Smart Tills

[philip22]

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and was wondering if anyone could advise on the best tills for security of cash etc. My wife and I are in the process of setting up a small restaurant. Previously we sold our meals at markets, local events and festivals etc but suspected staff were skimming cash off the top. Now we are starting a small restaurant we would like to put measures in place that will deter the temptation of staff to pilfer. We intend to install CCTV but are also looking into a Smart Till options. I've tried google but can't see the wood from the trees, any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[solent66]

What do you mean by smart tills? I guess it depends on what you're currently using. Any form of cash register will allow you to reconcile what has been put through and what cash is there at the end of the day. Provided, of course, that stuff gets rung up in the first place! You can also reconcile what the till says has been sold against what has actually been sold.

A cheap till will provide basic reconciliation but the 'type in the price' ones are easily misled. A higher budget will buy one with a button array that an be programmed one button per key. If you have a limited product range (which it sounds like you do) then these tills will break sales down by product so you can reconcile against actual stock.

A computerised EPOS system will give a full journal of all activities (you can get physical printed journals on cheaper models). They can also tracked everything by clerk including things like 'no sales' (opening the till drawer, which can be a cover for cash being removed). Some will have a feature where someone has to count the cash in the drawer and enter the total into the till BEFORE it will give the sales totals. This makes it harder for someone to cash up and cream off any extra they may have managed to snaffle over the day.

If you're going the CCTV route there are also ways to get the journals superimposed on the CCTV footage so you can easily see what buttons where pressed and when (and what the clerk was up to at the time). I've yet to find such a solution which wasn't either expensive, or complex, or both.

 

[Opinion87]

Hire better staff.

 

[philip22]

What do you mean by smart tills? I guess it depends on what you're currently using. Any form of cash register will allow you to reconcile what has been put through and what cash is there at the end of the day. Provided, of course, that stuff gets rung up in the first place! You can also reconcile what the till says has been sold against what has actually been sold.

A cheap till will provide basic reconciliation but the 'type in the price' ones are easily misled. A higher budget will buy one with a button array that an be programmed one button per key. If you have a limited product range (which it sounds like you do) then these tills will break sales down by product so you can reconcile against actual stock.

A computerised EPOS system will give a full journal of all activities (you can get physical printed journals on cheaper models). They can also tracked everything by clerk including things like 'no sales' (opening the till drawer, which can be a cover for cash being removed). Some will have a feature where someone has to count the cash in the drawer and enter the total into the till BEFORE it will give the sales totals. This makes it harder for someone to cash up and cream off any extra they may have managed to snaffle over the day.

If you're going the CCTV route there are also ways to get the journals superimposed on the CCTV footage so you can easily see what buttons where pressed and when (and what the clerk was up to at the time). I've yet to find such a solution which wasn't either expensive, or complex, or both.

Hi Solent 66...

Thanks for your detailed answer.

Your information is informative and makes sense, we will be looking into computerised EPOS with a route to integration with CCTV. Thanks again.

 

[philip22]

Hire better staff.

Hi opinion87

We have just placed an add in the local paper that reads 'honest staff only need apply' and have received an amazing response. Thanks for your informed feedback, we can now relax in the full knowledge that we can just leave our takings in a box that makes a bell sound when opened and no one will take advantage of our good faith.

 

[Opinion87]

Hi opinion87

We have just placed an add in the local paper that reads 'honest staff only need apply' and have received an amazing response. Thanks for your informed feedback, we can now relax in the full knowledge that we can just leave our takings in a box that makes a bell sound when opened and no one will take advantage of our good faith.

Phillip,

Thanks for your sarcastic response. Instead of wasting your time writing a witty retort I'd advise you to improve your hiring system, interview process, referencing and pay above the NMW. Then perhaps you'll find you can trust your staff, and they won't steal from you.

 

[philip22]

Phillip,

Thanks for your sarcastic response. Instead of wasting your time writing a witty retort I'd advise you to improve your hiring system, interview process, referencing and pay above the NMW. Then perhaps you'll find you can trust your staff, and they won't steal from you.

Your welcome...by the way your second reply is much more informative than your first

 

[Frank Whittle]

Hi Philip I am also new to the forum.
I agree that you need to have a good EPOS system that has good security features.
Even honest staff may cross the line if they are short of money and take advantage if they think you have poor security. They may think stealing £10 may not be a big thing but apart from it being a crime they do not realise you have to sell lots more food and drink to recover the loss which comes out of your net profit.
My company distributes EPOS touch screen terminals to EPOS System resellers throughout the UK and Ireland so understand your need for a secure system.
You can purchase off the shelf restaurant EPOS systems which have been tried and tested over many years which will link into CCTV. Its important you purchase an EPOS till that identifies each staff operator that uses a keyfob (dallas key) which means you can monitor staff and also reward good staff.
If you wish I can let you know who to contact if you let me know which part of the world you will be opening the business.

 

[philip22]

Thanks Frank I'll will bare this in mind