Theft is one of the unpleasant things you don’t really want to think about, however, it is important to put measures into place to avoid this from happening.
We want to talk about two different kinds of theft – External and internal theft.
What is on view from outside?
For external theft, really consider what is on view from the outside to be sure not to provoke anyone to break in.
If you have any tablets, iPads, or any other valuable electronic devices clearly on display, then you might want to consider putting these away at night.
If they are permanently in place, then this could be locked in place with a bolt or a cord.
The same thing goes for the cash drawer, the till can come out but should be fixed to something so it can not be taken.
Are you making nightly cash deposits?
Don’t keep all of your cash in the till you should be regularly depositing this into a safe.
Only you and your manager should have access to the safe and that’s where all the deposits from the end of the day should go. This should also be bolted to the ground or wall.
Your staff should be making nightly deposits, don’t leave cash in the till overnight or two many days worth of deposits in the store at any point.
How to prevent internal theft
Here are a few ways to prevent your internal staff from stealing even small amounts from you.
Have cameras in your store
Make sure these a positioned in a few key places:
One is above the registers pointing down
Over the shoulder of the retail person, so you can see the retail person but also see the customers that are moving in and out of the space as well. That also helps identify any theft that may be carried out by customers.
For this make sure you can see all the merchandise that is in your space.
Have cameras in the kitchen as well so you can see all of your product/inventory
This means someone is writing down how much is the credit card processing, how much is total cash, and then comparing this to the POS system report.
If there are then any discrepancies, then this can be investigated and just by knowing these reports take place it should deter your staff from stealing cash.
Dedicated staff for cash registers
Make sure you have dedicated people running the registers to ensure there is accountability.
You want to avoid multiple people in the position on a given shift.
It is important to have the proper measures in place so you don’t have anyone take the money that you have worked so hard for. I hope we all live in a world one day where everyone is trustworthy and we don’t have to worry about things like this.
But until then,..take the necessary measures to prevent theft.
If you feel you need help with any aspect of preventing theft in your Juice Bar, reach out to us.