you always have accurate counts on what funds are coming and going out of your business at any time.
