If your business handles cash sales, the tools you use to do so can have quite an impact both on worker efficiency and cash-handling accuracy. A full retail cash management solution has two parts: one virtual, one physical.
Retail Enterprise Management Planning
Enterprise Resource Planning, or ERP, refers to the software suites businesses use to collect data, transfer information and generate reports on many aspects of their business. Cash management software can allow the consistent logging of cash transactions and the details associated with them (such as who handles each transaction and at what times). Furthermore, the software can track trends, giving you insights as to how you might better draw in customers and improve profits. Generally, these software systems are able to generate automatic reports (saving employee time) that are useful for both record keeping and current and prospective investors up to date on the business’ financial situation.
Cash Machines
There are several kinds of machines a retail business should consider. One is a machine to detect counterfeit money. Another is a scanner that allows for the immediate logging and depositing of cheques. But by far the most useful investment a business that deals in cash can make is a portable cash counter.
Cash counters ensure 100% accuracy in deposits, eliminating the human error margin. Most businesses assume that a few dollars lost here and there don’t matter, but these dollars can add up over time. Cash counters also save time; instead of an employee counting bills by hand (which is slow), repeating the process to ensure accuracy and then getting another employee to verify the count, the bills can be run directly through a counter a single time and grouped for deposit. There are also currency counter machines that deal with coins, which might be of use to a business that sells many small items.
What do you think is the best cash management solution for you? Do you worry when a register is a few dollars short at the end of the day? Join the discussion in the comments.
