With the influx of shoppers around the holiday season, the amount of cash being handled by stores will increase dramatically. As cash payments increase and the number of cash transactions employees is handling mixed with longer lines can encourage errors. Following these proper procedures for handling cash will ensure minimal mistakes.
Keeping this in mind, here are some best practices for cash handling.
Making sure you know the starting amount in a cash drawer - and that it matches what is expected - will help you keep track of any mistakes made throughout each employee's shift.
Ending up with counterfeit money is never a good thing. Even though it may be busy, take a few seconds to examine any bill over $20 the bill to ensure that it is real. Look for watermarks and other marks of authenticity or use your counterfeit pen on the bill.
Keeping larger bills underneath the register helps keep the cash drawer organized. Keeping them tucked away ensures they won't accidentally give as change and keeps them out of sight from quick-change scam artists or those looking for stores that might have larger amounts of cash in their nightly deposits.
Placing the cash across the register helps ensure both you and the customer are aware of the type of bill handed over. This eliminates uncertainty if payment or change is questioned, and makes it very easy to re-confirm the amount of cash the customer paid vs the change that was given back.
It's easier to keep your cash drawer organized when it's not overflowing with bills. Don't risk bills slipping out, getting stuck together, or other simple errors that lead to cash loss. And once register till's hold a certain amount of cash it is safest to do a bank drop to get the cash off-site.
Auditing the cash drawer when a customer questions their change will assure them that they have not been shortchanged and will give you and the managers peace of mind. You could also use a smart system like DTiQ that offers POS integration with video footage to watch the specific transaction and ensure the customer received the proper amount of change.
Always make sure to double-check your deposit amounts, per register and then in total before sealing the deposit bag. Correcting mistakes the bank reports after the fact is much more difficult than re-counting your deposit a final time.
Wrapping up our list, these are best practices every employee at every store can easily follow to make sure they are handling store funds properly. And remember, to treat them as you would your own money! Being diligent about following procedures will help alleviate time spent on fixing mistakes, which is especially important during a busy holiday season.