With card networks raising rates and Federal interest rates looking to remain high for the next year, the costs of retail transactions don’t look like they’ll be easing anytime soon. While electronic payments certainly present their own challenges, managing physical cash also strains retail operations and budgets in several key areas. Fortunately, new technologies are emerging to help convenience stores, grocery stores, and other retailers regain control over their cash in the new year.
Here are three primary retail cash management pain points and how to get them under control with automated solutions in 2024.
Reduce Labor Costs of Handling Cash
New wage laws, ongoing hiring difficulties, and continued turnover are setting 2024 up to test labor budgets. The average retail store spends about 15 minutes per register drawer daily just counting cash. That doesn’t include the additional management time necessary to reconcile reports, transport deposits, and perform other cash-handling duties. Put simply - more staff time spent on any task means more payroll dollars spent. And cash management time adds up fast.
But now advanced systems like BANK IN A BOX allow retailers to virtually eliminate manual cash counting. Fully automated cash handling accurately counts and verifies all cash for shift changes, register draws, deposits, and change orders. Bulk bill acceptance and recycling smoothly process the six most common denominations with no employee contact needed.
Once processed into the BANK IN A BOX, next-day direct deposits dispose of the need for management transportation of cash to or from the bank. And real-time, web-based reporting reduces the time required to reconcile, track, and report daily cash numbers.
With cash automation like BANK IN A BOX in place, one major convenience retailer reported saving up to $10.4 million annually in labor costs. By minimizing cash-handling staff hours, retailers can optimize payroll budgets despite rising wage expenses.
Increase Visibility, Accountability Around Cash
Losses from human errors in cash handling average out to 16% of total volumes, costing US retailers over $60 billion yearly. However, new technologies now enable businesses to minimize cash losses by reducing manual contact while improving real-time visibility and accountability.
Sophisticated systems like BANK IN A BOX accurately count cash for store deposits, change orders, and register draws while providing always-on web reporting of all activity. In addition, BANK IN BOX’s robust cash automation requires employee login before a transaction can be performed, enabling detailed tracking at the individual user level.
By combining rigorous counting accuracy with granular data trails, retailers can pinpoint sources of shortages, overages, or potential theft much faster. And real-time reporting offers the daily, weekly, and monthly reporting retailers need to simplify audits and evaluations.
Mitigate Security Risks Around Cash
With robberies and internal theft on the rise, over 50% of retailers have faced increased cash losses over the past year. The current economy has criminals increasingly targeting employees making bank runs and stores that keep large quantities of cash in tills or back rooms – no matter the type of safe used for storage.
Fortunately, the BANK IN A BOX cash automation software and technology can mitigate these risks in several ways. First by first eliminating the need for regular bank runs. BANK IN A BOX accurately records and reconciles store cash deposits and withdrawals, supplying the store with a next-day direct deposit to the retailer’s bank account.
Secondly, BANK IN A BOX helps significantly reduce cash held on-site by recycling deposited cash back into the system – and then dispensing that cash out to consumers through its integrated ATM and Financial Kiosk capabilities. Studies show that minimizing cash visibility and availability in the store can reduce the risk of robbery by 80% or more – helping retailers keep their employees, stores, and profits safer.
Move Forward with Cash in 2024
Despite the growth of electronic payments, cash remains crucial for U.S. brick-and-mortar retail, accounting for 19% of all transactions and an even greater percentage of convenience store sales. Unfortunately, current cash management processes still rely heavily on manual cash handling and back-office cash storage, potentially incurring harm to overall profits and putting staff at risk.
By upgrading to an automated cash recycling system like BANK IN A BOX, forward-thinking retailers can control expenses, increase security, and optimize cash revenue and operational visibility. As consumer spending projects modest gains in 2024, intelligently managing cash positions retailers to maximize profits in the coming year.
TLDR: Retail stores can save time and money while significantly reducing risk by implementing robust cash automation and management systems like BANK IN A BOX.
