Running a profitable business hinges on minimising expenses, maintaining cash flow and increasing revenue. Traditional cash handling not only drains business resources through increased overheads, but creates a risk for theft, cash shortages and armed robbery.
Fortunately, we have a more holistic cash management solution that offers enhanced security, lower overhead costs and improved business efficiency,” says Richard Phillips, Joint CEO of Cash Connect Management Solutions.
It’s now up to retailers to make the necessary adjustment to the way traditional, manual handling of cash has evolved into a fully automated, fast, efficient and secure management of cash.
It is important that business owners examine the cost and risk that manual cash handling processes pose. These processes create a greater margin for human error and demand many more valuable man hours in which to count, reconcile and account for the receipts collected at the points of sale.
Banknotes and coins are received and sorted into denominations before being counted by one person and then confirmed and reconciled by another. With these manual methods, businesses are taking two or more people away from their primary tasks to count and reconcile cash payments and to prepare bank deposits.
Saving on back office overheads of 25% and more can be achieved by cutting out manual cash counting and management processes. In an automation trial within a fast food environment, we found that the manager spent 17 hours a week reconciling POS receipts and preparing banking. Post automation, the manager was released from this task and was able to focus all of his time on quality and service.
While more than 90% of business robberies are executed with the help of insider-participation, the multitude of hands involved in manual cash processes also create additional risks such as theft and shrinkage.
Business owners also need to confirm that their CIT service includes insurance cover while the cash is being moved from the business premises to the bank. Unless the customer specifically purchases insurance against any form of loss and for a fee over and above the cash in transit service fee, it is more than likely that no such cover exists.
Unlike insurance, in an automated service, the cash deposits are guaranteed from the time the cash is dropped into a robust cash acceptance device, and until it is reflected in the bank account. No claim investigation, excess payments and cash flow stress.
Phillips adds that these are just some of the challenges faced when sticking with a traditional, manual cash management system. “With the latest technological advances, retail cash management becomes, fast and efficient and meaningfully reduces the risk of robbery”, he says. Today retailers have access to high-tech and intelligently automated cash management processes that include in-store protection, transit logistics, shrinkage control and guaranteed value, as well as a complete online financial administration system that keeps the retailer on top of his cash receipts on a real time basis.
In addition, Cash Connect provides its customers with an offering that extends Beyond Safe by making working capital and instant access to cash in the vault available. With Cash Connect Capital, retailers have access to a fast and unsecured cash injection of growth capital, while the Instant Access feature enables them to access the cash in their vault, on demand and whenever they need it.
“Cash Connect believes in enabling the SME community. By giving retailers solutions that improve efficiency and cash flow, we ultimately ensure business continuity and the empowerment of the retail enterprise,” adds Steven Heilbron, also joint CEO of Cash Connect. “Given that cash is still the dominant payment mechanism of choice in South Africa, it is difficult to understand how any business that deals with large volumes of cash can do so without robust and efficient automation”, concludes Steven.