Own a cash business – you need a safe
So you don’t think it will happen to you. You trust your staff to be loyal and honest because the day is long. There are enough stories of business owners who had the same trust and were left with the shattering realization that the profits had been absorbed by these “loyal and trusted employees”. In just one year, the Association of Certified Fraud Investigators recorded $2.9 trillion in small business fraud (defined as fewer than 100 employees). And more soberingly, 82% of SMBs report some form of employee theft. Chances are, it might be happening to you right now and you don’t even know it. The average loss was reported at $200K and this fraudulent activity was undertaken over a period of two to three years.
If your business receives cash and check payments or is a cash-intensive business, a safe deposit box is an excellent first-level security measure. The money in the tills can be regularly cleaned and deposited in the safe, where it is kept until the next banking cycle. When a business takes cash or checks to pay for services, the safe secures the payments while a responsible person, such as a manager, reconciles the deposits and banks the money. Places where you will see safes used include motels, restaurants, churches, and gas stations.
Safes can be relatively simple, having a slot at the top to deposit valuables and a door to access the contents. For everyday security processes, this simplicity is an asset that provides value as a quick and easy-to-use repository for cash and documents. Designed for medium to low security and generally not fireproof, these types of safes, or boxes as they are sometimes called, should only be used for temporary security of valuables.
When money and valuables cannot be secured in a bank overnight, it is very important not to leave goods in the safe. The contents of these safes should always be moved to a more secure storage location at night. Fireproof home or office safes and especially fireproof burglar safes should be used. For businesses such as bars and nightclubs that operate at night, burglar-rated safes are available and should be installed. When choosing safes, there are a number of security features to consider.
If you have a cash business, then you must recognize that you are in the high risk category for employee fraud and that you must have security measures in place to minimize potential losses. For many organizations, large or small, investing in one or more safes should be the first consideration. There are a range of options and sizes that will meet your security requirements.
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