The Do's and Don'ts of Retail Cash Management (Updated 2019)

    Apr 06 2016

    Topics: Retail Cash Management

    The cost of retail cash management can be substantial and can have a direct impact on your retail store’s operations and your bottom line. If you handle and manage cash inappropriately, you could be losing out through wasted time and high labour costs and losses due to human error. Effective retail cash management can reduce your risks and costs and protect your bottom line.

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    Here are some do’s and don’ts to consider.

    Do Implement Cash Handling Procedures

    Cash handling errors and bad cash handling practices can account for a large portion of your losses. An effective and simple way to improve your retail cash management is to invest in cashier training and implement cash handling procedures. Set your cashiers up for success by giving them the practice, knowledge, and procedures needed to process all transactions, count floats and inventory, and reconcile, deposit, and store cash appropriately. Training and procedures can reduce careless money handling practices, reduce your risk of cash handling mistakes, and reduce shrink.

    Don’t Be Short on Staff

    When you’re trying to boost your profits, you might try to cut some overhead costs by reducing your number of employees on the floor. Though this can certainly lower your labour costs, it can also inadvertently increase your shrink rate at the same time.

    When you’re short staffed, your workers suffer, your customer service suffers, and so do your profits. Your cashiers might become sloppy with cash handling because they’re busy and rushing through transactions. They won’t take the necessary time required to slow down, count money correctly, inspect bills for counterfeit, and ensure accuracy. In addition, if you cut your staff down to one person, you might also increase your risk of internal theft.

    Do Increase Accountability

    Accountability is required for successful retail cash management. Your employees need to know that no loss or misplaced money will go unnoticed. And you can’t make it easy for them to steal. To increase accountability, assure that your money trail is fully documented, that cashiers don’t share registers, and that you know where your cash is at all times, and who has access to it.

    Don’t Manually Check for Counterfeit

    Counterfeit fraud is a real risk, even for small retailers. It pays to invest in counterfeit detectors because criminals are becoming more sophisticated, and so are their counterfeit bills. They might be so perfect that your cashiers won’t be able to tell the difference between real and fake bills through sight and touch alone. And once these counterfeit bills exchange hands, they become your loss.

    Do Invest in Retail Cash Management Technology

    Manually processing transactions and counting, sorting, and reconciling cash can drive up your labour costs, waste time, and increase your risks of errors and theft. Investing in retail cash management technology can greatly speed up cash handling processes, increase accuracy, reduce the risk of theft, and reduce your labour costs.

    Don’t Keep Too Much Cash on Hand

    When you keep too much cash on hand, you increase your risk of cash going missing, getting misplaced, or being stolen. Overflowing drawers are problematic and risky—they make you vulnerable. Having strict register maximums can help protect you from these risks. Once your cashiers reach a pre-determined number, they must perform a vault drop. Or better yet, you can use a cash recycler instead, which not only acts like a vault but recycles cash from previous transactions, so you always have the right amount of cash on hand and don’t have to worry about vault drops.

    Do Be Timely

    When your retail store is busy, customer service comes first. But as a result, your cash management takes a backseat. Your cashiers might not reconcile profits on the same day or deposit cash at the end of the night. Untimely cash management can lead to reduced accountability and increase risks.

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    Andrea Lombardi

    Andrea Lombardi

    Andrea joined the CashTech team upon its inception in 2003. Learning the business from the ground up, she now utilizes her expertise in account management, planning, and negotiation while managing the daily operations of CashTech’s sales, marketing, and logistics departments. Andrea holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Western Ontario. She enjoys travelling and has a passion for personal fitness, including obtaining her kettlebell certification. Andrea lives in Toronto with her husband and two young sons.

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