{"id":1736,"date":"2015-03-31T14:12:57","date_gmt":"2015-03-31T14:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellermate.spindogs4.co.uk\/?p=998"},"modified":"2018-05-31T10:16:17","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T10:16:17","slug":"smart-safes-vs-cash-counters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tellermate.com\/ca-en\/news-and-resources\/smart-safes-vs-cash-counters\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart Safes vs. Cash Counters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NickAs I talk with people about cash counters, a frequent response is that we already have or are currently looking at Smart Safes.\u00a0 My first reaction is that you are comparing apples and oranges.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a look at both options and see if we can reach a logical conclusion.<\/p>\n

Smart Safes<\/h4>\n

Smart Safes are terrific.\u00a0 When used correctly, they provide a measure of protection to your staff by ensuring excess cash is \u201cskimmed\u201d from your POS stations and deposited in the safe.\u00a0 That minimizes the loss you will have if robbed and should encourage staff to hand over any cash to a robber rather than playing the hero \u00a0for a small amount of cash.\u00a0 But, that raises the question of\u00a0where do you place your Smart Safe; in the front or in the back office?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"save_vs_cash_counter\"I put a survey on the LinkedIn forum for Smart Safes asking whether the safe should be in the front or in the back office and later conducted a wider survey of cash handling practices asking the same question.\u00a0 In both cases the responses were split. Approximately half of the people advocated back office and the other half advocated putting them at the front.\u00a0 The only conclusion I can come up with is that there is still some confusion in the market as to the role of the Smart Safe.<\/p>\n

Safes at the POS<\/h4>\n

People who have been using Smart Safes for a few years understand the value, when a safe is located near the point of sale. It allows for immediate validation of large denomination bills.\u00a0 You can validate a bill before you accept it, not after the customer has left the store\/restaurant.\u00a0 In addition, it is more convenient to conduct skims (aka drops) if the safe is near the POS.\u00a0 In speaking with a loss prevention director at one of the world\u2019s largest QSR brands, he relayed that the level of compliance in doing frequent skims went up when the safe was conveniently located next to the POS.\u00a0 The cashiers saw the value without having to involve busy managers.\u00a0 Voluntary compliance from cashiers, sounds like a winner to me.\u00a0 Or is it?<\/p>\n

In a QSR environment where a grouping of the POS locations are near each other this is a no brainer.\u00a0 One safe up front and one by the drive through.\u00a0 But what about in a retail environment where the POS locations are scattered around the store or even on different floors?\u00a0 It can get quite expensive putting a Smart Safe at every POS. In fact it can get prohibitive.<\/p>\n

In Europe we are seeing several manufacturers coming out with much smaller safes that can economically be located under each POS. \u00a0They can easily hold a day\u2019s takings.\u00a0 To a certain extent we are starting to see the same trend in North America but the units are not yet as small as the European models; nor can they match the price point.
\n<!– [if lte IE 8]><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<![endif]–>\"Smart<\/a><\/p>\n

Safes in the Back Office<\/h4>\n

What about putting the safe in the back office?\u00a0 My view is that you just wasted money on some of the highest quality bill validation there is.\u00a0 At the end of the shift or the end of the day, you feed in the bills to the safe and surprise, you have $100 in potentially counterfeit bills.\u00a0 What does that do to the ROI on your safe?\u00a0 Naturally Smart safe manufacturers have a range of options to meet their customer\u2019s requirements.\u00a0 You can buy extra-large cartridges that could securely hold several day\u2019s takings and high speed bill acceptors that take sixty or seventy bills a minute.\u00a0 That may seem compelling for a back office scenario, but does it protect your staff out front, and does it validate high denomination bills at the time of acceptance?\u00a0 If you are considering using them in the back office, ask yourself why you are considering Smart Safes.<\/p>\n

Cash Counters<\/h4>\n

If we accept the role of a Smart Safe is security and currency validation, then we can take a more objective role of cash counters.<\/p>\n

Do you:<\/p>\n