When it’s time to balance the cash drawer, too frequently business owners are confronted with shortages, leaving them to wonder whether the discrepancy was due to human error or theft. When these inconsistencies occur, drawers must be recounted and balanced against receipts to determine where the mistake might have occurred, resulting in double (even triple) work and wasted time for all concerned. However, when an inaccuracy cannot be accounted for, managers must ask the question: where did the money go? It’s an awkward, uncomfortable, and generally unpleasant part of managing employees, yet knowing where all the money goes is vital to running an efficient and successful business.

But what if businesses could substantially reduce such errors and difficult conversations altogether? Smart safes provide businesses an intelligent and practical way of maintaining an auditable record of a business’ cash operations, fostering an environment of greater accountability and transparency across all team members.

Outdated Practices Can Lead to Negative Outcomes

While generally effective, traditional cash management processes are antiquated, leaving businesses open to accounting errors and risk of theft and loss  Whether discrepancies can be blamed on a simple human mistake or something more nefarious, manual cash management processes can make it very challenging for managers to easily discover where missing money goes.  This lack of transparency actually enables light fingered employees to steal with little risk of recourse, and typically involves a great deal of scrutiny to identify the mistake or culprit. Further, investigations that ensue from missing funds have very real consequences for businesses—counting and recounting cash, examining sales records, interviewing employees, and reviewing security tapes are all extremely time consuming and take employee time away from more productive activities. There is also the impact on morale to consider—when employees feel like they aren’t trusted, this can create a negative work environment.

Modern Systems Provide Positivity

Fortunately, antiquated processes have paved the way for advanced technology that helps provide accuracy and accountability to a store’s cash management processes.  One such technology is a smart safe. Smart safes automatically accept, validate, record, and store bank notes in a secure environment (behind a restricted access vault door), while allowing managers a streamlined process to reconcile Point-of-Sale (POS) cash against the till cash at the end of each shift.  Smart safes feature note validation, cash tracking and accountability, expansive reporting capabilities, and network connectivity that enables dashboard-like access to the entire estate of safes. To facilitate transaction traceability and auditability, each smart safe user is issued their own user PIN, providing an exact record of all safe transactions by individual user.  This level of traceability can substantially reduce occurrences of internal theft.

Enhanced Accountability with Tidel Smart Safes

Retail businesses necessitate accuracy and accountability across all facets of their operations, particularly when dealing with cash operations. While traditional cash management methods can be a catalyst for human error, misappropriation of store labor, and theft, smart safes provide a level of accountability and auditability that enables a more transparent and efficient work environment.  This level of transparency fosters trust, leading to better employee/manager relationships, improved overall morale, and a more positive work culture for everyone.

Tidel is a leading manufacturer of automated cash management solutions that provide accuracy and accountability across a wide spectrum of retail organizations. To learn more about Tidel solutions, visit www.tidel.com today!

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