3 Key Ways to Prevent POS Theft


Point of SalePOS theft is a recurring issue in all sectors, but especially in the restaurant industry.

Find out how you can prevent it from happening to you.

Almost all businesses experience some sort of employee theft, whether it’s the act of time, theft of supplies or just straight out stealing from the till. Many are caught either by a customer or employee tip-off or by accident.

It’s clear that you can’t rely on employees blindly, so you have to have good systems in place to catch employee theft.

Fortunately, POS theft is one of the easier ones to catch — provided you have the right systems in place to do so.

1) Set Up Employee Tracking

Setting up your POS system to track employees should be simple: you assign a different sign-in to each cashier. This allows you to track what each employee is doing, ranging from voids and returns to the amount of money each person takes during their shift.

However, with changing trends in technology, the system of password and pins is becoming obsolete. The demand for a stronger and safer security method arose.

Fingerprint readers are the most secure as they cannot be given out, copied or stolen, unlike the use of passwords.

Employees need to be physically present to clock in and managers need to go to the POS terminal and personally approve voids and discounts using their fingerprint.

Related: 7 Benefits of a Modern Restaurant POS

2) Perform Regular Audits 

Once you’ve set up your POS system, you can now perform regular audits. Compare employee records and reports from your POS to each other to see where the majority of voids and issues occur.

One of the most common ways employees commit POS theft is by accepting money and then voiding the transaction. This ensures the till remains balanced, and they pocket the outstanding money. 

Don’t forget to account for different times of day. There may be times when voids are more likely, such as during the evening rush or perhaps in the middle of lunch. Allow for some variances due to competence as well — some cashiers may simply be more competent at what they do.

Using POS software will make it easier for you to monitor everything related to your employees activities. You can easily monitor the below by pulling reports directly from your POS:

  • Price changes
  • Order voids
  • Removing items from orders
  • Security violation
  • Time clock changes
  • Cash & CC Sales
  • Inventory levels

3) Invest in Security

An audit is only one part of the puzzle. Cameras over your point of sale can help determine whether an employee is actively defrauding the company or whether something else is happening.

A dishonest manager may set up an employee to make it appear as though that person is losing money from the till, but cameras help you see what’s really going on. Good security systems make it easy to check at all levels.

Ultimately, a good POS system is one tool you can use to prevent POS theft.

By setting up good money handling practices and ensuring all employees are regularly re-trained on the systems they use, you can reduce or even eliminate the risk and keep your business profitable.

Don’t delay, contact us now to request more info on Ideal Point of Sale

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