Your dispensary manages high volumes of cash every day. From floats to transactions to reconciliation and bank deposits, your employees handle physical cash multiple times a day. This not only increases your risk of losses, but it also reduces efficiency and productivity while increasing labor costs.
When it comes to managing physical cash, cannabis retailers need to balance efficiency with security. Follow these top tips.
Create Effective Cash Management Procedures
Should employees share cash registers? Is double-counting required? All retailers should have cash management procedures in place to guide employees in their handling of physical cash. There should be documented procedures for every cash process, including opening and closing drawers, doing drops, depositing cash, and handling discrepancies. These procedures will not only create a culture of accountability among employees but also help reduce common cash handling mistakes.
Invest in Cash Management Technology
Cash management automation will protect your cash, your business, and your employees. It will also enhance cash handling productivity and efficiency. Today’s cash management devices are sophisticated, smart, and highly effective. Coin and banknote recyclers will help employees manage cash transactions quickly and error-free, while smart safes will help you gain visibility into your cash at any time, from anywhere, while keeping it locked away and secure. Investing in secure on-site storage like a smart safe is one of the most important tips for how to manage physical cash at cannabis retailers.
Manage Employee Permissions and Track Activities
From your point-of-sale (POS) system to your coin and banknote recyclers to your smart safes, it’s a good idea to manage employee permissions and track employee activities for all your cash management devices. Permissions limit what certain employees can and can’t do in the system. For example, you can manage permissions to only allow trusted and long-term employees to manage inventory and pricing, manage drawers, apply discounts, manage taxes, and access reports.
Further, providing unique PIN access for every employee in the system creates an audit trail that will help you pinpoint when and where errors occurred and by whom, while also deterring theft.
Invest in Cash-in-Transit (CIT) Pickups
While armored transport may be an additional cost, it should be noted that it will significantly reduce your risks. When it comes to cannabis retailers, security is critical. You may be putting yourself and your cash at risk if you’re driving it to the bank every night for deposits. CIT pickups will ensure your cash always makes it to its destination safely.
Limit the Amount of Cash You Have on Hand
It’s recommended that dispensaries limit the amount of cash they have on site and in drawers at any given time. The amount that’s right for you will depend on the daily volume of cash you see each day. Choose a few trusted employees to handle the movement of cash and secure it in the back room before it is transported to a safe banking facility.
These top tips for how to manage physical cash at cannabis retailers will help you keep your dispensary’s cash safe while also boosting cash handling productivity, reducing labor costs, and creating a culture of accountability.
