How Retailers Leverage Technology to Increase Transparency in Cash Operations

Cash management for retailers is a challenge. Not only do retail leaders need to have a smooth and efficient cash-handling process at their locations, but they also need quick and easy access to store-level cash position data in order to make purposeful business decisions. Many retailers and restaurants have invested in smart safes to optimize the cash-handling process, but without a robust reporting platform and an API integration, they are missing out on the reporting and insight needed to manage cash across the entire enterprise. An interconnected and online system demystifies what is happening with cash deposits and change orders and provides actionable data, such as how much cash has been deposited into any device at any given time during the day, who is depositing it, when, and how much change is available to dispense.

Real-time insights and enterprise-wide data management.

Retail enterprises using smart safes should have a reporting platform that gives them access to each safe’s activity and cash levels in near-real-time. This creates efficiencies for both corporate level and store-level staff when it comes to running reports, analyzing data and making financial decisions around cash. For example, accounting teams can export the data they need to reconcile deposits, store leadership can determine if low-value notes are being recycled properly, and loss prevention can analyze employee deposit activity to reduce occurrences of internal theft.  In addition, remote monitoring allows busy managers to access smart safe data on-the-go, which can be a game-changer for operational efficiency.

Many retail enterprises using smart safes choose to take their cash visibility to the next level by linking their back-office ERP system via API then pushing it down to their store-level POS system. This gives the enterprise flexibility in how they choose to record and analyze data.

Opportunity to optimize best practices surrounding cash operations.

Reporting tools that connect with smart safes not only provide near real-time data on each location’s cash position, but it also allows both store managers and corporate leadership access to safe activity and behavior.  Information such as cash drops, courier events, note denominations and door events can provide invaluable insight into safe usage that can help businesses re-evaluate their training around the cash handling process, or even develop new cash best practices that fit the needs of the business. For example, if employees are depositing smaller denomination bills instead of twenties and one-hundreds, the safe cassette will fill up quicker and managers could have to make unnecessary trips to the bank for change. This is a situation that can be identified via the platform and management can then address the staff regarding smart safe best practices.

Reporting tools are a great way to increase transparency into store-level and enterprise-level cash operations. Platforms that integrate with smart safe technology to complete the cash-data ecosystem give retail and restaurant operators the valuable real-time insight they need to make better business decisions about cash within their organization.