What Exactly Is a Smart Safe and Why Do You Need One? (Updated 2021)

    Feb 16 2021

    Topics: Smart Safes

    In business, what matters most is the bottom line. What you may not realize is that cash handling has a significant effect on your business and its bottom line. There’s no doubt cash handling is still important and necessary in retail. However, between human error and the risk of theft, along with high labor costs, cash management has become one of the more difficult processes of a business to manage. Business owners and managers are constantly seeking new solutions to reduce cash handling issues, enhance back-office efficiency, and improve the overall process of cash handling.

    Download our free guide for CFOs to find out how cash handling is affecting  your bottom line.

    An All-in-One Cash Management Solution

    A smart safe is a cash management solution that will help you overcome cash handling issues and gain more insights into your cash. These technically advanced safes allow you to monitor your business’s cash at every step of the cash handling process. These safes give you clear visibility into the flow of cash at all times.

    What Makes It Smart?

    Smart safes have earned their name, combining the security and storage aspects of traditional safes with the technology and management solutions of modern cash management software. The smart depository safe is an intelligent and sophisticated solution that can solve issues surrounding cash storage and cash management.

    The user interface component of the smart safe is designed to handle all aspects of cash management as quickly and efficiently as possible. With the user in mind, the safe is designed to generate several user statistics to help maximize efficiency and inform decision making. The safe may also be able to record the history of cash movement. Essentially, smart safes can help ensure you have eyes and ears on the movement of your cash at all times, leaving you more confident in your staff and their responsibilities.

    Smart safes are regularly equipped with bill validators, which can significantly decrease the risk of counterfeit fraud. With rapid advancements in technology, counterfeit detection has become nearly impossible with the naked eye, putting pressure on employees to maintain strict cash handling standards.

    Further, once the smart deposit safe has approved all inserted bills, they are validated and moved to cassettes for secure storage. At the same time, the cash is reconciled automatically, reducing the need to spend hours on reconciliation each night.

    Cash Insights

    What makes the smart depository safe so valuable is its ability to integrate with cash management software, such as SUZOHAPP™ CashComplete Connect and CashTechIQ

    Cash management software can give you the ability to effectively track, manage, and understand your cash at every stage and touchpoint. With greater visibility of cash activities and devices, you’ll be able to improve security, benefit from informed decision making, and lower costs. 

    Its capabilities include:

    • Cash analytics: The data surrounding the movement of cash allows you to manage day-to-day operations, such as cash balances, deposit reporting, and reconciliation. 
    • Cash forecasting: Insights into trends that forecast your cash needs and enable you to see cash on hand.
    • Cash status and utilization: Data about your cash utilization and denomination usage, so you can ensure you always have enough cash on hand.
    • Device management: Data surrounding the health of your devices. Provides the ability to troubleshoot remotely. 
    • Cash management logistics: Insights into your cash ordering information that allows you to schedule and forecast CIT pickups and cash replenishments.
    • User tracking: Audit trails and reconciliations based on user profiles.

    The Benefits

    Every day, retailers, grocers, banks, casinos, and cannabis dispensaries face a number of common cash handling problems. Reducing the number of issues, lost time, and overall losses can be handled through one simple solution: a smart depository safe. 

    The most obvious benefit of a smart safe is its ability to securely store cash. The primary role of the safe is to safeguard your hard-earned cash, taking the stress off employees and reducing the risk of internal and external theft. The safe can only be opened through predetermined codes, ensuring only those with clearance have access to the cash. 

    Smart safes offer you real-time visibility via its cash management software. This means you can monitor the movement of cash from remote locations, offering you more control. The software allows you to see exactly which employee was responsible for movement.

    Additionally, counterfeit detection software eliminates the risk of accepting illegitimate bills. The safe also takes the pressure off back-office employees to count cash perfectly each time. It will allow your employees to focus on more important tasks, like customer service and managing your store. 

    Further, when you automate a time-consuming process like cash management, you can save a significant amount of time, leading to less overtime and overall lower labor costs. Just think of how many hours you can save.

    Which Smart Safe Is Right for You?

    There are a variety of smart safes on the market, with makes and models suited to a variety of industries and cash environments. Here is a quick view of some of the top recommended smart depository safes: 

    Armor 2400 Series Smart Safe: A complete cash handling solution for cash-intensive businesses that do not require change-fund management.

    Armor 2400-RBH Series Smart Safe: A smart safe featuring bill validators that can be removed to clear the occasional bill jam without having to open the safe’s main door. 

    Armor 7100 Series Smart Safe: A heavy-duty, full-feature cash management solution that collects, secures, validates, and dispenses cash.

    Armor 7300 Series Smart Safe: With the narrowest footprint, the Armor 7300 series smart deposit safe is the ideal cash management solution for users with limited space availability.

    Armor 7900 Series Smart Safe: The ideal smart safe for businesses looking for a higher level of cash security.

    Armor CSC Series Smart Safe: The CS Compact can be conveniently located near point-of-sale systems, in drive-thru windows, in retail kiosks, or any location where space is limited.

    SUZOHAPP SDS-35 Smart Deposit Solution: The ideal smart safe for businesses looking to reduce the labour costs associated with cash handling.

    SUZOHAPP SDS-760 Smart Deposit Solution: A high-speed smart deposit safe for large cash-intensive businesses.

    Tidel Series 3 Smart Safe: A smart deposit safe for organizations with low to moderate cash volumes. 

    Tidel Series 4 Smart Safe: This smart safe is well-suited to retail organizations looking to manage cash deposits and adapt to a rapidly changing environment

    Tidel Series 4e Smart Safe: A powerful cash management system for retailers with a range of supported peripherals. 

    Overall, a smart safe is one of the quickest solutions for storing and managing cash with advanced cash insight abilities. This one-stop solution provides countless benefits, all from one device.

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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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