Blog

How to secure funding for cash management technology

Dave Lunn TellermateFinding secure funding for new technology can be tough, particularly when you’re competing with colleagues trying to get their budgets approved, too.

The sheer amount of retail technologies claiming they can help your business save money by reducing theft, enhancing processes, streamlining payroll, improving scheduling, tracking in-store shopper movements, and so on, is mind-boggling. It’s a challenge just cutting through the noise.

But what if you asked for technology that:

  • Could reduce costs and generate savings – benefiting every department in the company?
  • Drives efficiencies to make employees’ jobs easier and output more effective?
  • Provided such a quick, positive return on investment (ROI) that your company could potentially use to purchase another kind of technology?

Cash management technology does all three. Through automation, it eliminates time-consuming manual processes. It streamlines cash handling processes, cuts down on theft and other forms of shrink, helps improve employee morale and reduces employee turnover, saves money, and provides time savings through a reduction or reallocation of man-hours. Meaning your employees are on the clock less, or tackling tasks they didn’t have time for before.

How to secure funding for cash-management technologyWays to help reel management in

But before requesting budget buy-in, make sure you understand your executives’ thought processes and priorities. Consider:

  • Timing. Ask for your budget before and not after budgeting season.
  • Ownership. Make sure you state the “owner” of this project. If not you, then who?
  • The power of persuasion. Cite real-life instances that explain how your project could solve company-wide issues. Use examples of how it might help certain employees do their jobs better or how missing cash would have been found if only the company had the right technical tools.
  • The full ROI. Cash management technology is an investment and not just an expense. Provide estimates for cost to implement and include estimates for boosting revenues, too. Certain vendors will help calculate your ROI…more on this later.
  • The risk of doing nothing. How much is your company willing to lose, year after year, by managing cash the same old way?

Help save money company-wide

Your chances to secure funding also stand a greater chance of success if you show that your cash processing technology project, if implemented, can help several departments that could also share the cost. Here’s how it provides cross-department functionality…

Finance. This department is concerned with the bottom line, which usually includes cutting costs, managing money, and auditing & streamlining finances. Cash management technology helps Finance in several ways – from gaining remote, real-time views of cash in all stores to reducing cash in transit (CIT) fees.

Operations. Cash management technology helps this group optimize CIT schedules, forecast change orders, ensure consistent processes and reduce time spent processing cash. By simplifying laborious manual tasks, it empowers employees who handle cash by allowing them to do their jobs with competence and accuracy.

Loss Prevention. Financial losses negatively affect a company’s bottom line, and LP’s job is to decrease them. Cash management technology helps reduce cash loss, prevent and deter theft and other forms of shrink, identify and respond quickly to incidents, and provide evidence of miscounts and missing cash.

Information Technology. IT folks install software, connect computers to networks and ensure integration among technologies. They often choose a company’s software packages, so you want them on your side. Cash management hardware and software allows IT to modernize outdated systems, generate data for mining, and provides immediate, high-level cash visibility.

Human Resources. HR’s function includes improving employee morale and reducing turnover. Cash management technology helps ensure staff are protected from false allegations and analyzes staff performance as well – separating stellar employees from poor performers. When your workforce feels like you have its best interest at heart, it’s more likely to stick around.

After sharing cross-department benefits with those holding the purse strings, it’s time to secure the budget for your cash management technology project.

Breaking through budget constraints & barriers

Your company likely wants to reduce spend and increase productivity and profit, despite budget restraints. Perhaps you want to introduce new products or services to help you stay relevant. And if you want to retain and expand your customer base, you know you must change with customers’ wants and needs, too. Efficiencies are a must. Still, you could meet with significant push back when trying to ask for more money.

How about showcasing ways in which another company found success after implementing retail technology? Providing real-world examples of how cash management technology helped other companies save money could go a long way in getting your proposed budget approved.

For instance, Rack Room Shoes implemented cash counting technology into a number of its stores. The U.S.-based retailer with 420 stores and about 4,900 associates wanted to expedite its cash processing and increase accuracy. Before using cash counting devices, store managers counted everything from deposits to end-of-day takings twice and with two staff members. It was a time-consuming process. After implementing the use of cash counters, Rack Room found that it saved money, saved time and increased accuracy. “The stores that have a Tellermate [cash counter] use it for everything,” said the company’s director of Loss Prevention.

Choose a vendor committed to helping you every step of the way

When trying to secure funding, make sure that your proposal offers a reputable vendor who will be around for the duration. And consider that when it comes to securing financing for better cash management, certain vendors offer free pilots and help calculate your ROI, too. They do this to provide proof of concept. Will the vendor you choose lead you through the process from pilot to implementation to training to customization to free customer support? Or will your vendor ship the equipment and let you figure it out on your own? Will your vendor of choice offer service and support throughout the duration of the business relationship? Will it customize software and hardware for you?

If you could strike a deal with a company that would allow you – for free – to try its cash management system during a pilot, acquiring a budget from higher-ups could be much easier.

Arm yourself with information

Cash management technology is an essential tool for retailers, convenience stores, restaurants, and any other business that accepts cash as a payment. Your budget proposal stands a better chance if you can provide as much information about its benefits as possible. Plenty of cash handling technology options exist, and our Ebook will help you understand which device might work best for your company. Download the Cash Management Jungle Ebook to find out even more about how your entire company – not just your department – can benefit.

Cash Management Jungle Ebook

Back to top